Management Information System (MIS) Practice Exam

Which computing model offers shared access to a pool of resources, often with minimal management effort from users?

1. Edge computing.

2. Grid computing.

3. Infrastructure as a service.

4. Cloud computing.

The correct answer is: Cloud computing.

The computing model that offers shared access to a pool of resources with minimal management effort from users is cloud computing. This model enables users to leverage various computing resources such as servers, storage, databases, and networking on-demand and over the internet. In cloud computing, resources are abstracted and managed by the cloud service provider, which significantly reduces the burden on users to maintain the physical infrastructure. Users can simply access these resources via a web interface or API, allowing them to scale their usage based on need and pay only for what they utilize. This flexibility is a hallmark of cloud services, making it easier for individuals and businesses to deploy applications and manage workloads without needing extensive IT management. Other computing models, such as edge computing, grid computing, and infrastructure as a service, do not encapsulate the same level of resource pooling and minimal user management. Edge computing focuses on processing data closer to the source of data generation, which may require more setup and management at distributed locations. Grid computing allows for resource sharing across a network of computers but often requires more coordination among those nodes, making management more complex. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), while providing virtualized computing resources over the internet, still places a degree of management responsibility on the user to configure and