CCSP Cloud Concepts, Architecture, and Design Practice Question
A startup wants to deploy a customer relationship management (CRM) application without managing any servers, operating systems, or middleware. The vendor hosts the application, and the startup's administrators only create user accounts and configure settings through a web interface. Which cloud service category is being used?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is equating any cloud-hosted application with PaaS, when PaaS still requires the customer to deploy and manage its own application code.
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 clue is that the provider hosts the entire application and the customer only manages users and configuration. That is the SaaS model, where the provider owns the application, runtime, middleware, operating system, and infrastructure. IaaS and PaaS leave more layers under customer control, and FaaS is a developer-oriented serverless compute service rather than a finished business application.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Why this is correct
SaaS delivers a complete, provider-managed application accessed over the network, with the customer responsible only for user administration and configuration. The startup's administrators create accounts and adjust settings through a web interface, exactly matching the SaaS consumption model where no server, OS, or middleware management is performed.
- ✗
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Why it's wrong here
IaaS provides virtualized compute, storage, and networking on which the customer installs and manages operating systems, middleware, and applications. Because the startup manages none of those layers and only configures settings in a hosted application, IaaS does not describe this arrangement and would impose far more administrative responsibility.
- ✗
Function as a Service (FaaS)
Why it's wrong here
FaaS runs individual event-triggered functions and is a serverless compute model used by developers to execute code without provisioning servers. The scenario describes an end-user CRM application configured through a web interface, not discrete functions invoked by events, so FaaS mischaracterizes both the workload and the administrative role.
- ✗
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Why it's wrong here
PaaS supplies a managed runtime and development environment where customers deploy their own code but do not manage servers or operating systems. The startup here is not deploying its own application code; it is consuming a finished vendor-hosted CRM application, so PaaS overstates the startup's development and deployment role.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This CCSP question is part of Courseiva's 934-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISC2 exam blueprint
This CCSP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CCSP exam.