Azure, also known as Microsoft Azure, stands out as a highly favored cloud computing platform from Microsoft. It allows users to create, test, oversee, and launch applications on its managed data center network. This is made possible through a variety of tools and frameworks, including those specific to Microsoft as well as third-party options. Begin on the journey by joining to understand the Azure certification path and discover a successful career pathway. This article will delve into these new Azure certification paths, guiding you to choose the right Microsoft Azure certification, exam, and learning path for your career.
Certification Path for Microsoft Azure: 2024
Microsoft Azure, commonly referred to as Azure, is a leading cloud computing platform by Microsoft. It facilitates the building, testing, management, and deployment of applications on its data center network. This is achieved through diverse tools and frameworks, encompassing both Microsoft-specific and third-party software.
Azure offers a range of services, including Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). It provides tools that grant users flexibility in using their preferred technologies. A notable aspect is that a significant number of Fortune 500 companies rely on Microsoft Azure. This is due to its provision of robust and scalable cloud storage, recovery, and backup solutions for businesses of all sizes.
Microsoft provides a range of Azure certification exams and role-based certifications to help you stay in sync with today’s job requirements. Recently, Microsoft has made significant changes to its Azure certification path. It has revamped the structure, moving towards a role-based model. This new approach is designed to directly target the development of skills and knowledge relevant to specific job roles.
The updated certifications are organized into levels of designation. Each level corresponds to a learning path, progressing from Fundamental to Associate and then to Expert. Achieving certification at each level earns you a different Microsoft certification. The levels include:
Beginner Level Azure Certification:
1. Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
Whether you’re just starting or have years of experience, mastering the fundamentals of Microsoft Azure can give your career a boost and prepare you for the various technical opportunities within Azure.
The Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals certification confirms your foundational understanding of cloud concepts in general, with a specific focus on Azure. As a candidate for this certification, you should be able to explain Azure architectural components and services, including compute, networking, and storage. Additionally, you should be familiar with features and tools for securing, governing, and administering Azure.
Consider pursuing the Azure Fundamentals certification if you:
- Want to demonstrate your knowledge of cloud computing concepts, models, and services, covering public, private, and hybrid cloud, as well as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS).
- Aim to showcase your expertise in how Azure addresses security, privacy, compliance, and trust.
It is recommended to have skills and experience in an IT area, such as infrastructure management, database management, or software development. While the Azure Fundamentals certification can be used to strengthen your foundational knowledge for other Azure role-based or specialty certifications, it is not a prerequisite for any of them.
Exam include:
Major Areas:
- Describe cloud concepts (25–30%)
- Describe Azure architecture and services (35–40%)
- Describe Azure management and governance (30–35%)
2. Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals
This certification help you enhance your technical skills in handling data within the cloud environment. Mastering these fundamentals is a key step to kickstarting your career and getting ready for more advanced technical opportunities within Azure.
Consider the Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals certification if you:
- Want to validate your foundational understanding of core data concepts and their implementation using Azure data services.
- Aim to strengthen your foundational knowledge for other Azure role-based certifications like Azure Database Administrator Associate, Azure Data Engineer Associate, Power BI Data Analyst Associate, or Azure Developer Associate. It’s important to note that this certification is not a prerequisite for any of them.
If you’re new to the cloud or just starting with Azure, it is advisable to begin with Azure fundamentals training and certification. However, this certification is designed for those who are starting to work with data in the cloud. It is recommended to have some familiarity with:
- Concepts of relational and non-relational data.
- Different types of data workloads, such as transactional or analytical.
Exam Include:
Major Areas:
- Describe core data concepts (25–30%)
- Identify considerations for relational data on Azure (20–25%)
- Describe considerations for working with non-relational data on Azure (15–20%)
- Describe an analytics workload on Azure (25–30%)
3. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
Getting a grasp of the fundamentals of AI can give your career a kickstart and prepare you for exploring more technical opportunities within Azure. AI has the potential to turn what once seemed like science fiction into reality. With AI, you can create solutions, enhance your applications, and contribute to advancements in various fields, such as healthcare, finance, and environmental protection.
