220-1101 Virtualization and Cloud Computing Practice Question
A small business wants to deploy a customer relationship management (CRM) application for its sales team. The company wants to avoid managing servers, operating systems, or application patches. The sales team needs to access the CRM through a web browser from any device. The company prefers a monthly subscription model based on the number of users. Which cloud service model BEST fits these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse PaaS with SaaS, thinking PaaS also eliminates application management, but PaaS still requires the customer to manage the application code and its updates, whereas SaaS fully manages the software itself.
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)
The company wants to avoid managing servers, operating systems, or application patches, and needs browser-based access with a monthly subscription per user. Software as a Service (SaaS) delivers a fully managed application over the internet, where the provider handles all infrastructure, platform, and software maintenance, exactly matching these requirements.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Why it's wrong here
IaaS delivers raw, on-demand cloud infrastructure such as virtual machines, storage, and networking, but the customer retains full administrative control over the guest OS, runtime, and applications. In this scenario, you would still need to build and maintain a CRM server, apply OS patches, and manage uptime — exactly the operational burden you are trying to avoid. While IaaS offers flexibility and scalability, it does not provide a ready-to-use CRM application that is managed by the vendor.
- ✗
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Why it's wrong here
PaaS provides a platform for customers to develop, run, and manage applications without dealing with underlying infrastructure. However, the customer must still develop or deploy their own application, not use a ready-made SaaS application like CRM.
- ✓
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Why this is correct
SaaS delivers fully functional applications over the internet, managed by the provider. Users access the CRM via a browser, the vendor handles all maintenance and updates, and billing is typically per-user per-month. This perfectly matches the scenario.
- ✗
Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
Why it's wrong here
DaaS provides virtual desktops hosted in the cloud. While the company could install CRM on those desktops, it still requires managing the desktop OS and applications. It does not provide a ready-to-use CRM application directly.
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