In the context of a cloud data center, which three major cost factors are typically considered when estimating the total cost of running workloads in the cloud?

Introduction / Context:
Cloud computing shifts information technology spending from capital expenditure to operational expenditure. Instead of buying servers and storage upfront, organisations pay ongoing fees for resources consumed in a cloud data center. Understanding the key cost factors is essential for planning budgets, estimating total cost of ownership, and optimising workloads. This question focuses on the three major technical cost components that most cloud providers expose in their pricing models for infrastructure services.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• We are discussing infrastructure as a service or similar cloud models that expose compute, storage, and networking.
• Cloud providers typically publish pricing for virtual machines, storage volumes, object storage, and data transfer.
• Business side costs such as staff salaries and marketing are important but are not the primary technical cost dimensions of a cloud data center.
• The question asks specifically for three cost factors involved in cloud data centers.

Concept / Approach:
From a technical infrastructure perspective, three major cost axes appear in almost every cloud provider pricing page. First is compute, which covers virtual machines, containers, and serverless execution time measured in vCPU hours, memory, or requests. Second is storage, which includes block storage volumes, object storage buckets, database storage, and backup snapshots, typically billed in gigabytes or terabytes per month. Third is networking or data transfer, which covers traffic between regions, to the public internet, and sometimes within virtual networks. While there are additional costs such as managed services, support plans, and licensing, these three are the fundamental cost factors in a cloud data center for most workloads.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify compute resources as a cost factor, since running virtual machines or containers incurs hourly or per second charges. Step 2: Recognise storage as a second cost factor, since data stored in volumes, buckets, or databases is billed per unit size and per time period. Step 3: Add networking and data transfer as a third cost factor, because moving data in and out of the cloud, and sometimes between regions, generates bandwidth charges. Step 4: Examine option a, which lists compute resources, storage capacity, and network or data transfer bandwidth together as major cost factors. Step 5: Compare with other options that mention unrelated office expenses, stationery, or marketing costs, which are not core cloud data center cost metrics.

Verification / Alternative check:
If you open pricing pages for major cloud providers, you will consistently see calculators that ask for the number of virtual machines, the amount of storage, and expected data transfer volumes. These calculators use those inputs to project the monthly bill. Additional services like load balancers or content delivery networks still align with the same fundamental dimensions of compute, storage, and network usage. This reinforces that option a covers the central cost factors that cloud customers monitor.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option b lists office furniture, developer salaries, and internet cafe charges, which are general operational expenses but not specific cloud data center cost lines. Option c focuses on design software, printer ink, and mouse pads, which are stationery and software licensing concerns, not infrastructure as a service. Option d mentions domain registration and marketing, which may be part of an organisation budget but do not describe the technical cost structure of running workloads in a cloud data center.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake in cost planning is to focus only on compute resources and underestimate storage and data transfer charges. Large datasets, frequent backups, and cross region traffic can significantly increase monthly costs if ignored. Another pitfall is not monitoring idle resources, such as unused virtual machines or orphaned storage volumes, which continue to incur compute and storage charges. Good cloud cost management requires tracking all three factors and regularly optimising resource usage.

Final Answer:
The three major cost factors are compute resources virtual machines or containers, storage capacity for data, and network or data transfer bandwidth in the cloud data center.