What ensures that cloud resources are only used when necessary, minimizing costs?

Elasticity is the ability of a cloud resource to automatically provision and de-provision scale as demand changes. This characteristic is crucial in ensuring that resources are utilized efficiently and only when needed. For instance, in a cloud environment, if the demand for resources increases, elasticity allows the system to automatically scale up to accommodate the additional load. Conversely, when the demand decreases, the system can scale down, releasing unused resources and thereby minimizing costs.

By leveraging elasticity, organizations can optimize their expenses since they are not paying for idle resources when they are not in use. This pay-as-you-go model is a fundamental advantage of cloud computing, allowing businesses to align their resource consumption closely with their actual needs. This contrasts with fixed resource provisioning, which can lead to wasted expenses during periods of low demand.

Scalability, while important, focuses more on the ability to handle growth in demand but does not inherently ensure that resources are only utilized when necessary. High availability relates to ensuring that applications and services are consistently operational and accessible, and load balancing distributes traffic across multiple resources but does not directly address cost management tied to resource utilization.