Which characteristic describes the main benefit of cloud computing over traditional on-premises systems?

Which characteristic describes the main benefit of cloud computing over traditional on-premises systems?

• A. Elastic scaling of resources
• B. Higher operating costs
• C. No security requirements
• D. Fixed hardware investments

Answer: (A)

Elastic scaling of resources is the main benefit being tested. Cloud computing lets compute power, storage, and other services be provisioned and released automatically as demand changes, so capacity can grow during busy times and shrink when it’s quieter. This on-demand, pay-as-you-go approach avoids the upfront, fixed hardware purchases that lock in capacity with traditional on-prem systems and helps prevent paying for unused resources. The other options don’t capture this core advantage: higher operating costs isn’t generally true for cloud, since ongoing maintenance and power can be reduced; security requirements still exist in the cloud and must be addressed; and fixed hardware investments are characteristic of on-prem setups, not cloud.

Elastic scaling of resources is the main benefit being tested. Cloud computing lets compute power, storage, and other services be provisioned and released automatically as demand changes, so capacity can grow during busy times and shrink when it’s quieter. This on-demand, pay-as-you-go approach avoids the upfront, fixed hardware purchases that lock in capacity with traditional on-prem systems and helps prevent paying for unused resources. The other options don’t capture this core advantage: higher operating costs isn’t generally true for cloud, since ongoing maintenance and power can be reduced; security requirements still exist in the cloud and must be addressed; and fixed hardware investments are characteristic of on-prem setups, not cloud.