If you want to:
- Demonstrate your AI skills for building a better world.
- Lay the foundation for your career by earning the Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals certification.
- Showcase your understanding of common AI and machine learning workloads and how Azure services can address them.
The Azure AI Fundamentals certification is a good fit. It doesn’t require data science or software engineering experience, but having a basic understanding of cloud concepts and client-server applications would be beneficial. This certification validates your foundational knowledge of machine learning and AI concepts, as well as related Azure services.
It’s worth noting that while you can use Azure AI Fundamentals to strengthen your basics for other Azure role-based certifications, such as Azure Data Scientist Associate, Azure AI Engineer Associate, or Azure Developer Associate, it’s not a prerequisite for any of them.
Exam Include:
Major Areas:
- Describe Artificial Intelligence workloads and considerations (15–20%)
- Describe fundamental principles of machine learning on Azure (20–25%)
- Describe features of computer vision workloads on Azure (15–20%)
- Describe features of Natural Language Processing (NLP) workloads on Azure (15–20%)
- Describe features of generative AI workloads on Azure (15–20%)
4. Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals
Whether you’re a student, a business user, or an IT professional, this certification ensures you have a solid understanding of various topics in the rapidly evolving field of cybersecurity. This foundational certification can serve as a starting point if you’re looking to progress to role-based certifications in security operations, identity and access management, and information protection.
The Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals certification could be the right choice for you if you want to:
- Showcase your knowledge of Microsoft Security, compliance, and identity (SCI) solutions.
- Emphasize your comprehension of how Microsoft SCI solutions deliver comprehensive, end-to-end cybersecurity capabilities.
It is recommended that candidates have familiarity with:
- Networking and cloud computing concepts.
- General IT knowledge or experience working in an IT environment.
- A basic understanding of Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365.
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Describe the concepts of security, compliance, and identity (10–15%)
- Describe the capabilities of Microsoft Entra (25–30%)
- Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions (35–40%)
- Describe the capabilities of Microsoft compliance solutions (20–25%)
Intermediate Level Certifications:
1. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate
In the role of a Microsoft Azure AI engineer, you are responsible for constructing, overseeing, and deploying AI solutions that make the most of Azure AI. Your tasks encompass engaging in every stage of AI solutions development, from defining requirements and design to development, deployment, integration, maintenance, performance tuning, and monitoring.
Collaborating with solution architects, you transform their vision into reality. Additionally, you collaborate with a diverse team including data scientists, data engineers, IoT specialists, infrastructure administrators, and other developers. Together, you aim to:
- Construct comprehensive and secure end-to-end AI solutions.
- Integrate AI capabilities seamlessly into various applications and solutions.
As an Azure AI engineer, your expertise extends to developing solutions using languages like Python and C#. Proficiency in utilizing Representational State Transfer (REST) APIs and SDKs is crucial. Your skill set enables you to create secure solutions for image processing, video processing, natural language processing, knowledge mining, and generative AI on Azure.
It is essential for you to:
- Comprehend the components comprising the Azure AI portfolio and the available data storage options.
- Apply responsible AI principles in your work.
Exam include:
Major Areas:
- Plan and manage an Azure AI solution (15–20%)
- Implement decision support solutions (10–15%)
- Implement computer vision solutions (15–20%)
- Implement natural language processing solutions (30–35%)
- Implement knowledge mining and document intelligence solutions (10–15%)
- Implement generative AI solutions (10–15%)
2. Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
As an aspiring candidate for this certification, it is crucial to possess expertise in implementing, managing, and overseeing an organization’s Microsoft Azure environment, covering areas such as virtual networks, storage, compute, identity, security, and governance.
