Cloud computing means accessing computing resources — like storage, processing power, or software — over the internet from remote servers, rather than relying entirely on a local device. This offers scalability (easily increasing or decreasing resources as needed) and accessibility (accessing the same data or software from any device with an internet connection), though it also introduces dependence on internet connectivity and requires trust in the security practices of the cloud provider.
Example
A small business using cloud-based accounting software can access its financial records from any device, automatically scale storage as the business grows, and avoid the upfront cost of powerful local servers — but if its internet connection goes down, or the cloud provider experiences an outage, that access is temporarily lost.
Key terms
Cloud computing:
Accessing computing resources over the internet from remote servers.
Scalability:
The ability to easily increase or decrease resources as needed.
Cloud provider:
A company that supplies remote computing resources over the internet.
Questions
1. Cloud computing means accessing computing resources:
Over the internet from remote servers
Only from a single local device, with no internet involved
Nowhere; cloud computing does not actually exist
Only through physical, printed documents
2. Scalability refers to:
Easily increasing or decreasing resources as needed
A completely fixed, unchangeable amount of resources
A term unrelated to computing resources
Only decreasing resources, never increasing them
3. A cloud provider is:
A company supplying remote computing resources over the internet
A term unrelated to computing
Only an individual person, never a company
A physical device with no internet connection
4. Cloud computing allows access to data from:
Any device with an internet connection
Only a single specific device, with no other access
No device at all
Only devices with no internet connection
5. Cloud computing introduces dependence on:
Internet connectivity
Nothing; cloud computing requires no connectivity at all
Only physical storage devices, with no internet involved
A single, specific type of computer only
6. Cloud computing can include access to:
Storage, processing power and software
Only physical hardware, with no software involved
Nothing related to computing resources
Only images, with no other data type
7. A small business using cloud-based accounting software can:
Access records from any device
Only access records from one single fixed device
Never access its records remotely
Only use the software without an internet connection
8. Why might scalability be a significant advantage of cloud computing for a growing business?
Resources can be adjusted as needed without the business having to purchase and maintain its own expanding physical infrastructure
Scalability has no real advantage for any business, regardless of size
A growing business always needs to buy new physical servers regardless of using cloud computing
Cloud computing resources are always completely fixed and cannot be adjusted in any way
9. Why might a business lose access to its cloud-based tools if its internet connection fails, even though its data is otherwise safe?
Cloud computing relies on an internet connection to reach the remote servers where resources are hosted
Cloud computing never actually requires any internet connection to function
Losing an internet connection has no effect on accessing cloud-based resources
Cloud-based tools always continue working normally with no internet connection at all
10. Why might businesses need to carefully evaluate a cloud provider's security practices before storing sensitive data with them?
Trusting a third party with data storage means the provider's security directly affects the safety of that data
Cloud providers are always guaranteed to have perfect security with no need for evaluation
A cloud provider's security practices have no bearing on the safety of data stored with them
Evaluating security practices is unnecessary since cloud storage is always inherently completely secure
11. Why might avoiding the upfront cost of powerful local servers be a meaningful benefit of cloud computing for a small business?
It reduces the initial capital investment needed, letting the business pay for computing resources as it uses them
Cloud computing always costs significantly more than purchasing local servers outright
Upfront costs for local servers have no relevance to a small business's financial planning
Small businesses never benefit in any way from reduced upfront infrastructure costs
12. Why might large organisations sometimes use a combination of cloud and local infrastructure (a "hybrid" approach), rather than cloud computing alone?
Certain data or applications might have specific security, latency or regulatory needs better suited to local infrastructure
Organisations are always required to choose either exclusively cloud or exclusively local infrastructure with no combination possible
A hybrid approach has no practical benefit over using cloud computing exclusively
Local infrastructure is never used alongside cloud computing in any real-world scenario
13. Why might a cloud outage affecting a major provider have widespread effects across many seemingly unrelated websites and services at once?
Many different companies often rely on the same small number of major cloud providers to host their services
Cloud outages only ever affect a single company's services, with no wider impact
Different companies never rely on shared infrastructure provided by the same cloud provider
A cloud provider outage never has any effect on the businesses that rely on its services
14. Why might data sovereignty (which country a business's data is physically stored in) be an important consideration when choosing a cloud provider?
