A cloud provider allows tenants to view and adjust their allocated storage and compute through a self-service portal at any time, without contacting a sales or support representative. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this describe?
- ABroad network access, where capabilities are available over the network and reached through standard client platforms such as browsers and mobile devices
- BMeasured service, where resource use is monitored, controlled, and reported to give transparency for both the provider and the consumer
- COn-demand self-service, where a consumer can provision computing capabilities unilaterally as needed without human interaction with the provider Correct
- DRapid elasticity, where capabilities can be scaled outward and inward automatically to match demand and appear effectively unlimited
Why A is wrong: Broad network access concerns reachability across varied devices; it is tempting because a portal runs over the network, but the scenario stresses provisioning without staff, not device reach.
Why B is wrong: Measured service covers metering and billing transparency; the tenant does see usage, but the defining point here is unattended self-provisioning, not metering.
Why C is correct: The portal lets the tenant provision and adjust resources unilaterally with no provider staff involved, which is exactly the on-demand self-service characteristic in the NIST definition.
Why D is wrong: Rapid elasticity is about automatic scaling to demand; a candidate may confuse manual portal adjustment with elasticity, but the scenario describes human-initiated self-service rather than automatic scaling.