 On-demand self-service

On-demand self-service lets a consumer provision a computing capability when needed without requiring a human interaction with the provider for each request. The consumer might request server time or network storage through a portal or application programming interface.^[ref]

For example, an authorized research workflow can request a temporary machine, run an analysis and release it through automated calls. The provider can still enforce quotas, permitted configurations and account policy. Self-service describes how a request is fulfilled; it does not promise unlimited capacity or remove the need for authorization. Automating repeated provisioning makes temporary resources practical while leaving lifecycle and data-retention choices explicit.