Which of the following is a primary characteristic of cloud environments as per SAP?

The primary characteristic of cloud environments, as recognized by SAP, is flexibility and scalability. In a cloud environment, resources can be easily adjusted to meet varying demands. This means that businesses can scale up or down their computing resources seamlessly according to their current needs.

Flexibility in cloud environments allows organizations to deploy applications and services rapidly, adapt to changes, and implement new solutions without the constraints associated with traditional on-premises infrastructure. This capability is essential for businesses seeking to respond swiftly to market changes or growth opportunities without incurring the costs and delays associated with physical hardware procurement and installation.

In contrast, high cost of ownership, focus on regulatory compliance, and dependency on physical infrastructure do not align with the core advantages of cloud solutions. Cloud environments typically aim to reduce ownership costs through operational expense models, have built-in compliance features or capabilities, and minimize reliance on physical infrastructure by utilizing virtualized resources.