Great Microsoft Exams for Azure

Microsoft Azure is now associated with almost all IT projects involving Microsoft technologies. Cloud computing is the only way for enterprise companies to lower their operating costs and get the cutting edge tools and Software services. In-house IT infrastructures have limitations, but with Microsoft Cloud sky is the limit.

There are many Cloud computing certifications available by Microsoft for Azure. The below 10 are must-have for advancing one's career.

70-487: Developing Microsoft Azure and Web Services

Candidates for this certification are professional developers that use Visual Studio 2017 and the Microsoft .NET Core Framework to design and develop Web solutions. Candidates should have a minimum of three to five years of experience developing ASP.NET MVC-based solutions. Additionally, candidates should be able to demonstrate the following:

• Experience designing and developing Web applications that access various (local and remote) data and services including Windows Azure

• Experience with the full software development life cycle of data and service solutions

• Experience developing and deploying to multi-tier environments, including Windows Azure

• Experience designing and developing asynchronous solutions

• Experience creating and consuming HTTP services

Skills measured:

1. Accessing Data (20-25%)
2. Querying and Manipulating Data by Using the Entity Framework (20-25%)
3. Creating and Consuming Web API-based services (20-25%)
4. Designing and Implementing Web Services (15-20%)
5. Deploying Web Applications and Services (15-20%)

70-537: Configuring and Operating a Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack

Candidates for this exam are Azure administrators and Azure Stack operators who use Azure Stack to provide cloud services to their end users or customers from within their own data center. 

Candidates for this exam should have significant experience managing and operating Azure Stack environments. Candidates should have a strong understanding of Azure as well as some knowledge of virtualization, networking, and identity management. Candidates should also understand how Azure Stack enables DevOps processes and the hybrid development model.

Candidates for this exam are expected to demonstrate the ability to plan, deploy, package, update, and maintain the Azure Stack infrastructure. Candidates must also demonstrate the ability to offer hybrid cloud resources and requested services, and to manage infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS). 

Skills measured:

1. Deploying and Integrating an Azure Stack Environment (20-25%)
2. Configuring PaaS and IaaS for an Azure Stack Environment (25-30%)
3. Providing Services to and Enabling DevOps for Azure Stack Tenants (25-30%)
4. Maintaining and Monitoring an Azure Stack Environment (20-25%)

AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

This exam is designed for candidates looking to demonstrate foundational-level knowledge of cloud services and how those services are provided with Microsoft Azure. The exam is intended for candidates with non-technical backgrounds, such as those involved in selling or purchasing cloud based solutions and services, or who have some involvement with cloud based solutions and services, as well as those with a technical background who have a need to validate their foundational-level knowledge around cloud services. Technical IT experience is not required, however, some general IT knowledge or experience would be beneficial. 

This exam can be taken as an optional first step in learning about cloud services and how those concepts are exemplified by Microsoft Azure. It can be taken as a precursor to Microsoft Azure or Microsoft cloud services exams. While it would be a beneficial first step, validating foundational-level knowledge, taking this exam is not a prerequisite before taking any other Azure-based certifications. 

Skills measured: 

1. Understand cloud concepts (15-20%)
2. Understand core Azure services (30-35%)
3. Understand security, privacy, compliance, and trust (25-30%)
4. Understand Azure pricing and support (20-25%)

AZ-103: Microsoft Azure Administrator

Candidates for this exam are Azure Administrators who manage cloud services that span storage, security, networking, and compute cloud capabilities. Candidates have a deep understanding of each service across the full IT lifecycle, and take requests for infrastructure services, applications, and environments. They make recommendations on services to use for optimal performance and scale, as well as provision, size, monitor, and adjust resources as appropriate.

Candidates for this exam should have proficiency in using PowerShell, the Command Line Interface, Azure Portal, ARM templates, operating systems, virtualization, cloud infrastructure, storage structures, and networking.

