When 115% Net Retention Meets Proper Leverage
Company: Enterprise SaaS (Global Platform)
Vendor: Cloudflare
Savings: 79% reduction ($238K → $53K/year)
Five months before a client’s Cloudflare renewal, we set out to test a theory:
Would a vendor known for 115%+ net retention actually move if we built real leverage?
At the time, the client was paying $238K/year for Cloudflare’s CDN, WAF, and Bot Management.
The Playbook (executed five months before renewal):
Secured a competitive bid from AWS, one of the client’s key strategic partners
Built a transition model outlining migration effort, risk, and cost
Communicated to Cloudflare that the client would trial AWS Bot Management, CDN, and WAF
Three months before renewal, we confirmed that AWS was meeting performance needs. By renewal time, Cloudflare countered with a $53K/year offer on a two-year term — a 79% reduction.
The outcome validated the thesis: even vendors with elite retention metrics will move when buyers introduce credible competition early and come prepared with data.
