This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe cloud concepts. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which cloud deployment model combines on-premises infrastructure with public cloud resources, allowing data and applications to be shared between them?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Hybrid cloud
Option C is correct because a hybrid cloud deployment model explicitly combines on-premises infrastructure (private cloud or local datacenter) with public cloud resources, enabling data and application portability through technologies like VPNs, dedicated interconnects, or orchestration tools. This model allows workloads to burst to the public cloud during peak demand while keeping sensitive data on-premises, fulfilling the scenario described in the question.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Public cloud
Why it's wrong here
Public cloud is entirely hosted by a third-party provider — it doesn't include on-premises components.
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Private cloud
Why it's wrong here
Private cloud is dedicated to one organization and typically doesn't combine public cloud resources.
✓
Hybrid cloud
Why this is correct
Hybrid cloud integrates on-premises infrastructure with public cloud resources, allowing workloads to move between them.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Community cloud
Why it's wrong here
Community cloud is shared among organizations with common interests — it doesn't describe on-premises + public cloud integration.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse hybrid cloud with 'public cloud' or 'private cloud' because they assume any cloud usage with on-premises is hybrid, but hybrid specifically requires integrated orchestration and data sharing between both environments, not just separate usage.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, hybrid cloud relies on network connectivity such as Azure ExpressRoute or AWS Direct Connect for private, low-latency links between on-premises and cloud, or site-to-site VPNs using IPsec. Orchestration tools like Azure Arc or AWS Outposts extend management planes across environments, enabling unified policy and identity (e.g., Azure AD). A real-world scenario is a financial institution running core transaction processing on-premises for latency and compliance, while using Azure for analytics and disaster recovery burst capacity.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-900 question in full detail.
Describe cloud concepts — This question tests Describe cloud concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Hybrid cloud — Option C is correct because a hybrid cloud deployment model explicitly combines on-premises infrastructure (private cloud or local datacenter) with public cloud resources, enabling data and application portability through technologies like VPNs, dedicated interconnects, or orchestration tools. This model allows workloads to burst to the public cloud during peak demand while keeping sensitive data on-premises, fulfilling the scenario described in the question.
What should I do if I get this AZ-900 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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