Launching soon: Microsoft Azure Support Engineer for Connectivity Specialty

Microsoft’s Azure training and certification portfolio continues to expand and evolve, and as part of the expansion, has recently announced the addition of the new Microsoft Certified: Azure Support Engineer for Connectivity Specialty certification, scheduled for release in Apr’ 22.

Support engineers are professionals who have the energy and expertise to resolve difficult technical issues, and they drive the resolution of highly complex incidents related to solutions development and deployment. They collaborate with other technical specialists on case reviews, troubleshooting, and effective customer interaction. As part of their regular responsibilities, support engineers:

• Own, troubleshoot, and solve technical issues, using collaboration, best practices, and transparency within and across teams.
• Identify technical or strategic cases that require escalation.
• Create and maintain incident management requests for the product group or engineering group.
• Contribute to case deflection initiatives, automation, and other digital self-help assets to improve customer and engineer experience.

These professionals are critical for organizations, especially given their specialized tasks and a significant role is that of a support engineer for Azure connectivity. The new Azure certification is key for professionals in this field.

Is the Azure Support Engineer for Connectivity Specialty certification right for you?

You could be an excellent candidate for this certification if you have subject matter expertise in using advanced troubleshooting methods to resolve networking and connectivity issues in Azure.

Professionals in this role troubleshoot hybrid environments, including issues with Azure Virtual Machines, virtual networks, and connectivity between on-premises and Azure services. They use various tools and technologies to diagnose and identify root causes for multiple complex technical issues.

Candidates for this certification should also have experience with networking and with hybrid environments, including knowledge of routing, permissions, and account limits. They must be able to use available tools to diagnose issues related to business continuity, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), access control, networking, and virtual machines connectivity.

Support engineers interested in earning this new certification need to pass the AZ-720: Troubleshooting Microsoft Azure Connectivity exam, which is available in beta at the end of March 2022. If you’re a skilled support engineer with subject matter expertise in using advanced troubleshooting methods to resolve networking and connectivity issues, we encourage you to participate in the beta. Stay tuned for the announcement.

Unlock support engineer opportunities

Earning the new support engineer certification can help you open career doors and take the next step in your career journey—whether it’s a spot on another team or a role in an upcoming project that interests you.

Support engineers have very specialized fields of action. Therefore, we’ve created a certification portfolio specifically for them so that they can prove their skills and experience in those specific areas. This new set of globally recognized, industry-endorsed Microsoft certifications can help distinguish support engineers from their peers and can help cloud solution providers (CSPs) gain a competitive advantage. Valuable in any organization, professionals in this role are especially critical for CSPs and will continue to be in demand as the pace of digital transformation increases.

Not only are they in demand, but support engineers also have many areas of expertise. If you’re in this key role but your specialty isn’t Azure connectivity and networking, consider other options. For example, explore the Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Support Engineer Specialty certification

Exam AZ-720: Troubleshooting Microsoft Azure Connectivity (beta)

Candidates for this exam should have experience with networking and with hybrid environments, including knowledge of routing, permissions, and account limits. They must be able to use available tools to diagnose issues related to business continuity, hybrid environments, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), access control, networking, and virtual machines connectivity.

This exam measures your ability to accomplish the following technical tasks: troubleshoot business continuity issues; troubleshoot hybrid and cloud connectivity issues; troubleshoot Platform as a Service issues; troubleshoot authentication and access control issues; troubleshoot networks; and troubleshoot VM connectivity issues.

Skills measured:

• Troubleshoot business continuity issues (5–10%)
• Troubleshoot hybrid and cloud connectivity issues (20–25%)
• Troubleshoot Platform as a Service issues (5–10%)
• Troubleshoot authentication and access control issues (15–20%)
• Troubleshoot networks (25–30%)
• Troubleshoot VM connectivity issues (5–10%)

Are you ready to take your skills to the next level as an Azure support engineer for networking connectivity? Get ready for Exam AZ-720 (beta), and earn your Azure Support Engineer for Connectivity Specialty certification.

Bring your energy, knowledge, and expertise to bear, and validate that you have what it takes to resolve difficult technical issues—for the benefit of your career, your team, and your organization.

Source: Microsoft Learn Blog