MS-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question
During requirements gathering, an IT manager says the organization must let users provision resources from a portal without provider interaction. Cloud concept or benefit best matches this requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse a specific Microsoft 365 feature (like Planner or sensitivity labels) with a fundamental cloud computing characteristic, or mistakenly think DLP is a provisioning mechanism, when the question explicitly tests the NIST definition of on-demand self-service.
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
✓
On-demand self-service
On-demand self-service is a core NIST-defined characteristic of cloud computing that allows users to provision computing resources—such as virtual machines, storage, or network capacity—automatically through a web portal or API without requiring human interaction from the service provider. This directly matches the IT manager's requirement for users to provision resources from a portal without provider interaction, making option A correct.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
On-demand self-service
Why this is correct
On-demand self-service lets users provision resources themselves through a portal or API without requiring interaction from the service provider. This precisely matches the IT manager's requirement that users obtain resources from a portal without provider involvement.
- ✗
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Why it's wrong here
Data Loss Prevention inspects and blocks sensitive content moving through email, endpoints and cloud apps; it grants no resource provisioning capability. It is tempting because DLP is a governance control often discussed alongside cloud adoption, but the stated requirement is user self-service provisioning from a portal without provider involvement.
- ✗
Microsoft Planner
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft Planner is a task and plan collaboration tool with buckets and assignments; it provisions no cloud resources and offers no self-service portal. It is tempting as a Microsoft 365 workload, but the requirement describes self-service provisioning, which is the cloud benefit of rapid elasticity delivered through a provider portal.
- ✗
Sensitivity labels
Why it's wrong here
Sensitivity labels classify and protect content with encryption and markings; they neither provision resources nor expose a self-service portal. They are tempting because labels are a common Microsoft Purview governance answer, yet the requirement describes on-demand self-service, the cloud characteristic letting users provision resources without provider interaction.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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