A marketing firm is considering migrating their data analysis operations to the cloud. The firm is evaluating the cost structures and wants to understand how cloud services might offer economic advantages over their current on-premises solution. Which of the following statements best describes the cost difference they should consider?
Migrating to the cloud will have no significant impact on their cost structure, as fixed and variable costs are similar in both on-premises and cloud environments.
The transition to cloud services will increase their fixed costs due to the requirement of purchasing the cloud infrastructure outright, but it will lower their ongoing operational expenses.
The firm will incur higher variable costs with cloud services since they will be leasing hardware rather than owning it, leading to increased long-term expenses.
By using cloud services, the firm can reduce their high fixed costs associated with maintaining on-premises hardware and instead pay for computing resources as they use them, offering better cost flexibility and scaling.