Which statement best describes cloud-native architecture in contrast to a traditional monolithic application?

• A. A single deployable unit with a monolithic codebase and tight coupling.
• B. Cloud-native uses microservices, containers, declarative infrastructure, and CI/CD.
• C. Requires fixed infrastructure sizing and manual scaling.
• D. Designed only to run on on-premises hardware.

Answer: (B)

At the heart of cloud-native architecture is treating an application as a set of small, independent services that can be developed, deployed, and scaled separately. The statement that best describes cloud-native emphasizes four key elements: microservices, containers, declarative infrastructure, and CI/CD. Microservices allow the application to be broken into loosely coupled components that can be updated or scaled without touching the whole system, boosting agility and resilience. Containers give a consistent, portable runtime for those services, so they run the same everywhere—from development to production and across different cloud environments. Declarative infrastructure, typically implemented as infrastructure as code, defines the desired state of resources (networks, storage, compute) so the platform can provision and repair them automatically. CI/CD automates the process of building, testing, and deploying changes, enabling rapid, reliable software delivery. Together, these elements unlock dynamic scaling, fault isolation, and continuous improvement that monolithic designs struggle to achieve.

In contrast, a traditional monolithic application is a single deployable unit with a tightly coupled codebase, which makes scaling and updating more difficult and often relies on fixed infrastructure and more manual operations.