Which deployment model features pay-as-you-go resources hosted by a cloud provider with scalable capacity?

• A. On-premises
• B. Hybrid
• C. Public cloud
• D. Community cloud

Answer: (C)

Pay-as-you-go, scalable resources hosted by a cloud provider describe the public cloud. In this model, the provider owns and operates the underlying hardware and services and makes them available over the internet. You provision what you need and pay only for what you use, with the ability to scale capacity up or down quickly as demand changes. This contrasts with on-premises, where an organization owns and runs its own hardware in-house and pricing is typically capital-intensive rather than pay-as-you-go. A hybrid setup mixes private and public cloud resources, not the single, provider-hosted, multi-tenant public model. A community cloud is shared by a specific group with common concerns, which is a different sharing/ownership arrangement than the general public cloud.