AZ-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question
A company wants to run some applications in its own on-premises datacenter for compliance reasons, while also using cloud services for burst capacity and development/testing. Which cloud deployment model should they adopt?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse 'hybrid cloud' with 'private cloud' because both involve on-premises infrastructure, but hybrid cloud explicitly requires integration with a public cloud for scenarios like burst capacity and dev/test.
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
✓
Hybrid cloud
The hybrid cloud model is correct because it combines on-premises infrastructure (private cloud) with public cloud services, enabling the company to keep sensitive applications in its own datacenter for compliance while using the public cloud for burst capacity and development/testing. This directly matches the scenario's requirement for a unified environment that spans both local and cloud resources.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Private cloud
Why it's wrong here
A private cloud is a cloud environment dedicated exclusively to one organization, and it may be hosted in the organization's own datacenter; this matches the on-premises portion. However, the key point is that private cloud does not inherently include resources from a third-party public cloud provider. Since the question specifically involves using both on-premises infrastructure and public cloud, private cloud alone fails to account for the public cloud component.
When this WOULD be correct
A company must run all workloads in its own datacenter due to strict regulatory requirements and does not need cloud bursting or external development/testing environments.
- ✗
Public cloud
Why it's wrong here
The public cloud model means resources like compute, storage, and networking are owned and completely managed by the cloud provider, and you access them over the internet. There is no on-premises datacenter involved, so if a company wants to run a portion of its applications in its own facility, a pure public deployment cannot satisfy that requirement. Thus public cloud alone is wrong for this mixed scenario.
When this WOULD be correct
A company wants to run all its applications and services on third-party cloud provider infrastructure, with no on-premises datacenter, and needs to scale resources quickly without capital expenditure.
- ✓
Hybrid cloud
Why this is correct
Hybrid cloud is an environment that explicitly combines your own on-premises infrastructure with public cloud services, linked by networking to operate as a single IT landscape. This lets you keep certain workloads or sensitive data in your own datacenter while using public cloud for elasticity, disaster recovery, or development. Because the scenario calls for running some apps on-premises and others in the cloud, hybrid is the correct deployment model.
- ✗
Community cloud
Why it's wrong here
A community cloud is a shared infrastructure built for a group of organizations that have overlapping compliance, security, or industry requirements, such as government agencies or healthcare institutions. It is not defined by a mix of on-premises and public cloud; rather, it is a third option where multiple tenants share a cloud platform. Because the requirement is about combining your own datacenter with public cloud, community cloud does not match the architecture described.
When this WOULD be correct
A question might ask: 'Several hospitals in a region need to share patient data while meeting strict regulatory requirements. Which cloud deployment model should they adopt?' In that case, community cloud would be correct.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The AZ-900 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Hybrid cloudCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Hybrid cloud is an environment that explicitly combines your own on-premises infrastructure with public cloud services, linked by networking to operate as a single IT landscape. This lets you keep certain workloads or sensitive data in your own datacenter while using public cloud for elasticity, disaster recovery, or development. Because the scenario calls for running some apps on-premises and others in the cloud, hybrid is the correct deployment model.
✗Private cloudWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A private cloud is used exclusively by a single organization, typically on-premises, and does not integrate with public cloud services for burst capacity or development/testing, which the question requires.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company must run all workloads in its own datacenter due to strict regulatory requirements and does not need cloud bursting or external development/testing environments.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think 'private cloud' fits because the company has on-premises compliance needs, overlooking the requirement for cloud services for burst capacity and dev/test.
✗Public cloudWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A public cloud model does not include on-premises infrastructure, so it cannot meet the compliance requirement for running applications in the company's own datacenter.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company wants to run all its applications and services on third-party cloud provider infrastructure, with no on-premises datacenter, and needs to scale resources quickly without capital expenditure.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think public cloud is the only option for burst capacity and development/testing, overlooking the need for on-premises compliance.
✗Community cloudWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A community cloud is shared by several organizations with common concerns (e.g., compliance, security), but the question specifies a single company using its own on-premises datacenter plus public cloud services, which is a hybrid cloud scenario.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question might ask: 'Several hospitals in a region need to share patient data while meeting strict regulatory requirements. Which cloud deployment model should they adopt?' In that case, community cloud would be correct.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'community' with 'hybrid' because both involve multiple environments, or they might think the compliance requirement implies a shared community model rather than a hybrid one.
Analysis generated from the official AZ-900blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
What is Cloud Computing?
Key term
Environment
An environment is a dedicated set of computing resources, configurations, and services used to develop, test, or host software applications in a controlled and repeatable way.
Key term
Hybrid cloud
A hybrid cloud is a computing environment that combines a private cloud (on-premises infrastructure) with one or more public cloud services, allowing data and applications to be shared between them.
About these practice questions
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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.