AZ-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  The customer manages everything including hardware and networking

  Why it's wrong here

  This option incorrectly assigns the full management burden to the customer, which describes on-premises data center operations rather than any cloud service model. In PaaS, the provider owns the physical hardware, networking, and virtualization layer, so the customer never handles racking servers, cabling, or maintaining network switches. Even in IaaS, the provider manages the physical infrastructure, so this statement would be wrong for every cloud deployment model except a private on-premises environment.

• ✓

  The provider manages hardware and OS while customers manage their applications and data

  Why this is correct

  This is the correct definition of Platform as a Service (PaaS). The provider manages the underlying hardware, hypervisor, operating system, middleware, and runtime environment, while the customer is responsible for developing, deploying, and managing their applications and the data those applications use. This division of responsibility lets developers focus on code and business logic without worrying about OS patching, load balancing, or server maintenance, which is the core value proposition of PaaS offerings such as Azure App Service or Azure SQL Database.

• ✗

  The customer accesses a complete application managed entirely by the provider

  Why it's wrong here

  This option describes Software as a Service (SaaS), not PaaS, because it implies the customer consumes a ready-made application without any development or management responsibility. In SaaS, the provider manages the entire application stack, including the software itself, data, middleware, and infrastructure. In contrast, PaaS provides a platform where the customer builds and runs their own applications; the provider does not supply the application logic, so the customer retains control over application code, configuration, and data.

• ✗

  The provider manages physical servers while customers manage OS and applications

  Why it's wrong here

  This option is the definition of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), where the provider only manages physical servers, storage, and networking while the customer must install, configure, and maintain the operating system and all applications. In PaaS, the provider manages the OS as well, along with the runtime and middleware, so the customer is relieved of OS-level tasks like patching and security updates. Thus, this answer underestimates the provider's responsibility in PaaS and overestimates the customer's management duties.