A business case shows that an investment has a positive return for a business unit. You suggest cloud-based Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) should be used instead of upgrading IT hardware in the…

Question

Options

• ASome industry analyst reports say that on average, cloud services have decreased in price
• BYour analysis of requirements shows that data center capacity requirements vary by 40%
• CThe company's volume of revenue and transactions will double in the next year.
• DThe current data center is managed by an IT staff with an average of ten years of
• EThe required cloud services have been delivered in the market for three years by six or more

• A
  2% (1)
• B
  84% (49)
• C
  5% (3)
• D
  9% (5)

Explanation

Choosing cloud IaaS over on-premises hardware upgrades is most compelling when demand is unpredictable and when the cloud market is mature enough to be trustworthy. Option B (40% capacity variance) directly justifies IaaS because cloud elasticity lets the business scale up and down with demand - buying hardware to cover peak loads would leave expensive capacity idle the rest of the time. Option E (service available 3+ years from 6+ providers) confirms the cloud solution is mature, competitive, and low-risk - key criteria for a credible business case recommendation.

Why the distractors fail:

• A is too generic - industry-wide average pricing trends don't reflect this company's specific deal or needs.
• C (doubling revenue) signals growth but doesn't differentiate cloud from on-prem; you'd need to know how variably that growth occurs.
• D (experienced IT staff) actually argues against cloud migration, since skilled on-prem staff reduce the operational risk of staying in the data center.

Memory tip: Remember "V + V" - you recommend cloud when demand is Variable (B) and the vendor landscape is Validated (E). If neither condition is clearly true, the business case weakens.

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