220-1101 Virtualization and Cloud Computing Practice Question
A company wants to move its email system to the cloud. The cloud vendor provides the email service, including server hardware, operating system, and software. The company only needs to manage user accounts and mailboxes. Which cloud service model is the vendor providing?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse PaaS with SaaS because both involve the provider managing the platform, but PaaS requires the customer to deploy and manage their own application code, whereas SaaS delivers a fully functional application like email.
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 vendor provides the entire email service, including server hardware, operating system, and software, while the company only manages user accounts and mailboxes. This matches the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, where the provider delivers a complete application over the internet, and the customer has no control over the underlying infrastructure or platform.
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 supplies only virtualized compute, storage, and networking, leaving the customer to deploy and patch the OS, middleware, and email server software (e.g., Microsoft Exchange). With an IaaS approach, migrating email to the cloud still requires you to handle configuration, backups, and mailbox management, so it does not offload the email service administration itself.
- ✗
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Why it's wrong here
PaaS provides a managed application platform—runtime, middleware, databases, and deployment tools—intended for building custom software, not for hosting ready-made business applications. With PaaS, you would need to write or manually integrate an email server (such as Postfix or Exchange) and manage all email data and processing logic, which is not a turnkey cloud email solution.
When this WOULD be correct
A company wants to develop a custom email application and needs a cloud environment with pre-configured servers, OS, and development tools, but will manage the application code and data. The vendor provides the platform, and the company handles the application development and deployment.
- ✓
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Why this is correct
SaaS delivers a fully functional, cloud-hosted email system (such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace) ready for immediate use. The vendor operates and maintains the underlying servers, software, storage, patches, and security, while the customer only manages user mailboxes, settings, and policies—making it the direct and correct option for moving an email system to the cloud.
- ✗
Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
Why it's wrong here
DaaS focuses on delivering virtualized remote desktops, typically including a full OS and endpoint apps, rather than providing a dedicated email service. To use email with DaaS, you would still need to install and manage email client or server software inside the virtual desktop image, so it does not offer the built-in, vendor-managed email functionality that SaaS does.
When this WOULD be correct
A company wants to provide remote virtual desktops to employees, with the vendor managing the virtual machines, OS, and applications, while the company manages user access and data.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The 220-1101 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Software as a Service (SaaS)Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
SaaS delivers a fully functional, cloud-hosted email system (such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace) ready for immediate use. The vendor operates and maintains the underlying servers, software, storage, patches, and security, while the customer only manages user mailboxes, settings, and policies—making it the direct and correct option for moving an email system to the cloud.
✗Platform as a Service (PaaS)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
PaaS provides a platform for developing and deploying applications, but the vendor here supplies the complete email application, not just a platform. The company only manages user accounts and mailboxes, which is characteristic of SaaS.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company wants to develop a custom email application and needs a cloud environment with pre-configured servers, OS, and development tools, but will manage the application code and data. The vendor provides the platform, and the company handles the application development and deployment.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse PaaS with SaaS because both involve managed services, but PaaS is for application development and deployment, not for ready-to-use applications like email.
✗Desktop as a Service (DaaS)Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) provides virtual desktops, not email services. The question specifies email system migration, not desktop virtualization.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company wants to provide remote virtual desktops to employees, with the vendor managing the virtual machines, OS, and applications, while the company manages user access and data.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse DaaS with SaaS because both involve cloud-delivered services, but DaaS specifically delivers desktop environments, not applications like email.
Analysis generated from the official 220-1101blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Desktop as a Service (DaaS)
Key term
Software as a Service
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a cloud computing model where users access software applications over the internet on a subscription basis, without installing or maintaining the software locally.
Key term
Operating system
An operating system (OS) is the core software that manages a computer's hardware and software resources, providing common services for computer programs.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1101 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 220-1101 exam.