Which technology has many characteristics associated with what is currently recognized as cloud computing?

Cloud computing is fundamentally dependent on the Internet, which serves as the primary medium for delivering services, resources, and applications over the web. This technology enables users to access data and applications from anywhere with an internet connection, reflecting key characteristics of cloud computing, such as on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service.

The Internet facilitates the scalability and flexibility that cloud services offer. It allows users to access shared resources and services, irrespective of their physical location, which is a hallmark of cloud computing. On the other hand, the other options like intranet and extranet represent more localized or semi-public networks, not encompassing the global and expansive nature of cloud computing. A network broadly refers to any connected system of devices that can communicate, but does not specifically embody the defined features of cloud computing without the context that the Internet provides.