A small e-commerce company is experiencing rapid growth, leading to unpredictable traffic spikes on its web servers. The IT department has a limited budget for capital expenditures and lacks the physical space to expand its on-premises data center. To address these challenges, the server administrator needs to select a cloud model that allows for on-demand scalability and shifts infrastructure costs from a capital to an operational expense.
The correct answer is the public cloud model. This model is owned and operated by a third-party provider, which eliminates the need for the company to make a capital expenditure (CapEx) on new hardware or use its limited physical space. Public clouds offer rapid elasticity and on-demand self-service, allowing the company to scale resources up or down to handle unpredictable traffic spikes. This pay-as-you-go pricing structure converts the cost of infrastructure into an operational expense (OpEx), which directly aligns with the company's stated financial and operational requirements.
A private cloud would require a significant capital investment and physical space if built on-premises, contradicting the company's constraints. A hybrid cloud involves integrating on-premises infrastructure with a cloud, and while this may be an eventual outcome, the public cloud component is the specific part that solves the immediate challenges described. A community cloud is a collaborative model for organizations with shared concerns and is not suitable for a general e-commerce business.