Azure Certification Path 2023: Where to start with Azure Certifications
Azure Certification Path 2023: Where to start with Azure Certifications
Discover Your Path to Azure Certification Success
Azure certifications offer IT professionals an edge in this cloud-based and connected world. Job seekers and seasoned professionals alike can use Azure certifications to help advance their career—in their existing organization and role or in new ones—earn recognition, and validate their technical knowledge and abilities in current and future industry job roles. And organizations can use certifications to identify the talent they need and build the technical skills of their workforce.
There is clear knowledge that exhibiting and certifying your knowledge of specialized cloud roles through Microsoft Azure certifications is a surefire way to propel your IT career forward, however there are still plenty of individuals who are unsure about the different Azure certifications that would best suit their needs of the hour.
In order to assist you in picking the certification that best suits your needs, we are here with another comprehensive guide that covers everything you must know about the Azure Certification Path – a description of various Azure certifications, pricing, scope, etc.
We are aware that choosing your Azure certification can oftentimes feel like a minefield, so this article aims to alleviate your qualms and make your journey to becoming Azure certified easy.
Why are Microsoft Azure certifications so important?
Azure is the most widely used cloud computing platform, leading the cloud industry forward globally. A large majority of organizations and enterprises – small and big, have made the leap towards embracing cloud technology. This paradigm shift has also revealed that organizations want to remain competitive as the demand for cloud based and centered solutions grows daily, directly affecting the need for technology professionals with cloud knowledge.
Microsoft has been at forefront of ensuring that the global workforce is prepared to take on this substantial task by validating and certifying top applicants who are the best suited for a specific job position, according to Microsoft. Microsoft certifications can undoubtedly add value to a candidate’s professional journey as most businesses now prefer to have prospective employees with certifications on tow.
Azure Certification Path
There are four levels of Microsoft certifications Azure Certification path levels, covering beginner to expert level azure cloud certification.
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Fundamentals Certification – If you are a beginner, your Azure journey will start with Fundamentals Certification. Candidates with non-technical backdrop can also step into cloud computing through these certifications.
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Associate Certification – Candidates who have a fair idea of Azure can aim toward associate certifications.
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Expert Certification – You can obtain an expert certification if you have experience, a solid comprehension of the subject, and associate-level familiarity with Azure.
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Specialty Certification – It is the highest level Azure certification. Candidates can opt for this Azure certification, if they want to apply for roles like Azure IOT Developer Specialty and Azure for SAP Workloads.
Gain an edge with Azure Certification
Important! 2022 Updates
The table below shows the Microsoft Azure Certifications that have been phased out and their corresponding Replacement Exam, announced on March 31st, 2022.
| # | Expired Exam | Replacement Exam |
| 1 | AZ-303 – Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies | AZ-305 exam – Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions |
| 2 | AZ-304 – Microsoft Azure Architect Design | |
| 3 | DA-100 – Analyzing Data with Microsoft Power BI | PL-300 Exam -Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Exam |
Microsoft Certified: Azure Support Engineer for Connectivity Specialty (AZ – 720) is the new certification exam that is launched by Microsoft Azure.
Azure Fundamental Level Certifications
Get hired, stay ahead, be productive, and receive the recognition you deserve with Microsoft Certified: Fundamentals. These highly marketable, industry-respected certifications offer foundational training and exams that provide a practical, high-level overview of Microsoft technology and validate your up-to-date knowledge of the topics.
Whether you’re a technical professional, student, or business professional, Azure fundamentals certification are designed to help you accelerate your progress, boost your career, and stay current with evolving cloud technology trends. It can be the first step on your journey for role-based or specialty certifications, but it isn’t a prerequisite for any of them.
[/fusion_text]| Code | Fundamentals-Level Certifications |
|---|---|
| AZ-900 | Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals |
| DP-900 | Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals |
| AI-900 | Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals |
| SC-900 | Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Azure |
Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)
Learn the basics of Microsoft Azure, the cloud trusted by 95 percent of Fortune 500 companies. Gain understanding of cloud computing concepts, the range of Azure services, and the differences between public, private, and hybrid clouds. Recommended for early career cloud professionals and aspiring students.
Requirements: Exam AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
Prerequisites: None
Skills Covered
- Define cloud computing and its key advantages.
- Explain public, private, and hybrid cloud models.
- Explain IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS cloud services.
- Identify core Azure architectural components, such as regions, geographies, and resource groups.
- Identify usage cases for Azure core services and products, such as virtual machines and storage.
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900)
Take the next step in your cloud career by learning the foundational concepts you need to confidently contribute to an organization’s data-driven decision making and processes. Topics include relational data, nonrelational data, big data, and analytics. Recommended for early career data management professionals and aspiring students.
Requirements: Exam DP-900: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals
Prerequisites: None
Skills Covered
- Describe core data concepts in Azure
- Explain concepts of relational data in Azure
- Explain concepts of non-relational data in Azure
- Identify components of a modern data warehouse in Azure
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900)
Master the basics of AI on Azure and gain the foundation to advance your career in this exciting field. This certification demonstrates your knowledge of common AI and machine learning workloads and the Azure services needed to run them. Recommended for early career AI professionals and aspiring students.
