What is the role of containerization in cloud computing?

Containerization plays a critical role in cloud computing by allowing applications to be packaged along with their necessary dependencies into portable containers. This encapsulation ensures that applications can run consistently across various environments, such as development, testing, and production. The ability to isolate applications within containers means that they can be deployed across different platforms without worrying about compatibility issues or variations in system configurations.

This portability is particularly beneficial in cloud environments, where applications may need to be scaled up or moved between different cloud service providers or even from on-premises systems to the cloud. As a result, containerization greatly enhances the flexibility and efficiency of application deployment in cloud computing, streamlining the development process and improving operational agility.

In comparison, the other options do not fully capture the essence of containerization in the context of cloud computing. While enhancing security and reducing application size are important aspects of application design and deployment, they are not the primary focus of containerization. Establishing direct connections between cloud services and on-premises systems pertains more to integration strategies rather than the concept of packaging applications into containers.