A financial services company has an on-premises data center that houses sensitive customer data. Regulatory requirements mandate that this data cannot be stored or processed outside the company's physical premises. However, the company wants to take advantage of cloud computing for compute-intensive risk analysis workloads that process anonymized subsets of the data. The company also needs to maintain a consistent management and security posture across both environments. Which cloud deployment model should the company adopt?
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.
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Public cloud
A public cloud model would move all workloads, including sensitive data, to the cloud provider's infrastructure. This would violate the regulatory requirement that prohibits storing or processing customer data outside the company's physical premises.
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Private cloud
A private cloud model keeps everything on-premises, which satisfies the data residency requirement but does not allow the company to take advantage of cloud computing for its compute-intensive workloads. The goal is to use public cloud for some workloads, so private cloud alone is insufficient.
Best answer
Hybrid cloud
A hybrid cloud model combines a private cloud (on-premises) with a public cloud. The company can keep sensitive customer data on-premises while running compute-intensive risk analysis workloads in the public cloud. This meets regulatory requirements and allows the company to benefit from cloud scalability and cost-efficiency.
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Community cloud
A community cloud is designed for multiple organizations with shared concerns (e.g., compliance, security) and is not specific to a single organization's regulatory data residency needs. It does not inherently allow for keeping data on-premises while using public cloud for other workloads.
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
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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: Hybrid cloud — A hybrid cloud model combines a private cloud (on-premises infrastructure) with a public cloud. In this scenario, the sensitive customer data remains on-premises to meet regulatory requirements, while the compute-intensive risk analysis workloads can run in the public cloud using anonymized data. This allows the company to benefit from the scalability and cost-efficiency of the public cloud while keeping sensitive data within its own controlled environment. Azure Arc can help provide consistent management across both on-premises and cloud environments, but the fundamental deployment model is hybrid. Private cloud would require all resources to be on-premises, missing the benefits of public cloud. Public cloud would violate data residency rules. Community cloud is for multiple organizations with shared concerns, not relevant here.
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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