In the role of an Azure administrator, you play a key part in a collaborative team dedicated to implementing an organization’s cloud infrastructure. Your responsibilities extend to coordinating with other roles to deliver solutions in Azure networking, security, database management, application development, and DevOps.
To excel in this role, it is essential to be well-versed in:
- Operating systems
- Networking concepts
- Server management
- Virtualization
Moreover, practical experience with tools such as PowerShell, Azure CLI, the Azure portal, Azure Resource Manager templates, and Microsoft Entra ID is beneficial for successful certification attainment.
Exam include:
Major Areas:
- Manage Azure identities and governance (20–25%)
- Implement and manage storage (15–20%)
- Deploy and manage Azure compute resources (20–25%)
- Implement and manage virtual networking (15–20%)
- Monitor and maintain Azure resources (10–15%)
3. Microsoft Certified: Azure Cosmos DB Developer Specialty
To qualify for this certification, it is essential to have expertise in designing, implementing, and monitoring cloud-native applications focused on storing and managing data.
In this role, your duties include crafting and implementing data models, managing data distribution, loading data into an Azure Cosmos DB database, and ensuring the ongoing optimization and maintenance of the solution. As a professional in this capacity, you integrate the solution with various Azure services and devise, implement, and monitor solutions while considering security, availability, resilience, and performance requirements.
As a certification candidate, you must possess robust knowledge and hands-on experience in:
- Developing applications for Azure.
- Working with Azure Cosmos DB database technologies.
- Creating server-side objects using JavaScript.
Your proficiency should extend to developing applications that utilize Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL API. Specifically, you should be adept at:
- Crafting efficient SQL queries for the API.
- Establishing suitable indexing policies.
- Interpreting JSON.
- Reading C# or Java code.
- Utilizing PowerShell.
Furthermore, you should be familiar with the provisioning and management of resources within Azure.
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Design and implement data models (35–40%)
- Design and implement data distribution (5–10%)
- Integrate an Azure Cosmos DB solution (5–10%)
- Optimize an Azure Cosmos DB solution (15–20%)
- Maintain an Azure Cosmos DB solution (25–30%)
4. Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate
To attain this certification, it’s crucial to possess expertise in integrating, transforming, and consolidating data from diverse structured, unstructured, and streaming data systems into a suitable schema for constructing analytics solutions.
In the role of an Azure data engineer, you play a vital role in helping stakeholders comprehend data through exploration. Your responsibilities include constructing and maintaining secure and compliant data processing pipelines using various tools and techniques. Utilizing Azure data services and frameworks, you create and manage cleansed and enhanced datasets for analysis. The design of the data store can vary based on business requirements, incorporating patterns like Modern Data Warehouse (MDW), Big Data, and Lakehouse architecture.
As an Azure data engineer, you ensure that data pipelines and stores are high-performing, efficient, organized, and reliable, aligning with business requirements and constraints. Identifying and resolving operational and data quality issues, you also design, implement, monitor, and optimize data platforms to meet the needs of data pipelines.
For certification candidacy, a strong understanding of data processing languages such as SQL, Python, and Scala is necessary. Proficiency in parallel processing and comprehension of data architecture patterns is crucial. Additionally, you should be adept at using the following tools for creating data processing solutions:
- Azure Data Factory
- Azure Synapse Analytics
- Azure Stream Analytics
- Azure Event Hubs
- Azure Data Lake Storage
- Azure Databricks
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Design and implement data storage (15–20%)
- Develop data processing (40–45%)
- Secure, monitor, and optimize data storage and data processing (30–35%)
5. Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate
To excel in this exam, it is essential to possess subject matter expertise in applying data science and machine learning to implement and execute machine learning workloads on Azure.
Your responsibilities in this role encompass designing and establishing an appropriate working environment for data science workloads, exploring data, training machine learning models, implementing pipelines, running jobs to prepare for production, and managing, deploying, and monitoring scalable machine learning solutions. As an exam candidate, it is crucial to have knowledge and hands-on experience in data science, utilizing tools such as Azure Machine Learning and MLflow.
