Cloud Computing Concepts and Business Value
Domain 1 - Cloud Computing Concepts and Business Value. This domain tests whether you can explain cloud models and translate them into business outcomes, not just define acronyms. Expect questions on IaaS/PaaS/SaaS, deployment models, elasticity, resilience, shared responsibility, and TCO/ROI.
Service and deployment models
- IaaS supplies virtualized compute, storage, and network; you manage the OS and above.
- PaaS supplies a managed runtime and middleware; you manage the application and data.
- SaaS supplies a complete application; the provider manages the stack.
- Public cloud is provider-operated; private is dedicated to one organization; hybrid connects both; multicloud uses more than one provider.
Business-value levers
Cloud value comes from shifting capex to opex, scaling to demand, faster provisioning, global reach, and managed-service offload. Quantify with total cost of ownership, not sticker price: include migration, run, skills, licensing, exit, and risk. Resiliency is designed through redundancy, backup, and recovery objectives (RTO/RPO).
Worked example
A retailer’s batch reporting server runs at 15% utilization but peaks at month-end. Rehosting as-is preserves cost. Moving the report to object storage plus a managed database and scheduled containers gives pay-for-use scaling but adds refactoring cost. The business case compares three-year TCO and month-end risk, not just monthly compute price.
Traps
Do not call lift-and-shift cloud-native; do not assume PaaS removes all customer responsibility; do not compare on-demand prices without committed-use or reserved discounts; and do not confuse high availability with disaster recovery.