AZ-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question
Which cloud model is MOST appropriate for an organization that needs complete control over their infrastructure and cannot share resources with other organizations due to regulatory requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse 'hybrid cloud' with 'private cloud' because hybrid includes a private component, but the question explicitly requires no resource sharing, which hybrid fails due to its public cloud integration.
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
✓
Private cloud
A private cloud is dedicated to a single organization, providing complete control over infrastructure and ensuring no resource sharing with other tenants. This model meets regulatory requirements that mandate data isolation and compliance, as the organization can configure security policies, network segmentation, and access controls without multi-tenant risks.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Public cloud
Why it's wrong here
Public cloud services run on a provider's shared infrastructure, where compute, storage, and networking resources are pooled and dynamically assigned to multiple tenants. While logical isolation mechanisms like virtual machines and virtual networks exist, the physical hardware is still multi-tenant. For a requirement that explicitly forbids any shared resources, this inherent multi-tenancy makes public cloud non-compliant.
- ✗
Hybrid cloud
Why it's wrong here
Hybrid cloud combines an organization's on-premises datacenter with public cloud services, often for burst capacity or specific workloads. Even if the majority of infrastructure is on-premises, any use of public cloud components means those parts run on the provider's shared, multi-tenant hardware. Because the requirement for no shared resources applies to the entire solution, hybrid cloud fails unless the public cloud portion is completely eliminated, which would negate the hybrid model.
- ✓
Private cloud
Why this is correct
A private cloud is built for the exclusive use of one organization, with dedicated physical servers, storage, and network infrastructure. It can be hosted on-premises or at a third-party facility, but in all cases the infrastructure is not shared with any other tenant. This singular tenancy directly satisfies regulatory mandates that require absolute isolation and no shared hardware.
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Multi-cloud
Why it's wrong here
Multi-cloud architecture intentionally distributes workloads across two or more public cloud providers, such as AWS and Azure, to avoid vendor lock-in or improve resilience. However, each provider's cloud is still a public, multi-tenant environment, meaning resources are shared among many customers. The use of multiple providers does not introduce exclusive infrastructure; it simply extends the same shared-resource model across different vendors.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
What is Cloud Computing?
Key term
Private cloud
A private cloud is a cloud computing environment that is used exclusively by a single organization, offering the benefits of cloud services — like scalability and self-service — but with dedicated infrastructure that is not shared with any other company.
Key term
Security
Security in IT is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, damage, or theft.
About these practice questions
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JA
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.