A key characteristic of a public cloud is:

The defining characteristic of a public cloud is that resources are shared among multiple customers. This means that the infrastructure, such as servers and storage, is pooled and made available to numerous users, often leading to cost savings due to economies of scale. Each customer uses the same physical resources while maintaining separate data and applications through virtualization and other technologies. This multitenant model allows for flexibility and scalability, as users can easily scale up or down based on their needs.

While dedicated resources for each customer can be a feature of private cloud environments, public clouds are fundamentally designed to offer shared resources. Regarding security, public clouds typically implement strong security measures, but they may not necessarily provide higher security than private clouds, which are tailored to specific organizational needs. Geographic restrictions can exist in public clouds depending on regional regulations and service provider offerings, but the essence of a public cloud is its shared nature among multiple clients.