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Design and prepare a machine learning solution (20–25%)
- Explore data and train models (35–40%)
- Prepare a model for deployment (20–25%)
- Deploy and retrain a model (10–15%)
6. Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate
To qualify for this certification, it is essential to possess subject matter expertise in constructing database solutions designed to support various workloads, both with SQL Server on-premises and Azure SQL services. In the role of an Azure database administrator, you manage on-premises and cloud databases built with SQL Server and Azure SQL services.
As part of your responsibilities, you implement and oversee the operational aspects of cloud-native and hybrid data platform solutions based on SQL Server and Azure SQL services. Utilizing a range of methods and tools, you perform and automate day-to-day operations, leveraging knowledge in Transact-SQL (T-SQL) and other administrative tools.
Your role extends to managing the following aspects concerning database solutions:
- Management
- Availability
- Security
- Performance monitoring and optimization
Additionally, you are involved in evaluating and implementing migration strategies for transferring databases between Azure and on-premises. Collaboration with Azure data engineers, Azure solution architects, Azure developers, data scientists, and other professionals is crucial for managing the operational aspects of data platform solutions. As a certification candidate, you should possess knowledge of and hands-on experience with:
- Azure SQL Database
- Azure SQL Managed Instance
- SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines (Windows and Linux)
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Plan and implement data platform resources (20–25%)
- Implement a secure environment (15–20%)
- Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources (20–25%)
- Configure and manage automation of tasks (15–20%)
- Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery (HA/DR) environment (20–25%)
7. Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate
As an exam candidate, your role entails active participation in all development phases, from requirements gathering and design to development, deployment, security, maintenance, performance tuning, and monitoring.
Proficiency in various Azure aspects is essential, including the SDK, data storage options, data connections, APIs, app authentication and authorization, as well as compute and container deployment. Your responsibilities extend to debugging solutions effectively.
To implement solutions successfully, collaboration with cloud solution architects, DBAs, DevOps, infrastructure admins, and other stakeholders is crucial. As a candidate, you are expected to possess a minimum of two years of professional development experience, specifically with Azure. Proficiency in programming using an Azure-supported language and adept usage of tools like Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, and others is also required.
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Develop Azure compute solutions (25–30%)
- Develop for Azure storage (15–20%)
- Implement Azure security (20–25%)
- Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure solutions (15–20%)
- Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services (15–20%)
8. Microsoft Certified: Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate
As a candidate for the Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate certification, it’s vital to possess subject matter expertise in crafting, developing, and deploying large-scale data analytics solutions.
In this role, your responsibilities include executing advanced data analytics at scale, involving tasks such as cleansing and transforming data, constructing enterprise data models, integrating advanced analytics capabilities, connecting with IT infrastructure, and applying development lifecycle practices.
As a professional in this, you play a crucial role in collecting enterprise-level requirements for data analytics solutions encompassing Azure and Power BI. Additionally, you provide guidance on data governance and configuration settings for Power BI administration, monitor data usage, and optimize the performance of data analytics solutions.
Collaboration with other roles, including solution architects, data engineers, data scientists, AI engineers, database administrators, and Power BI data analysts, is an integral part of your role as an Azure enterprise data analyst.
To qualify for this certification, you should possess advanced Power BI skills, including managing data repositories and data processing both in the cloud and on-premises. Proficiency in using Power Query and Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) is essential. Additionally, you should be adept at consuming data from Azure Synapse Analytics, querying relational databases using Transact-SQL (T-SQL), and visualizing data.
