Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company currently runs its IT operations entirely on-premises. The finance team is evaluating moving to Azure and wants to understand the financial impact. They currently purchase new servers every five years as a large upfront capital expenditure (CapEx). In Azure, they would pay a fixed monthly subscription for virtual machines instead. This shift from a large upfront payment to a smaller monthly operational expense (OpEx) is a direct illustration of which cloud computing benefit?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Elasticity
Incorrect. Elasticity is the ability to automatically provision and de-provision resources to match demand. While it can impact cost, it does not directly describe the shift from CapEx to OpEx.
B
Distractor review
High availability
Incorrect. High availability refers to ensuring applications remain operational despite component failures (e.g., via redundancy across multiple servers or data centers). It does not address the financial model of paying for resources.
C
Distractor review
Predictable performance
Incorrect. Predictable performance means that resources deliver consistent throughput and latency, often guaranteed by service-level agreements. It is not related to the financial shift from CapEx to OpEx.
D
Best answer
Consumption-based pricing (OpEx model)
Correct. Cloud computing enables a consumption-based (pay-as-you-go) pricing model, where organizations pay only for the resources they use on a recurring basis (OpEx) instead of making large upfront purchases (CapEx). This is a fundamental financial benefit of cloud adoption.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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.
Related practice questions
Related AZ-900 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A developer is building a serverless application that requires integration with an on-premises SQL Server database for real-time data processing. The on-premises network is connected to Azure via a site-to-site VPN. Which Azure service would allow the function to securely access the on-premises database without exposing it to the public internet?
Question 2
A solutions architect is designing a storage solution for a large media company. The company needs to store video files that are accessed infrequently but must be retained for several years for compliance. Which two Azure storage options meet these requirements? (Select two.)
Question 3
A company deploys a multi-tier application using Azure virtual machines. The web tier VMs must be evenly distributed across two distinct data centers within an Azure region to avoid a single point of failure from an infrastructure outage. Which Azure construct should they use to meet this requirement?
Question 4
A company wants to enforce a set of security policies across all their Azure subscriptions. They have created several individual policy definitions. Which Azure construct should they use to group these policies together and assign them as a single package?
Question 5
A company deploys a line-of-business application on an Azure virtual machine. The IT team wants to ensure the application remains secure. According to the shared responsibility model, which of the following security tasks is the sole responsibility of the customer (the company)?
Question 6
A company develops a web API that runs on Azure App Service. The development team wants to deploy a new version of the API to a staging environment, run integration tests against it, and then gradually shift production traffic to the new version. If any issues are detected, they want to immediately roll back to the previous version without redeploying. Which Azure App Service feature should the team use to meet these requirements?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-900 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Consumption-based pricing (OpEx model) — Cloud computing shifts spending from capital expenditure (CapEx), such as purchasing hardware, to operational expenditure (OpEx), such as monthly subscription fees. This pay-as-you-go model (consumption-based pricing) allows organizations to avoid large upfront investments, improve cash flow, and align costs with actual usage. Elasticity refers to the ability to scale resources up or down automatically. High availability refers to system uptime and fault tolerance. Predictable performance is not a primary financial benefit of the cloud.
What should I do if I get this AZ-900 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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