- A
Azure Policy
Azure Policy can be assigned at a management group or subscription level to audit and automatically enforce compliance rules. It includes built-in policies for storage encryption with customer-managed keys and can perform automatic remediation. This is the correct choice because it allows centralized governance across multiple subscriptions.
- B
Azure Blueprints
Why wrong: Azure Blueprints are used to define a repeatable set of Azure resources and policies that adhere to organizational standards. However, they are primarily used for deploying new environments, not for continuously evaluating or enforcing compliance on existing resources. They are not the best fit for ongoing compliance monitoring and automatic remediation.
- C
Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Why wrong: Azure RBAC manages who can perform actions on Azure resources. It controls permissions but does not enforce resource configuration such as encryption settings. RBAC cannot automatically remediate non-compliant storage accounts or audit encryption status.
- D
Azure Security Center (Microsoft Defender for Cloud)
Why wrong: Azure Security Center provides security recommendations and threat detection, including identifying storage accounts without encryption. However, it does not automatically enforce or remediate configurations. To enable automatic enforcement and remediation, you would need to integrate with Azure Policy, making Azure Policy the primary service for this requirement.
Quick Answer
The answer is Azure Policy, specifically using the DeployIfNotExists effect for automatic remediation. This is correct because Azure Policy allows you to define a single policy assignment that enforces encryption at rest with customer-managed keys across all subscriptions, evaluating both existing and new storage accounts. The DeployIfNotExists effect goes beyond simple auditing by automatically triggering a remediation task to enable CMK encryption on any non-compliant resource without manual intervention, making it the only centralized feature that combines compliance evaluation with automated remediation. On the AZ-900 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Azure Policy’s governance role versus Azure RBAC (which controls access, not configuration) or Azure Blueprints (which packages multiple resources). A common trap is confusing DeployIfNotExists with the simpler Deny effect, which only blocks non-compliant resources but cannot fix existing ones. Remember the memory tip: “DeployIfNotExists fixes what’s broken; Deny just locks the door.”
AZ-900 Describe Azure management and governance Practice Question
This AZ-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe azure management and governance. 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. A key principle to apply: azure Policy enforces organizational standards and assesses compliance.. 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 company has multiple Azure subscriptions used by different departments. The security team wants to enforce a requirement that all Azure Storage accounts in every subscription must be encrypted at rest using customer-managed keys (CMK). The solution must automatically evaluate existing and new storage accounts for compliance, and it must be able to automatically remediate non-compliant resources by enabling CMK encryption. The team wants to use a single, centralized Azure feature that can be assigned once and apply to all subscriptions. Which Azure feature should they use?
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
Azure Policy
Azure Policy is the correct choice because it can enforce organizational standards and assess compliance across all Azure subscriptions from a single assignment. By using a built-in or custom policy definition that requires storage accounts to use customer-managed keys (CMK) for encryption at rest, Azure Policy can automatically evaluate both existing and new storage accounts. With the 'DeployIfNotExists' effect, it can also trigger remediation tasks to enable CMK encryption on non-compliant resources without manual intervention.
Key principle: Azure Policy enforces organizational standards and assesses compliance.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Azure Policy
Why this is correct
Azure Policy can be assigned at a management group or subscription level to audit and automatically enforce compliance rules. It includes built-in policies for storage encryption with customer-managed keys and can perform automatic remediation. This is the correct choice because it allows centralized governance across multiple subscriptions.
Related concept
Azure Policy enforces organizational standards and assesses compliance.
- ✗
Azure Blueprints
Why it's wrong here
Azure Blueprints are used to define a repeatable set of Azure resources and policies that adhere to organizational standards. However, they are primarily used for deploying new environments, not for continuously evaluating or enforcing compliance on existing resources. They are not the best fit for ongoing compliance monitoring and automatic remediation.
- ✗
Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Why it's wrong here
Azure RBAC manages who can perform actions on Azure resources. It controls permissions but does not enforce resource configuration such as encryption settings. RBAC cannot automatically remediate non-compliant storage accounts or audit encryption status.
- ✗
Azure Security Center (Microsoft Defender for Cloud)
Why it's wrong here
Azure Security Center provides security recommendations and threat detection, including identifying storage accounts without encryption. However, it does not automatically enforce or remediate configurations. To enable automatic enforcement and remediation, you would need to integrate with Azure Policy, making Azure Policy the primary service for this requirement.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing Azure Policy's continuous compliance enforcement and remediation capabilities with Azure Blueprints' deployment-time orchestration, leading candidates to choose Blueprints because they think 'assign once and apply to all subscriptions' implies a template-based approach.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Azure Policy works by evaluating resource properties against policy rules using the Azure Resource Manager REST API; the 'DeployIfNotExists' effect triggers a remediation task that runs a linked ARM template or Azure function to enable CMK on storage accounts. Under the hood, Azure Policy uses a compliance engine that scans resources every 24 hours or on configuration changes, and remediation tasks are executed asynchronously via managed identities. A real-world scenario is a financial institution that must enforce CMK for all storage accounts to meet regulatory requirements like GDPR or PCI DSS, where Azure Policy ensures continuous compliance without manual audits.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Azure Policy enforces organizational standards and assesses compliance.
- Policies can audit, deny, and automatically remediate non-compliant resources.
- Policy assignments can be scoped to management groups, subscriptions, or resource groups.
- Built-in policies exist for enforcing storage encryption with customer-managed keys (CMK).
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
Azure Policy enforces organizational standards and assesses compliance.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review azure Policy enforces organizational standards and assesses compliance., then practise related AZ-900 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this AZ-900 question test?
Describe Azure management and governance — This question tests Describe Azure management and governance — Azure Policy enforces organizational standards and assesses compliance..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Azure Policy — Azure Policy is the correct choice because it can enforce organizational standards and assess compliance across all Azure subscriptions from a single assignment. By using a built-in or custom policy definition that requires storage accounts to use customer-managed keys (CMK) for encryption at rest, Azure Policy can automatically evaluate both existing and new storage accounts. With the 'DeployIfNotExists' effect, it can also trigger remediation tasks to enable CMK encryption on non-compliant resources without manual intervention.
What should I do if I get this AZ-900 question wrong?
Review azure Policy enforces organizational standards and assesses compliance., then practise related AZ-900 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Azure Policy enforces organizational standards and assesses compliance.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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