AZ-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question
Which of the following is a characteristic of the public cloud deployment model?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse 'shared infrastructure' with 'shared data or access,' but public cloud multi-tenancy means the physical hardware is shared while logical isolation (via virtualization and network policies) ensures each tenant's resources and data remain private and secure.
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
✓
Infrastructure is owned by the provider and shared among multiple customers
In the public cloud deployment model, the cloud provider owns and manages the physical infrastructure (servers, storage, networking), and that infrastructure is shared among multiple customer organizations (tenants). This multi-tenant architecture is a defining characteristic, enabling economies of scale and on-demand resource allocation. Option C correctly identifies this shared, provider-owned model.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
All hardware is owned and managed by the customer
Why it's wrong here
In a public cloud model, the provider owns and manages all physical hardware, including servers, storage, and networking equipment, in its data centers. Customers never purchase or maintain hardware; instead, they provision virtual machines, services, and applications through an on-demand, self-service interface. Thus, saying all hardware is owned and managed by the customer directly contradicts the fundamental economics and operational model of public cloud computing.
- ✗
Resources are dedicated to a single customer organization
Why it's wrong here
Public cloud is inherently multi-tenant, meaning the same physical infrastructure is shared among many unrelated customers simultaneously, with logical isolation enforced through virtualization and access controls. If resources were dedicated to a single customer organization, that would describe a private cloud deployment, which can be on-premises or hosted by a third party but is exclusively used by one entity. Therefore, dedicating resources to a single organization mischaracterizes the shared, commodity nature of public cloud.
- ✓
Infrastructure is owned by the provider and shared among multiple customers
Why this is correct
Public cloud infrastructure is owned by the cloud provider, who operates massive data centers and sells access to a portion of those pooled resources to numerous customers. This multi-tenant sharing allows the provider to achieve high utilization and economies of scale, passing on cost savings to consumers who pay only for what they consume. Customers benefit from elastic scaling and reduced capital expenditure, since they do not own any of the underlying hardware. This is the defining characteristic of public cloud computing.
- ✗
Computing resources are hosted in the customer's own data center
Why it's wrong here
In a public cloud, computing resources are hosted in the provider's data centers, which are often distributed across multiple geographic regions for redundancy and low latency. The customer accesses these resources remotely via the internet, a VPN, or a dedicated private connection, and has no physical presence in or control over the data center environment. Hosting resources in the customer's own data center is an on-premises model, typically associated with a private cloud, not a public cloud.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
What is Cloud Computing?
Key term
Economies of scale
Economies of scale is the cost advantage that businesses get when production becomes more efficient as they grow larger, reducing the cost per unit.
Key term
Tenant
A dedicated and isolated instance of Microsoft Entra ID that an organization receives when signing up for a Microsoft cloud service.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft 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 AZ-900 exam.