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Implement and manage a data analytics environment (25–30%)
- Query and transform data (20–25%)
- Implement and manage data models (25–30%)
- Explore and visualize data (20–25%)
9. Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate
To qualify for this certification, it is essential to possess subject matter expertise in strategizing, implementing, and overseeing Azure networking solutions, covering:
- Core network infrastructure
- Hybrid connectivity
- Application delivery services
- Private access to Azure services
- Network security
In the role of an Azure network engineer, your responsibilities encompass enhancing the performance, resiliency, scale, and security of Azure networking solutions. Deployment of these solutions involves using the Azure portal, the command line, and templates. Proactively monitoring network environments to identify issues and minimize risks is also part of your duties.
Collaboration is crucial in delivering Azure solutions, and you work alongside solution architects, cloud administrators, security engineers, application developers, and DevOps engineers. Additionally, you assist Azure support engineers in resolving connectivity issues reported by customers.
To be successful in obtaining this certification, you should have experience in creating and managing compute, storage, and networking resources in Azure. A solid understanding of networking fundamentals, including name resolution, network protocols, and network address management, is also essential.
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Design and implement core networking infrastructure (20–25%)
- Design, implement, and manage connectivity services (20–25%)
- Design and implement application delivery services (20–25%)
- Design and implement private access to Azure services (5–10%)
- Secure network connectivity to Azure resources (15–20%)
10. Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate
In the role of an Azure security engineer, your tasks involve the implementation, management, and monitoring of security measures across resources in Azure, multi-cloud, and hybrid environments within an end-to-end infrastructure. Providing recommendations for security components and configurations, your focus is on safeguarding:
- Identity and Access
- Data
- Applications
- Networks
Your responsibilities extend to managing the security posture, identifying and resolving vulnerabilities, performing threat modeling, and implementing threat protection. Additionally, you may actively participate in responding to security incidents. Collaboration is key, and you work alongside architects, administrators, and developers to strategize and implement solutions that align with security and compliance requirements.
To excel in this role, practical experience in administering Microsoft Azure and hybrid environments is crucial. A strong familiarity with compute, network, and storage in Azure and Microsoft Entra is also expected.
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Manage identity and access (25–30%)
- Secure networking (20–25%)
- Secure compute, storage, and databases (20–25%)
- Manage security operations (25–30%)
11. Microsoft Certified: Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty
To qualify for the Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty certification, you should possess expertise as a server or desktop administrator, specializing in the design, implementation, management, and maintenance of Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop experiences and remote apps for various devices.
In executing these experiences, close collaboration is essential with Azure administrators, Azure architects, Microsoft 365 administrators, and Azure security engineers. Your proficiency should extend to working with Azure technologies, covering virtualization, networking, identity, storage, and resiliency.
As a candidate, you must be capable of overseeing end-user desktop environments, including application delivery and user settings configuration. Effectively utilizing tools such as the Azure portal, templates, scripting, and command-line tools is essential for managing an Azure Virtual Desktop deployment.
Exam include:
Major Areas:
- Plan and implement an Azure Virtual Desktop infrastructure (40–45%)
- Plan and implement identity and security (15–20%)
- Plan and implement user environments and apps (20–25%)
- Monitor and maintain an Azure Virtual Desktop infrastructure (10–15%)
12. Microsoft Certified: Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty
To qualify for this certification, you should be an architect or engineer possessing extensive experience and knowledge of the Systems Applications and Products (SAP) system landscape and industry standards. This expertise should specifically pertain to the initial migration or integration, as well as the long-term operation of an SAP solution on Microsoft Azure.
As an architect or engineer specializing in Azure for SAP Workloads, your responsibilities encompass providing recommendations on services and adjusting resources for optimal resiliency, performance, scale, provision size, and monitoring. Collaboration is key, and you work alongside cloud administrators, cloud database administrators, and clients to implement these solutions.
Your extensive experience and knowledge should span applications such as SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance (HANA), Suite for (S/4) HANA, SAP NetWeaver, SAP Business Warehouse for (BW/4) HANA, OS servers for SAP applications and databases, along with proficiency in Azure portal, Azure Marketplace, and Azure Resource Manager templates.
