GCDL Practice Question: A CEO asks why the company should invest in a…
This GCDL practice question tests your understanding of a ceo asks why the company should invest in a…. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A CEO asks why the company should invest in a cloud migration when the existing on-premises infrastructure 'still works fine.' Which business case arguments are MOST relevant to present? (Select the best answer.)
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
Best answer
Cloud enables faster innovation and time-to-market, reduces total cost of ownership, and provides access to advanced capabilities (AI, analytics) that improve competitive positioning.
These are the business outcomes that matter to a CEO: innovation speed (competitive advantage), TCO reduction (financial), and access to AI/ML (new capabilities). All three directly impact business results.
Distractor review
Cloud providers have more IT staff than the company, so IT headcount can be reduced immediately.
While cloud can shift staffing focus, headcount reduction framing is risky (affects morale) and oversimplified. It's also not the primary business value argument.
Distractor review
The cloud uses newer hardware and newer versions of Linux, which are technically superior.
Technical superiority of hardware/OS is not a compelling CEO-level business argument. CEOs care about business outcomes: cost, speed, and competitive position.
Distractor review
The current infrastructure will eventually fail, so proactive migration avoids future risk.
Hardware failure risk is a valid minor point but is not the most compelling business case. This argument doesn't capture the opportunity benefits of cloud.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Related practice questions
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More questions from this exam
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Question 1
A traditional retailer currently maintains its own data centers, purchasing servers every 3–5 years and paying for facilities, power, and staff regardless of demand. When it migrates its workloads to the public cloud, which change in cost model does it experience?
Question 2
An e-commerce company plans its infrastructure for peak shopping events (e.g., Black Friday) which drive 50× normal traffic. On-premises, they must maintain 50× capacity year-round. In the cloud, they provision 50× capacity only during peak periods. Which cloud characteristic enables this cost optimization?
Question 3
Which term describes the process by which organizations integrate digital technology into all areas of their business, fundamentally changing how they operate and deliver value to customers?
Question 4
When a company moves from maintaining its own data center to using Google Cloud, which operational responsibility does Google assume that the company previously managed?
Question 5
A hospital runs a patient records system that must remain on-premises due to strict regulatory data residency requirements. However, they also want to use cloud-based AI for diagnostic imaging analysis. Which cloud deployment model best describes their architecture?
Question 6
What is virtualization in the context of cloud computing, and why is it fundamental to how cloud providers deliver services?
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this GCDL question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Cloud enables faster innovation and time-to-market, reduces total cost of ownership, and provides access to advanced capabilities (AI, analytics) that improve competitive positioning. — The strongest business case for cloud migration addresses competitive differentiation, business agility, and total cost of ownership — not just technology for its own sake. On-premises infrastructure limits innovation speed (long provisioning cycles), has hidden costs (staff, facilities, refresh cycles), and cannot easily leverage emerging capabilities like AI/ML. Competitors who migrate first can launch new products faster and at lower cost, creating a structural competitive disadvantage for laggards.
What should I do if I get this GCDL question wrong?
Identify which GCDL exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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This GCDL practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the GCDL exam.