The consumer can provide the desired resources themselves without the need for human interaction with the provider.

Access to the service through conventional platforms promoting use of thin and thick clients.

Resources are pooled in the provider's computer to serve multiple consumers in a tenant multi-model with physical and virtual resources allocated dynamically to the consumer on demand. The client doesn't have knowledge or sight of how the resources are managed.

Capabilities are able to quickly adapt, scaling outwards or inwards depending on the consumer's demands.

Automatic control and optimisation of utilised resources tied to a metering capability (generally payment for the services). Resources are monitored, controlled and reported for both provider and consumer alike, providing transparency for the service.

Use of the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure. (e.g. Google slides)

Capability provided to the consumer to use a cloud infrastructure for deploying its applications (e.g. Hostinger).

Provisioning hardware capability to the consumer for deploying arbitrary software.

Open for the general public. It exists on the premises of the cloud provider. Managed, operated and owned by one or more organizations.

Exclusive use by a single multi-user organization. Managed, operated and owned by the organization, a third party or a combination.

The cloud infrastructure is provisioned for exclusive use by a community of consumers from organizations with shared concerns.

Physical resources used to provide cloud services, generally hardware and facilities.

Software elements such as hypervisors, virtual machines, virtual data storage and supporting virtual components used for supporting the cloud's infrastructure.