Who is generally responsible for the underlying infrastructure in a cloud environment?

In a cloud environment, the cloud provider is generally responsible for the underlying infrastructure. This responsibility encompasses the physical hardware such as servers, storage, and networking components, as well as virtualization technologies that abstract these resources into usable components for customers. The provider ensures that the infrastructure is maintained, secure, and operational, allowing customers to focus on leveraging cloud services without needing to manage the hardware directly.

In contrast, customers typically handle the management of their applications, data, and configurations within the cloud services they consume. Developers may focus more on application development and deployment rather than the infrastructure itself. Users, in this context, refer to end-users who access applications but do not engage with infrastructure management. Thus, the clear delineation of responsibilities in cloud computing underlines the provider's role in managing the underlying infrastructure while customers utilize the services built on top of it.