Requirements: Exam AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals
Prerequisites: None
Skills Covered:
- Describe Artificial Intelligence workloads and considerations
- Describe fundamental principles of machine learning on Azure
- Describe features of computer vision workloads on Azure
- Describe features of Natural Language Processing (NLP) workloads on Azure
- Describe features of conversational AI workloads on Azure
Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals (SC-900)
Advance your knowledge on a range of cybersecurity topics and build a foundation for advanced certifications that prepare you for in-demand roles in security operations, identity and access management, and information protection. Recommended for early career IT security professionals and aspiring students.
Requirements: Exam SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals
Prerequisites: None
Skills Covered
- Describe basic concepts of security, compliance, and identity.
- Describe the concepts and capabilities of Microsoft identity and access management solutions.
- Describe the capabilities of Microsoft security solutions.
- Describe the compliance management capabilities in Microsoft.
Azure Associate-level certifications
| Code | Associate-Level Certifications |
|---|---|
| AZ-104 | Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate |
| AZ-204 | Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate |
| DP-300 | Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate |
| AZ-500 | Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate |
| AZ-700 | Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate |
| DP-203 | Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate |
| AI-102 | Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate |
| AZ-600 | Microsoft Certified: Azure Stack Hub Operator Associate |
| AZ-800 + AZ–801 | Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate |
| DP-100 | Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate |
| DP-500 | Microsoft Certified: Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate |
| SC-200 | Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate |
| SC-300 | Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate |
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)
Learn to manage Microsoft Azure identities and governance; implement and manage storage; deploy and manage Azure compute resources; configure and manage virtual networking; and monitor and back up Azure resources in this 4-days Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate course.
Required Exam: Exam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator
Required Course: AZ-104T00: Microsoft Azure Administrator
Prerequisites: None
Skills Covered
- Secure and manage identities with Azure Active Directory.
- Implement and manage users and groups.
- Implement and manage Azure subscriptions and accounts.
- Implement Azure Policy, including custom policies.
- Use RBAC to assign permissions.
Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)
This Microsoft Azure Developer Associate certification course teaches developers how to create end-to-end solutions in Microsoft Azure. Students will learn how to implement Azure compute solutions, create Azure Functions, implement and manage web apps, develop solutions utilizing Azure storage, implement authentication and authorization, and secure their solutions by using KeyVault and Managed Identities.
Required Exam: Exam AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
Required Course: AZ-204T00: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
Prerequisites: None
Skills Covered
- Develop Azure compute solutions
- Develop for Azure storage
- Implement Azure security
- Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure solutions
- Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services
Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate (DP-300)
If you understand the transformation from on-premises databases to cloud data services—and the cloud database technologies available to you with Azure—now is the time to showcase the value you add to your organization as a database administrator with the Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate credential.
Requirements: Exam DP-300: Administering Relational Databases on Microsoft Azure
Required Course: DP-300T00: Administering Relational Databases on Microsoft Azure
Prerequisites: Microsoft says people eyeing this cert should understand all the concepts covered in DP-900 Exam for the Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals certification.
Skills Covered
After completing this course, students will be able to:
- Plan, deploy and configure Azure SQL offerings
- Monitor database performance and tune a database and queries for optimum performance
- Plan and configure a High Availability Solution
Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500)
If your responsibilities as part of a larger team include maintaining the security posture, identifying and remediating vulnerabilities by using a variety of security tools, implementing threat protection, and responding to security incident escalations, this Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate could be the certification for you.
Required Exam: Exam AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies
Required Course: AZ-500T00: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies
Prerequisites: None officially, but strong scripting and automation chops plus familiarity with networking, virtualization, and cloud are needed for the exam.
Skills Covered
- Implement enterprise governance strategies including role-based access control, Azure policies, and resource locks.
- Implement an Azure AD infrastructure including users, groups, and multi-factor authentication.
- Implement Azure AD Identity Protection including risk policies, conditional access, and access reviews.
- Implement Azure AD Privileged Identity Management including Azure AD roles and Azure resources.
- Implement Azure AD Connect including authentication methods and on-premises directory
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate (DP-100)
A data scientist promotes a data-driven culture using rigorous scientific methodology and algorithms to discover and resolve business problems and to pursue opportunities to help achieve their organization’s goals.
If this describes you, your skill set, and your passion for data, the Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate certification is made for you.
Required Exam: Exam DP-100: Designing and Implementing a Data Science Solution on Azure
Required Course: DP-100T01: Designing and Implementing a Data Science Solution on Azure
Prerequisites: None, but test-takers typically have a history with computer science, math, and statistics.
Skills Covered
- Manage Azure resources for machine learning
- Run experiments and train models
- Deploy and operationalize machine learning solutions
- Implement responsible machine learning
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate (DP-203)
Data engineer professionals know that cloud analytics is a critical first step to resilient business transformation, and they spend their days unlocking data and putting it to work for key insights and ground-breaking value. If you have these skills and want to prove them, check out this Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate certification course.
Requirements: Exam DP-203: Data Engineering on Microsoft Azure
Required Course: DP-203T00: Data Engineering on Microsoft Azure
Prerequisites: None, but you’ll need to know basically every data-rel