Additionally, you should have hands-on experience with virtualization, cloud infrastructure, storage structures, high availability design, disaster recovery design, data protection concepts, and networking. It is strongly recommended that candidates hold an Azure Administrator Associate certification for this certification.
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Migrate SAP workloads to Azure (25–30%)
- Design and implement an infrastructure to support SAP workloads on Azure (35–40%)
- Design and implement high availability and disaster recovery (HA/DR) (15–20%)
- Maintain SAP workloads on Azure (10–15%)
13. Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Customer Insights (Data) Specialty
As a candidate pursuing this certification, you will adeptly implement solutions aimed at gaining valuable insights into customer profiles and meticulously tracking engagement activities.
This proficiency serves the overarching objectives of enhancing customer experiences and bolstering customer retention. Your expertise should encompass Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, including mastery of data and integration with one or more Dynamics 365 apps, Microsoft Power Query, Microsoft Dataverse, Common Data Model, and the Microsoft Power Platform.
Moreover, your qualifications should extend to practical experience in crucial areas such as privacy, compliance, consent, security, responsible AI, and the formulation of data retention policies. Your proficiency should encompass the ability to navigate practices related to key performance indicators (KPIs), data retention, validation, visualization, preparation, matching, fragmentation, segmentation, and enhancement. A foundational understanding of Azure Machine Learning, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Azure Data Factory is integral to your readiness for this exam.
Exam required:
Major areas:
- Design Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Data solutions (5–10%)
- Ingest data into Customer Insights – Data (10–15%)
- Create customer profiles through data unification (30–35%)
- Implement AI predictions in Customer Insights – Data (5–10%)
- Configure measures and segments (10–15%)
- Configure third-party connections (10–15%)
- Administer Customer Insights – Data (5–10%)
14. Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate
In the role of a Microsoft identity and access administrator, you undertake the comprehensive design, implementation, and operational management of an organization’s identity and access management, utilizing Microsoft Entra ID. Your responsibilities encompass configuring and overseeing the complete life cycle of identities, including those for users, devices, Microsoft Azure resources, and applications.
As an identity and access administrator, you excel in delivering seamless experiences and self-service management capabilities to users. Your role extends to planning and executing strategies for identity, authorization, and access, ensuring the seamless connection of applications and resources within the Azure environment. Additionally, you take charge of troubleshooting, monitoring, and reporting on identity and access matters. Collaboration with various organizational roles is a key aspect, involving driving strategic identity projects, modernizing identity solutions, implementing hybrid identity solutions, and overseeing identity governance.
Your expertise extends to familiarity with Azure, Microsoft 365 services and workloads, and Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS). Moreover, your skill set encompasses hands-on experience in automating the management of Microsoft Entra ID through PowerShell and analyzing events using the Kusto Query Language (KQL).
Exam:
Major areas:
- Implement and manage user identities (20–25%)
- Implement authentication and access management (25–30%)
- Plan and implement workload identities (20–25%)
- Plan and implement identity governance (20–25%)
15. Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate
In the capacity of a Microsoft security operations analyst, your primary focus is on mitigating organizational risk through swift actions such as promptly remedying active attacks, offering insights for enhanced threat protection practices, and reporting policy violations to the relevant stakeholders. Your skill set encompasses essential functions like triage, incident response, vulnerability management, threat hunting, and cyber threat intelligence analysis.
Operating in multi-cloud environments, you utilize tools such as Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Microsoft 365 Defender, and third-party security solutions to monitor, identify, investigate, and respond to threats. Collaboration is a key element of your role, requiring active engagement with business stakeholders, architects, identity administrators, Azure administrators, and endpoint administrators to fortify IT systems for the organization.
As a candidate, your proficiency should extend to a sound understanding of Microsoft 365, Azure cloud services, and familiarity with both Windows and Linux operating systems.
