Which statement best describes Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)?

• A. Organization outsources the equipment used to support operations, including storage, hardware, servers and networking components
• B. It provides software development platforms
• C. It provides end-user applications
• D. It provides data analytics services only

Answer: (A)

The key idea being tested is what IaaS delivers: organizations rent and control virtualized computing resources while the provider handles the underlying hardware. This statement fits IaaS because it describes outsourcing the equipment used to support operations—storage, hardware, servers, and networking components—so you’re obtaining the physical infrastructure as a service rather than owning it.

In contrast, providing software development platforms describes Platform as a Service, where the provider offers a runtime environment and tools for building and deploying applications. Providing end-user applications describes Software as a Service, where the provider delivers ready-to-use software. Describing data analytics services only is too narrow and doesn’t capture the broad infrastructure-resource focus of IaaS.