In cloud computing, which characteristic means resources can expand and contract as needed?

• A. On Demand and Self Service
• B. Fully Managed
• C. Elastic
• D. Sold on Demand

Answer: (C)

Elasticity is the ability of cloud resources to expand or contract in response to demand. It lets the system automatically provision more resources when traffic rises and release them when it falls, keeping performance steady while controlling costs. This is typically achieved through auto-scaling and a shared resource pool in a virtualized environment, enabling horizontal or vertical scaling as needed. By contrast, on-demand and self-service describes how users access resources, not how those resources adjust automatically. Fully managed means the provider handles maintenance, not scaling behavior. Sold on demand refers to pricing, not capacity changes.