- A
Shared generic accounts for each department.
Why wrong: Shared accounts reduce accountability and make it difficult to trace individual user activity.
- B
Federated single sign-on with a central identity provider.
This is the best choice because a central identity provider can authenticate the user once and then issue trusted access to multiple SaaS applications. It reduces password sprawl, simplifies account provisioning, and supports faster deprovisioning when an employee leaves. Federation also improves control because the business can manage identity from one place.
- C
A separate username and password database in every SaaS application.
Why wrong: This increases password fatigue and creates more administrative overhead for onboarding, offboarding, and password resets.
- D
A site-to-site VPN for every SaaS vendor.
Why wrong: VPNs can protect network paths, but they do not solve user authentication across multiple cloud applications.
SY0-701 Security Architecture Practice Question
This SY0-701 practice question tests your understanding of security architecture. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company uses several SaaS applications and wants employees to sign in once with a corporate account instead of maintaining separate passwords for each app. Which architecture is best?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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
Federated single sign-on with a central identity provider.
Federated single sign-on (SSO) with a central identity provider (IdP) allows users to authenticate once using their corporate account (e.g., via SAML 2.0 or OIDC) and then access multiple SaaS applications without re-entering credentials. The IdP issues a token that each SaaS app trusts, eliminating the need for separate passwords while maintaining centralized control over authentication policies.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Shared generic accounts for each department.
Why it's wrong here
Shared accounts reduce accountability and make it difficult to trace individual user activity.
- ✓
Federated single sign-on with a central identity provider.
Why this is correct
This is the best choice because a central identity provider can authenticate the user once and then issue trusted access to multiple SaaS applications. It reduces password sprawl, simplifies account provisioning, and supports faster deprovisioning when an employee leaves. Federation also improves control because the business can manage identity from one place.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
A separate username and password database in every SaaS application.
Why it's wrong here
This increases password fatigue and creates more administrative overhead for onboarding, offboarding, and password resets.
- ✗
A site-to-site VPN for every SaaS vendor.
Why it's wrong here
VPNs can protect network paths, but they do not solve user authentication across multiple cloud applications.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse network-level VPN connectivity with identity-level federation, assuming a VPN can provide SSO, when in fact VPNs only secure the transport layer and do not address authentication across separate application domains.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, federated SSO relies on standards like SAML 2.0 or OpenID Connect (OIDC). The IdP generates a signed assertion (SAML) or ID token (JWT in OIDC) containing the user's identity and attributes, which the SaaS app (service provider) validates using the IdP's public key. A real-world scenario: if the IdP enforces multi-factor authentication (MFA) once, all federated apps inherit that policy, but the session timeout must be carefully configured to avoid requiring re-authentication too frequently or leaving sessions open too long.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A security analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SY0-701 question test?
Security Architecture — This question tests Security Architecture — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Federated single sign-on with a central identity provider. — Federated single sign-on (SSO) with a central identity provider (IdP) allows users to authenticate once using their corporate account (e.g., via SAML 2.0 or OIDC) and then access multiple SaaS applications without re-entering credentials. The IdP issues a token that each SaaS app trusts, eliminating the need for separate passwords while maintaining centralized control over authentication policies.
What should I do if I get this SY0-701 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This SY0-701 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 SY0-701 exam.
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