Unleash Business Potential as a Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate
Unleash Business Potential as a Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate
Your guide to become a Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate
Are you a functional consultant or data analyst looking to advance your career? Or perhaps you’re a developer or solution architect seeking to expand your skills and earn recognition for your expertise? If so, you’re not alone. Many professionals in the tech industry are searching for ways to stand out in a competitive job market and demonstrate their value to employers.
One potential solution to this problem is to achieve a Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate certification. This Power Platform certification validates your skills in building and implementing solutions using Microsoft Power Platform, including Power Apps, Power BI, and Power Virtual Agents.
In this blog, we’ll explore the benefits of this certification and how it can help you advance your career with Power Platform. We’ll also discuss the functional consultant role and the skills needed to qualify for this certification. Whether you’re just starting out, looking to advance, or wanting to change to a new, in-demand career, this certification can help you validate the applicable skills you’ve worked so hard to hone.
So, let’s dive in and discover how this Power Platform certification can benefit your career.
The Role of a Functional Consultant:
The role of a functional consultant is dynamic and varied, with a focus on designing and implementing solutions using the Microsoft Power Platform.
A typical day for a functional consultant involves:
- Gathering project requirements
- Collaborating with stakeholders
- Analyzing data to understand the project’s scope
As the project progresses, functional consultants are responsible for automating processes, building custom user experiences, and designing seamless integrations with third-party applications. These professionals must also be skilled at incorporating feedback and iterating to improve the final product.
To qualify for the Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate certification, individuals must possess knowledge and experience in configuring the Power Platform, as well as data modeling principles. With this certification, functional consultants can market themselves more effectively for projects and engagements and demonstrate their ability to build and implement low code or no-code solutions, which are increasingly in demand in today’s digital landscape.
Advantages of getting certified
Getting certified as a functional consultant can provide numerous benefits to your career. In today’s fast-paced digital world, having a certification can demonstrate that you are technically agile and can adapt to new technologies and solutions. Certifications based on your role can better prepare you for real-world responsibilities, and professionals with a role-based certification tend to perform better than their non-certified colleagues.
IDC’s “Benefits of Role-Based Certifications” report highlights that IT professionals who hold certifications based on their roles are better equipped to handle real-world responsibilities. The report also reveals that professionals with a role-based certification perform 26% better on average than their peers who don’t hold any certification.
Others have also reported that certifications can help you remain competitive and demonstrate to employers that your skills are up to date. In addition to highlighting your specific technical skills, holding a certification also indicates that you are willing to learn and embrace new technologies, which is crucial in building a tech-intensive organization. Employers are looking for professionals who not only have the necessary skills but also possess a culture of learning and a drive to stay ahead of the curve.
Moreover, according to the Global Knowledge 2020 IT Skills and Salary Report:
- 87% of IT professionals hold at least one certification.
- Almost 40% of IT professionals are pursuing another certification.
This emphasizes the significance of certification in the IT industry, as it has been shown to enhance the careers of IT professionals.
How do I get started?
Step 1: Determine if the Certification is Right for You
Before you begin your certification journey, it’s important to determine whether the Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate certification is the right fit for you. Take a look at the journey map provided to help you make an informed decision.
Step 2: Choose the right training
Once you’ve decided to pursue the certification, explore the different training options available to you. The PL-200T00: Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant course is available as both instructor-led training (ILT) and virtual instructor-led training (VILT).
| Course Code | Course Title | Fees (RM) | Days | May | Jun | July |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PL-200T00 | Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant | 3,000 | 4 | 29-2 | 13-16 | – |
Step 3: Prepare for the exam
Enroll in the PL-200T00 course to learn key concepts and skills that will prepare you to take on the certification exam. You’ll learn the necessary skills such as:
- Build, implement, and extend applications using the Power Platform
- You’ll learn how to gather requirements
- Build model-driven, canvas, and portal apps
- Create Power Automate flows, design chatbots using Power Virtual Agents
- Analyze data using Power BI visualizations and dashboards
Step 4: Take Advantage of Practice Exams
To ensure that you’re fully prepared for the certification exam, take advantage of practice exams. The Microsoft Official Practice Test PL-200 (Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant) that covers all of the exam objectives in-depth, so you’ll be ready for any question that comes your way.
Step 5: Expand your technical expertise
Once you’ve passed the exam and earned your certification, you can continue to expand your technical expertise by pursuing other role-based Power Platform certifications listed below:
Other certifications for you
Initiate with Power Platform Fundamentals
If you are just starting out, the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals certification is a great choice. This certification validates your basic skills across Microsoft Power Platform and is a prerequisite for more advanced certifications.
Be sure to check out our Guide to Microsoft Power Platform Certification blog if you are unsure of which path to pursue!
Certifications for Aspiring Developers
For those with a development background, it is highly recommended to enhance your expertise with Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate. This certification validates your ability to design, develop, secure, and troubleshoot Power Platform solutions.
Discover more about Microsoft Power Platform Developer Associate through our in-depth blog that provides a more comprehensive information on this certification.
Expand your IT career with Solution Architect Certifications
If you have gained a lot of functional consultant experience, step up your game with Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert Certification. This certification validates your ability to lead successful implementations and drive adoption of Power Platform solutions.
Not sure if this is the right certification for you? Gain a deeper understanding of Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect Expert with our comprehensive blog today!
Power BI Data Analyst Associate Certifications
For data analysts with Power BI expertise, enroll in Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate certification today! This certification validates your ability to design and build scalable data models, clean and transform data, and enable advanced analytic capabilities.
Access valuable insights and information about Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst with our extensive blog that provides in-depth coverage of this topic.
Keep in mind that holding multiple certifications is a great way to showcase your breadth of knowledge and skills to potential employers. Pursuing and earning multiple certifications can demonstrate your proficiency across different areas of the Power Platform, making you a more valuable asset to any organization.
Conclusion
Pursuing a functional consultant certification can be a great way to advance your career as an IT professional. With the right training and preparation, you can gain the skills and knowledge necessary to build, implement, and extend applications using the Power Platform.
We offer a range of certification options to suit different paths and interests, so don’t be afraid to explore your options and pursue multiple certifications. Remember that certification is an ongoing journey, and earning additional Microsoft certifications can help you stay up-to-date with the latest technology trends and demonstrate your expertise to potential employers. So, take the first step towards becoming a certified functional consultant today, and see where your certification journey takes you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should consider obtaining the Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate certification?
The certification is ideal for functional consultants, data analysts, developers, solution architects, and IT professionals who have experience configuring Microsoft Power Platform and are familiar with extending and customizing Microsoft apps and services such as Teams, Dynamics 365, Excel, and Word.
What skills does the Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate certification validate?
This certification demonstrates your ability to build and implement solutions using Power Apps, Power BI, and Power Virtual Agents. It validates your skills in creating model-driven, canvas, and portal apps; designing chatbots; building Power Automate flows; analyzing data with Power BI visualizations and dashboards; and implementing application enhancements, custom user experiences, system integrations, data conversions, custom process automation, and custom visualizations.
How can the Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate certification benefit my career?
Obtaining this certification helps enhance your career by showcasing your expertise in building no-code or low-code solutions that would usually require developer skills. It allows you to market yourself more effectively for projects and engagements, making you a key member of your team.
How does the Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate certification help organizations?
This certification indicates to organizations that certified professionals can build effective solutions using the Microsoft Power Platform with no-code or low-code approaches. This can help organizations save time and resources while achieving their business goals.
