- A
Public cloud
Why wrong: Incorrect. A public cloud model would host all workloads in Azure, but here the hospital keeps patient records on-premises, so this is not a pure public cloud deployment.
- B
Private cloud
Why wrong: Incorrect. A private cloud is dedicated to a single organization and can be on-premises or hosted. However, in this scenario, the hospital also uses Azure (a public cloud), so the overall model is hybrid, not purely private.
- C
Hybrid cloud
Correct. The hospital uses both on-premises infrastructure (for sensitive patient data) and public cloud services (Azure for analytics). This integration of on-premises and public cloud resources is the definition of a hybrid cloud deployment.
- D
Community cloud
Why wrong: Incorrect. A community cloud is shared by several organizations with common concerns (e.g., compliance). This scenario involves only a single organization using both on-premises and public cloud, not a multi-organization shared cloud.
AZ-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question
This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe cloud concepts. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
A hospital maintains its patient records on physical servers located within its own on-premises data center due to strict data residency regulations that prohibit patient data from leaving the country. For analytical workloads that process only anonymized data, the hospital uses Azure virtual machines and Azure Synapse Analytics. This combination of on-premises and cloud resources best describes which cloud deployment model?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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 hospital uses a combination of on-premises physical servers (for patient records due to data residency regulations) and Azure cloud resources (VMs and Synapse Analytics for anonymized data analytics). This integration of on-premises and public cloud services is the defining characteristic of a hybrid cloud deployment model, as it allows workloads to span both environments while maintaining compliance.
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.
- ✗
Public cloud
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. A public cloud model would host all workloads in Azure, but here the hospital keeps patient records on-premises, so this is not a pure public cloud deployment.
- ✗
Private cloud
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. A private cloud is dedicated to a single organization and can be on-premises or hosted. However, in this scenario, the hospital also uses Azure (a public cloud), so the overall model is hybrid, not purely private.
- ✓
Hybrid cloud
Why this is correct
Correct. The hospital uses both on-premises infrastructure (for sensitive patient data) and public cloud services (Azure for analytics). This integration of on-premises and public cloud resources is the definition of a hybrid cloud deployment.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Community cloud
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. A community cloud is shared by several organizations with common concerns (e.g., compliance). This scenario involves only a single organization using both on-premises and public cloud, not a multi-organization shared cloud.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may mistakenly choose 'private cloud' because they associate on-premises infrastructure with private cloud, but the use of Azure public cloud services for analytics makes this a hybrid cloud, not a private cloud.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Incorrect. A private cloud is dedicated to a single organization and can be on-premises or hosted. However, in this scenario, the hospital also uses Azure (a public cloud), so the overall model is hybrid, not purely private.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Hybrid cloud often relies on technologies like Azure ExpressRoute or VPN gateways to establish secure, low-latency connectivity between on-premises networks and Azure virtual networks, enabling seamless data flow and identity integration via Azure AD. In this scenario, the hospital could use Azure Site Recovery or Azure Arc to manage and govern resources across both environments, ensuring that sensitive patient data never leaves the on-premises boundary while anonymized data can be processed in Azure Synapse Analytics for scalable analytics.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Describe cloud concepts — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-900 question test?
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 — The hospital uses a combination of on-premises physical servers (for patient records due to data residency regulations) and Azure cloud resources (VMs and Synapse Analytics for anonymized data analytics). This integration of on-premises and public cloud services is the defining characteristic of a hybrid cloud deployment model, as it allows workloads to span both environments while maintaining compliance.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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