220-1101 Question 335
Single answerCloud servicesA small accounting firm wants to reduce upfront hardware costs for a new tax application. The application must be accessible remotely by employees during tax season, and the firm wants the cloud provider to manage the operating system, runtime, and application hosting. The firm only wants to focus on entering client data and using the software. Which cloud model best meets these requirements?
- A
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- B
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- C
Software as a Service (SaaS)
- D
Private cloud
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
This scenario maps directly to Software as a Service (SaaS). In SaaS, the customer uses a fully managed application hosted by the provider, which is ideal when an organization wants to avoid purchasing servers and managing software infrastructure. By contrast, IaaS requires more customer responsibility for system administration, and PaaS is better suited for application development and deployment rather than consuming a finished business application. CompTIA A+ Core 1 expects candidates to distinguish among cloud service models and apply them to business needs. This alignment also reflects common cloud provider guidance: IaaS supplies infrastructure, PaaS supplies a managed development platform, and SaaS supplies the complete software solution.
- A. Incorrect.
IaaS is incorrect because it provides virtualized computing resources such as virtual machines, storage, and networking, but the customer is still typically responsible for managing the operating system and installed applications. In this scenario, the firm specifically wants the provider to manage the OS, runtime, and application hosting.
- B. Incorrect.
PaaS is incorrect because it provides a managed platform for deploying and developing applications, including the operating system and runtime environment. However, the customer is generally responsible for the application itself. In this case, the firm wants to use a finished tax application rather than build or manage one.
- C. Correct.
SaaS is correct because the provider delivers a complete application that users access over the internet. The cloud vendor manages the infrastructure, operating system, platform, and application. This matches the firm's goal of simply using the tax software without managing the underlying systems.
- D. Incorrect.
Private cloud is incorrect because it describes a deployment model, not the service model that best fits the firm's need. A private cloud could still use IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS, but by itself it does not indicate that the provider is managing the full application stack.