In [[cloud computing]], '''elasticity''' is defined as "the degree to which a system is able to adapt to workload changes by provisioning and de-provisioning resources in an autonomic manner, such that at each point in time the available resources match the current demand as closely as possible".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Herbst|first=Nikolas Roman|author2=Samuel Kounev |author3=Ralf Reussner |title=Elasticity in Cloud Computing: What It Is, and What It Is Not|journal=Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Autonomic Computing (ICAC 2013), San Jose, CA, June 24–28|year=20122013|url=http://sdqweb.ipd.kit.edu/publications/pdfs/HeKoRe2013-ICAC-Elasticity.pdf}}</ref><ref>Nikolas Herbst, Rouven Krebs, Giorgos Oikonomou, George Kousiouris, Athanasia Evangelinou, Alexandru Iosup, and Samuel Kounev. Ready for Rain? A View from SPEC Research on the Future of Cloud Metrics. Technical Report SPEC-RG-2016-01, SPEC Research Group - Cloud Working Group, Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC), 2016. [https://research.spec.org/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/rg_cloud/endorsed_publications/SPEC-RG-2016-01_CloudMetrics.pdf]</ref> Elasticity is a defining characteristic that differentiates cloud computing from previously proposed computing paradigms, such as [[grid computing]]. The dynamic adaptation of capacity, e.g., by altering the use of computing resources, to meet a varying workload is called "elastic computing".<ref>{{citation |title=Cloud Computing Principles and Paradigms |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-470-88799-8}}</ref><ref>{{citation |author=Perez |title=Responsive Elastic Computing |isbn=978-1-60558-578-9|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
