Five key characteristics deemed essential for cloud computing are as follows:

• On-demand Self-service: Ability to automatically provision cloud-based IT resources as and when required by the cloud service consumer
• Broad Network Access: Ability to support seamless network access for cloud-based IT resources via different network elements such as devices, network protocols, security layers, and so on
• Resource Pooling: Ability to share IT resources for cloud service consumers using the multi-tenant model
• Rapid Elasticity: Ability to dynamically scale IT resources at runtime and also release IT resources based on the demand
• Measured Service: Ability to meter the service usage to ensure cloud service consumers are charged only for the services utilized