Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)Cloud Concepts, Architecture and DesignMedium
A company is considering using a public cloud for its new customer relationship management (CRM) system. Due to regulatory compliance, all customer data must reside within the geographical borders of a specific country. Which aspect of cloud computing must be carefully evaluated to ensure compliance?
- AElasticity
- BGeographical distribution
- CResource pooling
- DOn-demand self-service
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Geographical distribution
Geographical distribution refers to where the cloud provider's data centers and services are located. For regulatory compliance requiring data residency in a specific country, understanding and controlling the geographical distribution of data is critical.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Elasticity is about scaling resources, not data location.
- C. Resource pooling is about sharing resources among tenants, not geographical data placement.
- D. On-demand self-service relates to provisioning resources, not data residency.
Geographical Distribution (Data Residency)
The physical location where data is stored and processed within a cloud environment, often dictated by legal or regulatory requirements (data residency).
- Crucial for compliance with data protection laws (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
- Impacts latency, disaster recovery, and international data transfer regulations.
- Cloud providers offer regional and availability zone options to address this.
Memory trick: Geographical distribution is like knowing where your 'cloud' actually 'rains' data.