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220-1201 Practice Question: A small business owner wants to access their…
A small business owner wants to access their accounting software from any device, including a tablet and a home computer, without installing the software locally. Which cloud service model should the technician recommend?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Software as a Service (SaaS)
SaaS (Software as a Service) delivers applications over the internet, accessible via a web browser without local installation. This matches the requirement of accessing accounting software from any device without installation. PaaS and IaaS provide platforms or infrastructure, not end-user applications.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Why it's wrong here
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides virtualized computing resources such as servers, storage, and networking components. While it offers immense flexibility, a business owner would still be responsible for installing, configuring, and managing the operating system, the accounting software itself, and all associated security patches. This model requires significant technical expertise and hands-on management, making it unsuitable for someone simply needing to access a ready-to-use application.
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Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Why it's wrong here
Platform as a Service (PaaS) delivers a complete development and deployment environment in the cloud, including operating systems, programming language execution environments, databases, and web servers. It is designed for software developers to build, run, and manage applications without the complexity of maintaining the underlying infrastructure. For a small business owner merely seeking to use an existing accounting application, PaaS is an inappropriate and overly complex solution, as it provides tools for creation, not consumption of end-user software.
- ✓
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Why this is correct
Software as a Service (SaaS) delivers fully functional applications over the internet, accessible from any device with a web browser. The provider hosts and manages all aspects of the software, including infrastructure, platform, and application maintenance, allowing the user to simply log in and use the service. This model perfectly aligns with the business owner's need to access accounting software without worrying about installation, updates, or server management.
- ✗
Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
Why it's wrong here
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) provides a complete virtualized desktop environment, including an operating system and all installed applications, streamed to end-users over the internet. While accounting software could run within a DaaS environment, it offers an entire virtual desktop experience, which is far more comprehensive than merely accessing a single application. For the specific requirement of just using accounting software, DaaS introduces unnecessary overhead and cost compared to a direct application delivery model like SaaS.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Mobile Device Types and Features
Key term
Tablet
A tablet is a portable computing device with a touchscreen interface, typically larger than a smartphone but smaller than a laptop, used for browsing, media consumption, and light productivity tasks.
Key term
PaaS
Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model that provides a managed platform for developers to build, run, and manage applications without dealing with the underlying infrastructure.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.