Which statement best describes object lifecycle management in cloud storage?

Which statement best describes object lifecycle management in cloud storage?

• A. It automatically transitions data to cheaper storage classes and deletes data per retention policies to save costs and meet compliance.
• B. It duplicates data across regions to improve availability, but does not affect cost.
• C. It only deletes data after a fixed global retention period, regardless of class.
• D. It prevents data from being moved once written.

Answer: (A)

Object lifecycle management automates how data ages in cloud storage. It uses rules to move objects to cheaper storage classes as they become less active and to delete them once they reach their retention or expiration dates. This approach directly reduces storage costs while helping ensure compliance by removing data when it’s no longer needed. In practice, you might keep recent data in a fast, costly tier, transition older data to cheaper tiers, and finally delete data that has satisfied its retention policy. The described statement captures both automatic transitions to cheaper storage and deletion under retention rules, which is exactly what lifecycle management is designed to do. Other options focus on replication for availability, or assume fixed deletion regardless of class, or prevent movement, none of which describe lifecycle management.

Object lifecycle management automates how data ages in cloud storage. It uses rules to move objects to cheaper storage classes as they become less active and to delete them once they reach their retention or expiration dates. This approach directly reduces storage costs while helping ensure compliance by removing data when it’s no longer needed. In practice, you might keep recent data in a fast, costly tier, transition older data to cheaper tiers, and finally delete data that has satisfied its retention policy. The described statement captures both automatic transitions to cheaper storage and deletion under retention rules, which is exactly what lifecycle management is designed to do. Other options focus on replication for availability, or assume fixed deletion regardless of class, or prevent movement, none of which describe lifecycle management.