Different countries have different laws governing data access, privacy and legal jurisdiction, which can affect a business's compliance obligations
The physical location of stored data never has any legal or regulatory relevance
All countries have identical laws regarding data privacy and access
Cloud providers never actually store data in any specific physical location
15. Why might the shift to cloud computing have changed the skills needed by IT professionals over the past couple of decades?
Managing remote, scalable cloud infrastructure requires different expertise than maintaining traditional, on-site physical servers
The skills required for IT professionals have remained completely unchanged despite the rise of cloud computing
Cloud computing has had no impact whatsoever on the IT industry or its required skill sets
Managing cloud infrastructure and local physical servers always require exactly the same expertise
16. Streaming a video from an online platform, rather than downloading and storing the entire file locally, is an example of:
Using a cloud-based service
A purely local computing process with no internet involvement
Something unrelated to cloud computing
A process that requires no remote server of any kind
17. Why might a start-up company find cloud computing especially appealing compared to an established, large corporation?
It allows a start-up to access significant computing power without large upfront infrastructure investment, which can be especially valuable with limited capital
Start-ups never actually benefit from using cloud computing in any way
Established corporations always benefit more from cloud computing than start-ups do
The size or maturity of a company has no bearing on how useful cloud computing might be
18. Why might cloud computing raise questions about who is legally responsible if customer data is breached — the business using the cloud service, or the cloud provider itself?
Responsibility can be shared or contractually defined between the business and provider, making this an important consideration when choosing a provider
Legal responsibility for a data breach is always entirely and exclusively the cloud provider's concern
Businesses using cloud services never have any legal responsibility regarding their customers' data
This kind of question about responsibility never actually arises in relation to cloud computing
19. Why might "vendor lock-in" (difficulty switching from one cloud provider to another) be considered a potential downside of relying heavily on a single cloud provider's specific tools?
Deep integration with one provider's specific systems can make migrating to a different provider costly or technically difficult later on
Switching between cloud providers is always simple and cost-free regardless of how deeply integrated a business is
Vendor lock-in is not a real consideration when evaluating cloud computing providers
Using a single cloud provider's tools has no effect on how easily a business could switch providers later
20. Why might a global company use cloud data centres located in multiple regions around the world, rather than just one central location?
It can improve performance for users in different regions and provide redundancy if one data centre experiences an outage
Using multiple data centre locations around the world provides no benefit over relying on just one central location
A single, centrally located data centre always provides identical performance for users no matter where they are located
Redundancy and regional performance have no connection to how cloud data centres are distributed globally
21. Why might a company weigh the ongoing subscription cost of cloud services against the one-time cost of local infrastructure when planning long-term budgets?
Cloud costs typically accrue continuously over time, which can total differently than a large upfront local infrastructure investment depending on usage and duration
Cloud computing always costs less than local infrastructure regardless of usage patterns or time horizon
Ongoing subscription costs and one-time infrastructure costs are always financially identical over any time period
Long-term budget planning never needs to consider the difference between these two cost structures
Answer key (parent copy)
1. Over the internet from remote servers
2. Easily increasing or decreasing resources as needed
3. A company supplying remote computing resources over the internet
4. Any device with an internet connection
5. Internet connectivity
6. Storage, processing power and software
7. Access records from any device
8. Resources can be adjusted as needed without the business having to purchase and maintain its own expanding physical infrastructure
9. Cloud computing relies on an internet connection to reach the remote servers where resources are hosted
10. Trusting a third party with data storage means the provider's security directly affects the safety of that data
11. It reduces the initial capital investment needed, letting the business pay for computing resources as it uses them
12. Certain data or applications might have specific security, latency or regulatory needs better suited to local infrastructure
13. Many different companies often rely on the same small number of major cloud providers to host their services
14. Different countries have different laws governing data access, privacy and legal jurisdiction, which can affect a business's compliance obligations
15. Managing remote, scalable cloud infrastructure requires different expertise than maintaining traditional, on-site physical servers
16. Using a cloud-based service
17. It allows a start-up to access significant computing power without large upfront infrastructure investment, which can be especially valuable with limited capital
18. Responsibility can be shared or contractually defined between the business and provider, making this an important consideration when choosing a provider
19. Deep integration with one provider's specific systems can make migrating to a different provider costly or technically difficult later on
20. It can improve performance for users in different regions and provide redundancy if one data centre experiences an outage
21. Cloud costs typically accrue continuously over time, which can total differently than a large upfront local infrastructure investment depending on usage and duration