In cloud computing, Elastic Computing is the concept that describes the ability of a system 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.

Elastic computing works by automatically adjusting capacity to maintain steady, predictable performance at the lowest possible cost. It allows systems to provide more resources for brief periods of high demand and then immediately release these resources when they are no longer needed.

An e-commerce website uses elastic computing to handle changes in traffic during peak shopping seasons. When a sale starts and traffic increases, more resources are automatically allocated to handle the surge. Once the sale ends and traffic decreases, the resources are automatically de-provisioned.