Exam:
Major areas:
- Mitigate threats by using Microsoft 365 Defender (25–30%)
- Mitigate threats by using Defender for Cloud (15–20%)
- Mitigate threats by using Microsoft Sentinel (50–55%)
16. Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate
To attain the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate certification, candidates are expected to possess specialized knowledge in configuring and managing Windows Server across on-premises, hybrid, and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) platforms. The role involves seamlessly integrating Windows Server environments with Azure services and overseeing Windows Server management within on-premises networks. Candidates are responsible for the administration of core and advanced Windows Server workloads and services, employing on-premises, hybrid, and cloud technologies.
Collaboration with Azure administrators, enterprise architects, Microsoft 365 administrators, and network engineers is a standard part of this role. Proficiency is required in implementing and managing on-premises and hybrid solutions, encompassing aspects such as identity, management, compute, networking, and storage. Additionally, candidates are expected to excel in tasks related to security, migration, monitoring, high availability, troubleshooting, and disaster recovery. Mastery of administrative tools and technologies, including Windows Admin Center, PowerShell, Azure Arc, and IaaS virtual machine administration, is essential.
Furthermore, candidates are well-versed in utilizing Azure Automation Update Management, Microsoft Defender for Identity, Azure Security Center, Azure Migrate, and Azure Monitor. Extensive hands-on experience with Windows Server operating systems is a prerequisite for success in obtaining this certification.
Exam:
- Exam AZ-800: Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure
- Exam AZ-801: Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services
Major areas:
- Deploy and manage Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) in on-premises and cloud environments (30–35%)
- Manage Windows Servers and workloads in a hybrid environment (10–15%)
- Manage virtual machines and containers (15–20%)
- Implement and manage an on-premises and hybrid networking infrastructure (15–20%)
- Manage storage and file services (15–20%)
- Secure Windows Server on-premises and hybrid infrastructures (25–30%)
- Implement and manage Windows Server high availability (10–15%)
- Implement disaster recovery (10–15%)
- Migrate servers and workloads (20–25%)
- Monitor and troubleshoot Windows Server environments (20–25%)
Advanced level certifications:
1. Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
As a Microsoft Azure solutions architect, your expertise lies in creating designs for cloud and hybrid solutions on Azure. This covers areas such as computing, networking, storage, monitoring, and security.
Your main tasks involve guiding stakeholders and converting business needs into Azure solution designs that adhere to the Azure Well-Architected Framework. In this role, you collaborate with different job roles like developers, administrators, security engineers, and data engineers to implement solutions on Azure.
To qualify for this certification, you should possess advanced knowledge and experience in IT operations, including networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data platforms, and governance. You need to understand how decisions in each of these areas impact the overall solution. Furthermore, you should be familiar with Azure administration, Azure development, and DevOps processes.
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions (25–30%)
- Design data storage solutions (20–25%)
- Design business continuity solutions (15–20%)
- Design infrastructure solutions (30–35%)
2. Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert
As a Microsoft cybersecurity architect, your role involves translating a cybersecurity strategy into capabilities that safeguard an organization’s assets, business, and operations. You are responsible for designing, guiding the implementation of, and maintaining security solutions based on Zero Trust principles and best practices. This includes strategies for identity, devices, data, applications, networks, infrastructure, and DevOps.
Additionally, you design solutions for Governance and Risk Compliance (GRC), security operations, and security posture management. In your capacity as a cybersecurity architect, ongoing collaboration with leaders and practitioners in IT security, privacy, and other roles is essential to plan and implement a cybersecurity strategy aligned with the organization’s business needs.
To qualify for the certification exam, you should have experience in implementing or administering solutions in areas such as identity and access, platform protection, security operations, data security, application security, and hybrid and multicloud infrastructures. Expertise in at least one of these areas, along with experience in designing security solutions incorporating Microsoft security technologies, is required.
