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.

• ✗

  A model where customers manage their own virtual machines and applications

  Why it's wrong here

  This description matches Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), not SaaS. With IaaS, the provider supplies virtual machines, storage, and networking, but the customer remains responsible for deploying and managing the guest OS, any runtime software, and the applications running on top. The user must handle patching, security, scaling based on demand, and high availability—none of which apply to SaaS, where the provider already manages the application stack. Thus, this option incorrectly assigns management duties that belong to the customer in IaaS to the SaaS model.

• ✓

  A model where the provider delivers complete software applications managed entirely by the provider

  Why this is correct

  In Software as a Service (SaaS), the cloud provider manages the entire application lifecycle, including the underlying infrastructure, operating system, middleware, runtime, data, and application code itself. Users access the software via a web browser or client interface, paying a subscription or consumption-based fee without ever handling installation, patching, upgrades, or capacity scaling. Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Outlook are canonical examples. This model shifts virtually all operational responsibility—from physical hardware to application logic—to the provider, leaving the customer with only configuration and data entry.

• ✗

  A model where customers deploy their code on provider-managed platforms

  Why it's wrong here

  This description aligns with Platform as a Service (PaaS), not SaaS. In PaaS, the provider manages the underlying infrastructure and platform components (e.g., operating system, runtime, database, and middleware), but the customer still writes and deploys their own application code onto that platform. The user retains control over the deployed application and its configuration, whereas in SaaS the application itself is pre-built, managed, and delivered by the provider—so customers only consume the finished software without developing or deploying code.

• ✗

  A model where customers rent physical hardware from the provider

  Why it's wrong here

  Renting physical hardware from the provider is not SaaS; it resembles colocation or using dedicated hosts in IaaS. Under this model, the customer leases bare-metal servers and retains full control over the hardware, operating system, and applications, while the provider typically only supplies power, cooling, and physical security. In contrast, SaaS abstracts away even the existence of hardware, presenting a managed application to the user. Because this option focuses on raw infrastructure rather than fully managed application delivery, it does not define SaaS.

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