Quick Answer
The answer is Azure Blob Storage immutable storage, which provides WORM (Write Once, Read Many) capabilities to enforce a retention policy that prevents modification or deletion for a specified period. This is correct because the immutable storage feature locks data at the storage level, ensuring that even administrators cannot alter or remove patient records during the 7-year compliance window, directly meeting regulatory requirements. On the DP-900 exam, this concept tests your understanding of data protection and compliance features within Azure Storage, often appearing in scenario-based questions about healthcare or financial regulations. A common trap is confusing immutable storage with soft delete or snapshots—soft delete only protects against accidental deletion but can be overridden, while immutable storage is a hard policy. Remember the mnemonic “WORM for WORM-like compliance” to recall that Write Once, Read Many is the core mechanism for meeting strict retention rules.
This DP-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe core data concepts. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 healthcare organization needs to store patient records that must be immutable and cannot be modified or deleted for 7 years due to regulatory compliance. Which Azure feature should they use?
Microsoft Purview
Why wrong: Data governance and catalog service, not immutability.
Azure Policy
Why wrong: Enforces compliance rules but does not make data immutable.
Azure Blob Storage immutable storage
Provides WORM (write once, read many) capability for compliance.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Why wrong: Security management, not immutability.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Azure Blob Storage immutable storage
Azure Blob Storage immutable storage is correct because it provides WORM (Write Once, Read Many) capabilities that prevent data from being modified or deleted for a specified retention period. This directly meets the regulatory requirement for patient records to remain immutable for 7 years, as the policy is enforced at the storage level and cannot be overridden by any user, including administrators.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Microsoft Purview
Why it's wrong here
Data governance and catalog service, not immutability.
Azure Policy
Why it's wrong here
Enforces compliance rules but does not make data immutable.
Azure Blob Storage immutable storage
Why this is correct
Provides WORM (write once, read many) capability for compliance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Why it's wrong here
Security management, not immutability.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse Azure Policy (which enforces resource-level compliance rules) with data-level immutability, but Azure Policy cannot prevent data modification within a blob—only Azure Blob Storage immutable storage provides that guarantee.
Detailed technical explanation
Azure Blob Storage immutable storage uses a time-based retention policy that locks blobs at the container level, and the retention period is measured in seconds from the time the policy is applied. Under the hood, the Azure Storage service enforces this by rejecting any PUT, DELETE, or overwrite operations on the blob until the retention interval expires, and even the storage account owner cannot bypass this without first removing the immutability policy (which itself requires a separate legal hold or explicit removal process). In a real-world scenario, healthcare organizations often combine immutable storage with legal holds for indefinite retention during active litigation.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Describe core data concepts — This question tests Describe core data concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Azure Blob Storage immutable storage — Azure Blob Storage immutable storage is correct because it provides WORM (Write Once, Read Many) capabilities that prevent data from being modified or deleted for a specified retention period. This directly meets the regulatory requirement for patient records to remain immutable for 7 years, as the policy is enforced at the storage level and cannot be overridden by any user, including administrators.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Same concept, more angles
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A healthcare organization must store patient health records for 7 years to meet regulatory requirements. After 7 years, data must be deleted immediately. They use Azure Blob Storage. Which policy should they implement?
hardWhy D: A time-based retention policy (immutability policy) in Azure Blob Storage ensures that blobs are stored in a WORM (Write Once, Read Many) state for a specified period, preventing modification or deletion. After the retention period expires, the data can be deleted immediately, meeting the 7-year regulatory requirement. This policy is designed specifically for compliance scenarios where data must be preserved for a fixed duration and then removed.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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