Microsoft 365 Fundamentals Cloud Computing Concepts Flashcards

A company is developing a new web application and wants a cloud service model that provides a complete development and deployment environment without the need to manage the underlying infrastructure, such as servers, storage, and networking. Which cloud service model should they choose?

Answer: Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure typically associated with developing and launching an app. IaaS only provides the raw infrastructure components, and SaaS provides a complete software application, not a development environment.

Which of the following is a primary benefit of using a public cloud model for a startup company with unpredictable computing needs?

Answer: The ability to rapidly scale resources up or down based on demand.

A key advantage of the public cloud is elasticity, which is the ability to automatically and rapidly scale computing resources up or down to match demand. This is ideal for a startup with fluctuating workloads, as they only pay for what they use. Public clouds are shared, multi-tenant environments, so users do not have complete control over physical hardware, nor is the infrastructure dedicated. Costs are typically based on consumption, not fixed.

A financial services company needs to maintain a private cloud for its sensitive customer data to meet strict regulatory compliance requirements. However, they also want to leverage the scalability and cost-effectiveness of the public cloud for their new marketing analytics platform. Which cloud deployment model would be most appropriate for this scenario?

Answer: Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud combines a private cloud with one or more public cloud services, with proprietary software enabling communication between each distinct service. This model allows the company to keep sensitive data in a secure private cloud while taking advantage of the public cloud's resources for less sensitive workloads like marketing analytics.

The concept of 'elasticity' in cloud computing is best described as:

Answer: The automatic adjustment of resources to match dynamic workload fluctuations.

Elasticity is the ability of a cloud system to automatically and dynamically provision and de-provision resources like CPU, memory, and storage to match workload demands in real-time. This is different from scalability, which is more about planning for long-term growth.

When a company subscribes to Microsoft 365, they are using which type of cloud service?

Answer: Software as a Service (SaaS)

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a model where software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. Microsoft 365 is a prime example, providing ready-to-use applications like Outlook, Word, and Teams directly to the end-user over the internet. The user does not manage the underlying platform or infrastructure.

A key financial benefit of moving from an on-premises data center to a cloud infrastructure is the shift from Capital Expenditure (CapEx) to what?

Answer: Operational Expenditure (OpEx)

Cloud computing shifts IT spending from Capital Expenditure (CapEx), which involves upfront investment in physical hardware, to Operational Expenditure (OpEx), where you pay for services on a subscription or consumption basis. This pay-as-you-go model eliminates the need for large initial investments in infrastructure.