Challenge 06: SaaS — Software as a Service
15-25 min | Cost: Free | Domain: Cloud Concepts (25-30%)
Exam skills covered
- Describe Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Identify appropriate use cases for SaaS
- Describe the shared responsibility model as it relates to SaaS
Overview
Software as a Service (SaaS) is the most complete cloud service model. The provider manages everything — infrastructure, platform, and the application itself. You simply use the software through a web browser or app.
Think of SaaS like subscribing to Netflix: you don't manage servers, you don't install software, you don't worry about updates. You just log in and use it. The provider handles everything behind the scenes.
You've probably used SaaS today without realizing it: Gmail, Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Zoom — these are all SaaS.
Explore
Task 1: Understand SaaS responsibilities
| Layer | Who manages it? |
|---|---|
| Data & access | You (your content and who can see it) |
| Identity & access | Shared (you manage users; provider manages auth system) |
| Applications | Provider |
| Runtime | Provider |
| Operating system | Provider |
| Virtual machine | Provider |
| Physical infrastructure | Provider |
Key insight: With SaaS, your only responsibility is your data and controlling access to it.
Task 2: Identify SaaS examples
| SaaS Product | Category | What you manage |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, Word) | Productivity | Your documents, email, users |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 | CRM/ERP | Your business data |
| Power BI | Analytics | Your reports and dashboards |
| GitHub | DevOps | Your code repositories |
| Azure DevOps | DevOps | Your projects and pipelines |
Task 3: Compare all three models
| Aspect | IaaS | PaaS | SaaS |
|---|---|---|---|
| You manage | OS + Apps + Data | Apps + Data | Data only |
| Provider manages | Hardware | Hardware + OS + Runtime | Everything |
| Flexibility | Maximum | Moderate | Minimum |
| Management effort | High | Medium | Low |
| Example | Azure VMs | Azure App Service | Microsoft 365 |
| Best for | IT pros | Developers | End users |
Task 4: Explore a SaaS portal
- Open portal.office.com (if you have a Microsoft account)
- Or visit admin.microsoft.com (if you have admin access)
- Notice: you manage users and data, not infrastructure
- There are no VMs to patch, no servers to manage
- This is pure SaaS — the software is fully managed for you
Task 5: When to use each model — summary exercise
Match each scenario to the best service model:
| Scenario | Best model | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Host a legacy Windows Server application | IaaS | Needs OS-level control |
| Build a new web API in Python | PaaS | Focus on code, not servers |
| Provide email for 500 employees | SaaS | Use Microsoft 365 |
| Run a custom machine learning model | IaaS/PaaS | Depends on customization needed |
| Give sales team a CRM system | SaaS | Use Dynamics 365 |
# SaaS is managed entirely by the provider, so there's no CLI to "manage" it
# List users in your Entra ID tenant (SaaS user management example):
az ad user list --query "[0:5].{Name:displayName, Mail:mail}" --output table
Key Concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| SaaS | Complete application managed by provider; you use it via browser/app |
| Least responsibility | You only manage data and access — provider handles everything else |
| Subscription model | Typically pay per user per month |
| Automatic updates | Provider pushes updates — no action required |
| Multi-tenant | Many customers share the same application infrastructure |
Knowledge Check
1. Which cloud service model requires the LEAST management effort from the customer?
2. Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, Word Online) is an example of which cloud service model?
3. In the SaaS model, who is responsible for application updates and patches?
4. A company needs email, calendar, and document collaboration for 200 employees with minimal IT management. Which approach is best?
Learn More
- 📚 Study Guide AZ-900 — Curated study materials
- Microsoft Learn: Describe cloud service types
- What is SaaS?