Which aspect best characterizes cloud governance compared to traditional on-prem governance?

• A. Single-tenant infrastructure.
• B. Local network security only.
• C. Multi-tenant, scalable resources, vendor risk, data residency, cloud service models, and shared responsibility models.
• D. Only hardware procurement processes.

Answer: (C)

Cloud governance in the cloud context centers on how resources are shared and managed across a dynamic, externally provided environment. It must address not only security and compliance but also how multi-tenant setups, scalable resources, vendor relationships, and data location affect policy, risk, and control. The best choice captures all of these elements: resources are multi-tenant and scalable, vendor risk and data residency matter for compliance, there are varied cloud service models to govern (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), and the shared responsibility model defines who handles what security and compliance duties.

This holistic view is essential because cloud environments differ from on-premises by their reliance on external providers and elastic resources. Governance cannot focus narrowly on hardware or local perimeter controls alone; it must encompass service models, data residency obligations, the risks introduced by third-party vendors, and the division of responsibilities between customer and provider. The options focusing on single-tenant design, only local network security, or only hardware procurement miss these broader, interconnected considerations.