Last verified with: 10.8.6.0
Overview #
Dynamic Usage Classes let organizations choose the right pricing for usage by understanding what that usage actually represents in a business context.
Instead of treating every usage event of the same technical type exactly the same, Dynamic Usage Classes allow the platform to classify usage more intelligently at rating time. That means a single usage event can be charged according to where it occurred, how it was delivered, or which commercial conditions apply.
For customers, this creates a more flexible way to support real-world pricing models without forcing every usage feed to contain a long list of highly specific usage classes up front.
What It Is #
At a high level, Dynamic Usage Classes are a context-aware usage classification capability.
It allows the platform to begin with a base usage class and then determine whether that usage should be treated as a different billable class based on additional information tied to the record.
That additional information can include factors such as:
- geography,
- network or carrier,
- service configuration,
- imported usage attributes,
- or other rating conditions.
In simple terms, it allows the platform to answer:
“This is usage of type X, but based on where and how it happened, should it be billed as class Y instead?”
How It Works #
The process is straightforward from a business perspective:
- Usage enters the platform with an initial usage class.
- The platform evaluates the relevant business context for that record.
- Based on configured rules, it determines whether the original usage class should remain as-is or be resolved to a different usage class.
- The resolved usage class is then used for rating and downstream billing outcomes.
This approach allows usage classification to happen closer to the pricing decision, where more business context is available.
Why It Matters #
Many businesses do not price usage based only on the raw event itself. They price based on the surrounding conditions.
For example:
- data usage may be charged differently depending on roaming zone,
- API traffic may be charged differently depending on region or partner channel,
- service usage may be billed differently depending on network, market, or contractual model.
Without a capability like Dynamic Usage Classes, organizations often end up with one of two problems:
- They push too much complexity upstream and require mediation or source systems to emit many highly specific usage classes.
- They keep usage classes too broad and lose the ability to price accurately and flexibly.
Dynamic Usage Classes provide a better middle ground. They keep ingestion simpler while preserving commercial flexibility where it matters most: during rating.
Business Benefits #
Dynamic Usage Classes deliver value in several important ways:
- Greater pricing flexibility. The same underlying usage can be monetized differently based on business context.
- Faster product changes. New pricing variations can be introduced through configuration rather than feed redesign.
- Cleaner product design. Teams can maintain simpler upstream usage definitions while still supporting sophisticated monetization models.
- Better alignment to real-world costs. Usage can be classified in a way that better reflects wholesale cost, regional delivery cost, or partner economics.
- More consistent downstream outcomes. Once the final usage class is resolved, that classification can be used consistently for rating, billing, and reporting.
Telecom Examples #
Roaming Data Pricing #
A telecom provider offers one mobile data service, but the commercial treatment of that data depends on where the subscriber is using it.
With Dynamic Usage Classes, the platform can start with a base class such as data usage and then classify it into more specific billable categories such as:
- domestic data,
- regional roaming data,
- international roaming data,
- or premium partner-network data.
Benefit:
- Customers can support more precise roaming offers.
- Pricing can better reflect wholesale network costs.
- Product teams can launch differentiated packages without redesigning the usage feed.
Multi-Carrier IoT Connectivity #
An IoT provider may use multiple carrier partners across different countries. The raw usage event may still be “data usage,” but the commercial value of that usage depends on which network delivered it and where it occurred.
Dynamic Usage Classes allow the platform to classify that usage into the right billing category before charges are applied.
Benefit:
- Supports global multi-carrier business models.
- Improves margin protection when costs vary by partner.
- Simplifies operations by avoiding separate ingestion logic for each carrier relationship.
Zone-Based Voice Or Messaging #
A provider may need to distinguish between in-country, in-zone, and out-of-zone usage for voice or messaging.
Dynamic Usage Classes enable the platform to classify those records appropriately so they can be rated according to the correct pricing structure.
Benefit:
- Makes geographic pricing models easier to support.
- Helps deliver clearer offers for domestic, regional, and international usage.
- Supports more accurate charging across complex service footprints.
SaaS Examples #
API Usage By Region #
A SaaS company may charge differently for the same API activity depending on where the workload is served or which deployment environment is used.
Dynamic Usage Classes allow one incoming API usage record to be classified into the correct pricing category based on business context.
Benefit:
- Supports regional pricing strategies.
- Helps align pricing to infrastructure cost.
- Keeps metering simpler while allowing more sophisticated monetization.
Compute Or Storage By Service Tier #
A SaaS provider may meter one type of usage, such as compute or storage, but price it differently depending on whether it runs on standard, premium, dedicated, or regulated infrastructure.
Dynamic Usage Classes allow the platform to classify that usage into the correct billable category before pricing is applied.
Benefit:
- Supports premium packaging models.
- Makes it easier to monetize differentiated service levels.
- Improves reporting clarity across tiers.
Channel-Or Partner-Specific Monetization #
Some SaaS businesses deliver the same feature through multiple commercial channels such as direct, marketplace, OEM, or embedded partnerships.
Dynamic Usage Classes make it possible to take a common usage event and classify it into the appropriate commercial billing path.
Benefit:
- Supports channel-specific pricing strategies.
- Reduces duplication in metering and product setup.
- Helps scale partner-led growth models more cleanly.
Why Customers Value This Capability #
Dynamic Usage Classes are especially valuable for organizations that:
- operate across multiple geographies,
- work with multiple carriers or partners,
- offer differentiated service tiers,
- support multiple commercial channels,
- or need billing models that reflect more than just raw usage type.
For these businesses, usage classification is not just a technical detail. It is a key part of how products are packaged, priced, and brought to market.
Summary #
Dynamic Usage Classes give customers a more flexible way to translate raw usage into the right commercial outcome.
By allowing the platform to classify usage based on business context, it helps organizations:
- support more sophisticated pricing models,
- reduce operational complexity,
- respond faster to market needs,
- and align billing more closely to how services are actually delivered and sold.
In short, it turns usage classification into a strategic tool for monetization rather than just a technical input to rating.