The answer is to use Microsoft Purview to create a DLP policy for credit card info, a retention policy for deleted emails, and publish a sensitivity label for 'Confidential'. This is correct because Microsoft Purview delivers out-of-the-box compliance solutions for data loss prevention, retention, and sensitivity labels, allowing a small company with limited IT staff to quickly meet all four requirements without complex configuration. On the SC-900 exam, this scenario tests your ability to match specific compliance needs—like preventing data leaks, retaining data, and classifying content—to the correct Purview workloads, while avoiding traps that confuse Purview with Microsoft 365 Defender (security), Entra ID (identity), or Intune (device management). A common trap is assuming a security tool can handle compliance tasks; remember that Purview is the single pane of glass for compliance, not security or identity. Memory tip: think "DLP, Retain, Label" as the three pillars of Purview compliance.
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. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 small consulting company, Northwind Traders, uses Microsoft 365 Business Premium and wants to implement basic compliance solutions. They have 50 users and need to: (1) prevent employees from sharing customer credit card information via email; (2) retain all deleted emails for 1 year; (3) allow users to classify documents as 'Confidential' manually; (4) generate reports on policy violations. The company has limited IT staff and wants a quick, out-of-the-box solution. What should they configure?
Use Microsoft Intune to set data loss prevention policies and configure document classification.
Why wrong: Intune manages devices, not data classification or retention.
B
Use Microsoft Purview to create a DLP policy for credit card info, a retention policy for deleted emails, and publish a sensitivity label for 'Confidential'.
Purview provides all required compliance capabilities.
C
Use Microsoft 365 Defender to block sharing of credit card data and configure email retention.
Why wrong: Defender is for security, not compliance features like retention and labeling.
D
Use Microsoft Entra ID to create conditional access policies and enable retention.
Why wrong: Entra ID is for identity and access, not data retention or DLP.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use Microsoft Purview to create a DLP policy for credit card info, a retention policy for deleted emails, and publish a sensitivity label for 'Confidential'.
Option D is correct because Microsoft Purview provides DLP policies, retention policies, and sensitivity labels out-of-the-box. Option A is wrong because Microsoft 365 Defender focuses on security, not compliance. Option B is wrong because Microsoft Entra ID is for identity. Option C is wrong because Microsoft Intune is for device management.
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.
✗
Use Microsoft Intune to set data loss prevention policies and configure document classification.
Why it's wrong here
Intune manages devices, not data classification or retention.
✓
Use Microsoft Purview to create a DLP policy for credit card info, a retention policy for deleted emails, and publish a sensitivity label for 'Confidential'.
Why this is correct
Purview provides all required compliance capabilities.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use Microsoft 365 Defender to block sharing of credit card data and configure email retention.
Why it's wrong here
Defender is for security, not compliance features like retention and labeling.
✗
Use Microsoft Entra ID to create conditional access policies and enable retention.
Why it's wrong here
Entra ID is for identity and access, not data retention or DLP.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this SC-900 question in full detail.
Identify which SC-900 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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: Use Microsoft Purview to create a DLP policy for credit card info, a retention policy for deleted emails, and publish a sensitivity label for 'Confidential'. — Option D is correct because Microsoft Purview provides DLP policies, retention policies, and sensitivity labels out-of-the-box. Option A is wrong because Microsoft 365 Defender focuses on security, not compliance. Option B is wrong because Microsoft Entra ID is for identity. Option C is wrong because Microsoft Intune is for device management.
What should I do if I get this SC-900 question wrong?
Identify which SC-900 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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