DP-203 Design and implement data storage Practice Question
A healthcare organization needs to store electronic health records (EHR) in a format that supports schema flexibility and complex nested data. The solution must allow fast queries by patient ID and enable analytics with Azure Synapse. Which data store should you choose?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often choose Azure SQL Database with JSON columns (Option D) because they assume relational databases can handle JSON, but they overlook the requirement for schema flexibility and native analytical store integration, which Cosmos DB with analytical store uniquely provides for hybrid transactional/analytical processing (HTAP) workloads.
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 Cosmos DB with analytical store enabled
Azure Cosmos DB with analytical store enabled is the correct choice because it provides schema flexibility for complex nested EHR data, supports fast point reads by patient ID via its indexed partition key, and the analytical store enables efficient analytics with Azure Synapse through the Synapse Link feature, which automatically synchronizes operational data into a columnar format optimized for large-scale queries.
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 Table Storage
Why it's wrong here
Table Storage is a key-value store with limited query capabilities.
- ✗
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 with files in JSON format
Why it's wrong here
File-level storage requires compute to parse JSON, increasing latency.
- ✓
Azure Cosmos DB with analytical store enabled
Why this is correct
Cosmos DB provides schema flexibility, nested data support, and Synapse integration for analytics.
- ✗
Azure SQL Database with JSON columns
Why it's wrong here
JSON columns are possible but not as flexible as a native document database.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 760 original DP-203 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DP-203 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 DP-203 exam.