Which of the following is a characteristic of a public cloud?

A characteristic of a public cloud is the shared infrastructure among multiple tenants. This architecture is fundamental to how public cloud services operate, as they are typically hosted and maintained by third-party providers who offer resources such as servers, storage, and applications over the internet.

The shared infrastructure allows multiple organizations, or tenants, to use the same physical hardware and resources, leading to cost savings and efficiency. Public cloud providers can offer services at a lower cost due to this multi-tenancy model, as the expenses of running and maintaining the infrastructure are distributed across various clients.

In contrast, the other characteristics associated with private clouds or other configurations highlight aspects such as data access restrictions, customization levels, and the exclusivity of resources, which are not applicable to the public cloud model. In a public cloud environment, customization is usually limited compared to private clouds due to standardized services aimed at a broad audience, and sensitive data handling often requires careful consideration because of the shared nature of the infrastructure.