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SC-900: How Does Azure’s Consumption-Based Model Benefit Your Business?

Why Is Pay-As-You-Go Pricing a Key Benefit of Microsoft Azure Cloud?

Understand one of the core benefits of Microsoft Azure Cloud: pay-as-you-go pricing. Learn how this consumption-based model provides financial flexibility and cost-effectiveness, a key concept for the SC-900 exam, by eliminating large upfront hardware costs.

Question

Which of the following is the benefit of using Microsoft Azure Cloud?

A. Automatic updates to data center hardware
B. Elastic scaling of compute resources
C. Pay-as-you-go pricing for most services
D. On-premises-only deployment options

Answer

C. Pay-as-you-go pricing for most services
D. On-premises-only deployment options

Explanation

Azure uses a consumption-based billing model, allowing customers to pay only for the resources they use.

While multiple options represent benefits of Azure, the pay-as-you-go model is a defining financial advantage, and elastic scaling is a defining operational advantage. Both are fundamental concepts for the SC-900 exam.

Core Cloud Benefits Explained

C. Pay-as-you-go pricing for most services: This is a primary financial benefit of using Azure. Instead of a large, upfront capital expenditure (CapEx) to buy physical hardware, organizations can use a consumption-based, operational expenditure (OpEx) model. You pay only for the services you use, for the duration you use them. This provides significant cost savings and financial flexibility, especially for startups and businesses with variable workloads.

B. Elastic scaling of compute resources: This is a core operational benefit. Elasticity is the ability to automatically or manually add or remove resources (like CPU, memory, and storage) as needed to meet demand. If your website experiences a sudden traffic spike, Azure can scale out to handle the load and then scale back in when traffic subsides. This ensures both performance and cost-efficiency.

A. Automatic updates to data center hardware: This is also a benefit, but it falls under the broader advantage of a managed cloud service. In the shared responsibility model, Microsoft is responsible for maintaining the physical infrastructure, including hardware maintenance, updates, and security. This frees up IT teams to focus on applications and data rather than managing physical servers.

Analysis of Incorrect Option

D. On-premises-only deployment options: This statement is incorrect. Microsoft Azure is a public cloud platform. While Microsoft offers hybrid solutions like Azure Stack and Azure Arc that extend Azure services into on-premises data centers, Azure’s primary model is not “on-premises-only.” This option directly contradicts the fundamental nature of a public cloud service.

SC-900 Microsoft Security, Compliance & Identity Fundamentals certification exam assessment practice question and answer (Q&A) dump including multiple choice questions (MCQ) and objective type questions, with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the SC-900 Microsoft Security, Compliance & Identity Fundamentals exam and earn SC-900 Microsoft Security, Compliance & Identity Fundamentals certificate.