SC-900 Practice Question: Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions
Your company uses Microsoft Purview to manage data across Azure, on-premises SQL Server, and Amazon S3. You need to create a unified map of all data sources and their sensitivity labels. Which Microsoft Purview feature should you use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse the Microsoft Purview Data Catalog (which is the searchable inventory) with the Data Map (which is the underlying metadata and classification engine), leading them to select Option D instead of B.
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
✓
Microsoft Purview Data Map
Microsoft Purview Data Map is the correct feature because it provides a unified, automated map of data assets across hybrid and multi-cloud environments (Azure, on-premises SQL Server, and Amazon S3). It automatically scans and classifies data sources, applies sensitivity labels, and maintains a centralized metadata repository, enabling a holistic view of the data landscape and its sensitivity.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Microsoft Purview Data Sharing
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft Purview Data Sharing enables secure, in-place sharing of data with external or internal consumers without requiring data movement, leveraging technologies like Azure Data Share. Its primary function is to facilitate controlled access to data, not to discover, scan, or classify data assets to build a comprehensive map of the data estate. Therefore, it does not provide the foundational capabilities for initial data mapping and classification across Azure.
- ✓
Microsoft Purview Data Map
Why this is correct
The Microsoft Purview Data Map is the foundational component that automatically discovers, scans, and classifies data across hybrid environments, including Azure, on-premises, and multi-cloud sources. It creates a unified, graph-based metadata store of an organization's entire data estate, enabling comprehensive understanding and governance. This core capability is essential for building a holistic view of data assets and their relationships, which is fundamental to managing data across Azure.
- ✗
Microsoft Purview Data Estate Insights
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft Purview Data Estate Insights offers a suite of interactive dashboards and reports that provide high-level visibility into the overall health, usage, and governance posture of the data estate. While valuable for monitoring and strategic decision-making by surfacing trends and compliance gaps, it relies on the underlying metadata generated by the Data Map. It does not perform the actual scanning, classification, or creation of the data map itself.
- ✗
Microsoft Purview Data Catalog
Why it's wrong here
The Microsoft Purview Data Catalog serves as the user-facing interface where data consumers can search, browse, and understand the data assets that have been registered and classified. It provides a business glossary, data lineage, and data asset descriptions to aid discoverability and data literacy. However, the Data Catalog is populated by and consumes the metadata from the Data Map; it is not the component responsible for the automated scanning, discovery, or classification processes that build the map.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Microsoft Entra ID
Key term
Microsoft Purview
Microsoft Purview is a unified data governance and compliance service that helps organizations discover, manage, and protect their data across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
Key term
SQL
SQL is a standard programming language used to manage, query, and manipulate relational databases by issuing commands like SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.