Earning the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect certification involves passing one of the following exams: SC-200, SC-300, or AZ-500. It is strongly recommended to complete one of these exams before attempting the certification.
Exam include:
Major areas:
- Design solutions that align with security best practices and priorities (20–25%)
- Design security operations, identity, and compliance capabilities (30–35%)
- Design security solutions for infrastructure (20–25%)
- Design security solutions for applications and data (20–25%)
3. Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert
As a DevOps engineer, you play a dual role as both a developer and infrastructure administrator, specializing in coordinating people, processes, and products to ensure the continuous delivery of value within organizations.
Your responsibilities encompass designing and implementing strategies across various domains, including collaboration, code, infrastructure, source control, security, compliance, continuous integration, testing, delivery, monitoring, and feedback.
Working within cross-functional teams alongside developers, site reliability engineers, and Azure administrators, your expertise must include hands-on experience in administering and developing in Azure, with a strong proficiency in at least one of these areas. Additionally, you should be well-versed in using Azure DevOps and GitHub.
Exam required:
Major areas:
- Configure processes and communications (10–15%)
- Design and implement source control (15–20%)
- Design and implement build and release pipelines (40–45%)
- Develop a security and compliance plan (10–15%)
- Implement an instrumentation strategy (10–15%)
4. Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert
If you aim to showcase your proficiency as a Microsoft Power Platform or Microsoft Dynamics 365 solution architect, or if you’re a developer or senior consultant aspiring to advance to the role of a solution architect, obtaining this expert certification can propel your career.
As a candidate for the Power Platform Solution Architect Expert certification, you are a solution architect who excels in leading successful implementations and focuses on how solutions meet the broader business and technical needs of organizations. This role necessitates the ability to identify opportunities to address business problems effectively.
Your expertise should encompass functional and technical knowledge of Microsoft Power Platform, Dynamics 365 customer engagement apps, related Microsoft cloud solutions, and other third-party technologies. Throughout engagements, you apply your knowledge and experience proactively and preventatively to enhance the customer’s investment value and promote organizational health.
Exam required:
Major areas:
- Perform solution envisioning and requirement analysis (35–40%)
- Architect a solution (40–45%)
- Implement the solution (15–20%)
Why you should choose Azure Certification?
There are many reasons why you should choose Azure Certification, depending on your career goals and interests. Here are a few of the most compelling reasons:
- Increased employability and career advancement: Azure is one of the fastest-growing cloud platforms in the world, and employers are increasingly looking for candidates with Azure skills. Earning an Azure certification can help you stand out from the competition and increase your chances of landing a job in a high-demand field. In fact, according to a report by Indeed, jobs that require Azure certification have a 30% higher salary than those that don’t.
- Enhanced skills and knowledge: Azure certifications validate your knowledge and skills in cloud computing, including networking, storage, security, and artificial intelligence. This can help you improve your performance in your current role and make you more prepared for future challenges.
- Higher earning potential: Studies have shown that Azure certified professionals can earn up to 20% more than their non-certified counterparts. This is because employers are willing to pay a premium for qualified candidates with in-demand skills.
- Greater flexibility and career options: Azure skills are transferable to a wide range of industries, so you can work in a variety of roles and settings. This gives you more flexibility in your career and allows you to pursue opportunities that interest you.
- Improved job security: As the demand for Azure skills continues to grow, Azure certified professionals are likely to be in high demand for the foreseeable future. This can give you peace of mind and help you protect your career in the ever-changing tech landscape.
- Personal and professional development: Earning an Azure certification is a challenging but rewarding experience. It can help you develop your problem-solving skills, learn new technologies, and stay up-to-date on the latest trends in cloud computing.
- Microsoft recognition and validation: Azure certifications are recognized and valued by Microsoft, which can give you a competitive edge in the job market.
If you’re looking to boost your career in cloud computing, Azure Certification is a great investment. There are a variety of certifications available to choose from, so you can find one that aligns with your specific goals and interests.
