AZ-900 Describe Azure management and governance 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.

• ✗

  Storing all data on physical servers in the customer's own building

  Why it's wrong here

  Keeping all data on physical servers in the customer's own building describes on-premises or traditional IT infrastructure, not cloud computing. Cloud services are typically hosted in provider-managed data centers, accessed over the internet, and billed on a pay-per-use basis. While a private cloud can exist on-premises, it still relies on virtualization, self-service provisioning, and automated management — simply storing data on physical servers without these capabilities is the opposite of cloud computing.

• ✓

  Delivery of computing services over the internet with flexible, pay-as-you-go pricing

  Why this is correct

  This is the correct definition of cloud computing. It delivers a broad set of computing resources — including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence — over the internet, with consumption-based pricing that lets you pay only for what you use. The provider manages underlying infrastructure while customers gain on-demand scalability and rapid provisioning, which are key characteristics that distinguish cloud from traditional IT.

• ✗

  Using only virtual machines in a third-party data center

  Why it's wrong here

  Virtual machines in a third-party data center are a narrow example of IaaS, but cloud computing goes well beyond VMs. Modern public clouds also provide managed databases, containers, serverless compute, AI/machine learning services, analytics, and SaaS applications delivered over the internet. Additionally, a third-party data center could simply be a colocation facility where you own and manage the hardware — that is not cloud unless it offers on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service.

• ✗

  A type of software that runs in web browsers without installation

  Why it's wrong here

  This option describes software-as-a-service (SaaS), such as webmail or Office 365, where the application runs in a browser and requires no local install. However, cloud computing encompasses far more than SaaS — it also includes infrastructure (IaaS), platforms (PaaS), serverless functions, storage, and databases. Moreover, browser-based software can technically run on on-premises servers, so this option captures neither the full service spectrum nor the internet-delivered, consumption-based model that defines cloud computing.

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