- A
Data Lifecycle Management
Why wrong: Data Lifecycle Management is used for retention and deletion policies based on regulatory or business requirements, not for legal hold, collection, and review.
- B
eDiscovery (Premium)
Correct. eDiscovery (Premium) allows an organization to identify and preserve custodians, place holds, collect data from various sources, and place it in a review set for legal analysis without altering the original data.
- C
Audit (Premium)
Why wrong: Audit (Premium) provides detailed logging of user activities but does not preserve, hold, or collect content for legal review.
- D
Communication Compliance
Why wrong: Communication Compliance detects policy violations in communications (e.g., harassment, insider trading) but does not provide legal hold or eDiscovery capabilities.
Quick Answer
The answer is eDiscovery (Premium). This solution is correct because it provides end-to-end capabilities for legal investigations, including placing a legal hold on custodians’ mailboxes and SharePoint sites to preserve all emails and documents without altering the original data, while securely collecting the content into a dedicated review set for legal analysis. On the SC-900 exam, this question tests your understanding of how Microsoft Purview solutions map to specific compliance scenarios—here, distinguishing eDiscovery (Premium) from simpler tools like Content Search or basic eDiscovery (Standard). A common trap is confusing it with Data Lifecycle Management or Audit, which manage retention or logs rather than preserving and collecting custodian data for litigation. Remember the key trigger: if the scenario mentions “custodians,” “legal hold,” and “secure review location,” the answer is always eDiscovery (Premium). A helpful mnemonic is “Custodians Call for Premium eDiscovery.”
SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions
This SC-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe the capabilities of microsoft compliance solutions. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 consulting firm is involved in a legal investigation. They need to preserve all emails and documents from two specific employees (custodians) related to a contract dispute. The data must be collected and stored in a secure location for legal review without modifying the original data. Which Microsoft Purview solution 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
eDiscovery (Premium)
eDiscovery (Premium) is the correct solution because it is specifically designed for legal investigations, allowing you to identify, preserve, collect, and analyze data from custodians (e.g., employees) without altering the original data. It places a legal hold on mailboxes and sites, ensuring that emails and documents related to the contract dispute are stored in a secure review location for legal review, meeting the requirement of non-modification.
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.
- ✗
Data Lifecycle Management
Why it's wrong here
Data Lifecycle Management is used for retention and deletion policies based on regulatory or business requirements, not for legal hold, collection, and review.
- ✓
eDiscovery (Premium)
Why this is correct
Correct. eDiscovery (Premium) allows an organization to identify and preserve custodians, place holds, collect data from various sources, and place it in a review set for legal analysis without altering the original data.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Audit (Premium)
Why it's wrong here
Audit (Premium) provides detailed logging of user activities but does not preserve, hold, or collect content for legal review.
- ✗
Communication Compliance
Why it's wrong here
Communication Compliance detects policy violations in communications (e.g., harassment, insider trading) but does not provide legal hold or eDiscovery capabilities.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse eDiscovery (Premium) with Audit (Premium) because both involve investigation, but Audit only logs events and does not preserve or collect the actual data for legal review.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
eDiscovery (Premium) uses a workflow that includes custodian management, where you can add custodians and place a legal hold on their Exchange Online mailboxes, SharePoint sites, and OneDrive for Business accounts via the Microsoft Purview compliance portal. The hold is enforced by the mailbox's In-Place Hold or Litigation Hold, which preserves all content including deleted items, while the data is copied to a review set for analysis without modifying the original source. In real-world scenarios, this ensures that even if custodians attempt to delete emails, the preserved copies remain intact for legal review.
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
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SC-900 question test?
Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions — This question tests Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: eDiscovery (Premium) — eDiscovery (Premium) is the correct solution because it is specifically designed for legal investigations, allowing you to identify, preserve, collect, and analyze data from custodians (e.g., employees) without altering the original data. It places a legal hold on mailboxes and sites, ensuring that emails and documents related to the contract dispute are stored in a secure review location for legal review, meeting the requirement of non-modification.
What should I do if I get this SC-900 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on SC-900
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. You are investigating a potential data leak. You need to find all emails that contain the word 'confidential' sent to external recipients in the last 30 days. Which Microsoft Purview tool should you use?
hard- A.Communication Compliance
- B.Audit Log Search
- ✓ C.Content Search
- D.Data loss prevention (DLP) policy
Why C: Option C is correct because Content Search in Microsoft Purview can search for specific keywords in emails and filter by date and recipients. Option A is wrong because Audit Log Search tracks activities, not content. Option B is wrong because DLP policies prevent leaks but do not provide historical search. Option D is wrong because Communication Compliance monitors for policy violations but is not optimized for ad-hoc content search.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This SC-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 SC-900 exam.
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