easyMultiple Choice
CCSP Practice Question: Migrating to the cloud to reduce capital…
A company is migrating to the cloud to reduce capital expenditures. They want to pay only for the resources they consume with no upfront investment. Which financial model does this describe?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the distinction between Capex and Opex by presenting a scenario that describes consumption-based pricing, and the trap is that candidates confuse 'leasing' (which still implies a fixed term) with true pay-as-you-go Opex.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Opex
The operating expenditure (Opex) model allows a company to pay for cloud resources on a consumption basis without any upfront capital investment. This aligns with the goal of reducing capital expenditures (Capex) by shifting costs to variable, pay-as-you-go operational expenses.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Amortization
Why it's wrong here
Amortization spreads a known capital cost across accounting periods; it does not eliminate upfront investment or bill per consumption. It is tempting because cloud commitments and reserved instances are amortised for budgeting, but the stem describes pay-as-you-go operating expenditure, which amortization cannot deliver.
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Capex
Why it's wrong here
Capex is the upfront capital purchase the company explicitly wants to avoid; it contradicts paying only for consumed resources. It is tempting because on-premises hardware and some reserved cloud commitments are capitalised, but the stem's requirement is an operating expenditure model with no upfront investment.
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Leasing
Why it's wrong here
Leasing replaces purchase with scheduled fixed payments over a term, still committing spend regardless of consumption. It is tempting because leasing removes large upfront hardware outlay, but it fails the stem's pay-only-for-what-you-consume condition, which consumption-based operating expenditure satisfies.
- ✓
Opex
Why this is correct
Opex matches the requirement to pay only for consumed resources with no upfront investment, since operational expenditure covers ongoing usage-based costs rather than capitalised purchases. This directly satisfies the stated goal of reducing capital expenditures and avoiding upfront commitment.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CCSP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CCSP exam.