Skills measured:

1. Manage Azure subscriptions and resources (15-20%)
2. Implement and manage storage (15-20%)
3. Deploy and manage virtual machines (VMs) (15-20%)
4. Configure and manage virtual networks (30-35%)
5. Manage identities (15-20%)

AZ-203: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure

Candidates for this exam are Azure Developers who design and build cloud solutions such as applications and services. They participate in all phases of development, from solution design, to development and deployment, to testing and maintenance. They partner with cloud solution architects, cloud DBAs, cloud administrators, and clients to implement the solution.

Candidates should be proficient in developing apps and services by using Azure tools and technologies, including storage, security, compute, and communications.

Candidates must have at least one year of experience developing scalable solutions through all phases of software development and be skilled in at least one cloud-supported programming language.

Skills measured:

1. Develop Azure Infrastructure as a Service compute solution (10-15%)
2. Develop Azure Platform as a Service compute solution (20-25%)
3. Develop for Azure storage (15-20%)
4. Implement Azure security (10-15%)
5. Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize solutions (10-15%)
6. Connect to and consume Azure and third-party services (20-25%)

AZ-300: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies

Candidates for this exam are Azure Solution Architects who advise stakeholders and translate business requirements into secure, scalable, and reliable solutions. Candidates should have advanced experience and knowledge across various aspects of IT operations, including networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data management, budgeting, and governance. This role requires managing how decisions in each area affects an overall solution. Candidates must be proficient in Azure administration, Azure development, and DevOps, and have expert-level skills in at least one of those domains.

Skills measured:

1. Deploy and configure infrastructure (25-30%)
2. Implement workloads and security (20-25%)
3. Create and deploy apps (5-10%)
4. Implement authentication and secure data (5-10%)
5. Develop for the cloud and for Azure storage (20-25%)

AZ-301: Microsoft Azure Architect Design

Candidates for this exam are Azure Solution Architects who advise stakeholders and translate business requirements into secure, scalable, and reliable solutions. Candidates should have advanced experience and knowledge across various aspects of IT operations, including networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data management, budgeting, and governance. This role requires managing how decisions in each area affects an overall solution. Candidates must be proficient in Azure administration, Azure development, and DevOps, and have expert-level skills in at least one of those domains.

Skills measured:

1. Determine workload requirements (10-15%)
2. Design for identity and security (20-25%)
3. Design a data platform solution (15-20%)
4. Design a business continuity strategy (15-20%)
5. Design for deployment, migration, and integration (10-15%)
6. Design an infrastructure strategy (15-20%)

AZ-400: Microsoft Azure DevOps Solutions

Candidates for this exam are DevOps professionals who combine people, processes, and technologies to continuously deliver valuable products and services that meet end-user needs and business objectives. DevOps professionals streamline delivery by optimizing practices, improving communications and collaboration, and creating automation. They design and implement strategies for application code and infrastructure that allow for continuous integration, testing, delivery, monitoring, and feedback.

Candidates must be proficient with Agile practices. They must be familiar with both Azure administration and Azure development and experts in at least one of these areas. Azure DevOps professionals must be able to design and implement DevOps practices for version control, compliance, infrastructure as code, configuration management, build, release, and testing by using Azure technologies.

Skills measured:

1. Design a DevOps strategy (20-25%)
2. Implement DevOps development processes (20-25%)
3. Implement continuous integration (10-15%)
4. Implement continuous delivery (10-15%)
5. Implement dependency management (5-10%)
6. Implement application infrastructure (15-20%)
7. Implement continuous feedback (10-15%)

AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies

Candidates for this exam are Microsoft Azure security engineers who implement security controls, maintain the security posture, manage identity and access, and protect data, applications, and networks. Candidates identify and remediate vulnerabilities by using a variety of security tools, implement threat protection, and respond to security incident escalations. As a Microsoft Azure security engineer, candidates often serve as part of a larger team dedicated to cloud-based management and security and may also secure hybrid environments as part of an end-to-end infrastructure.

Candidates for this exam should have strong skills in scripting and automation; a deep understanding of networking, virtualization, and cloud N-tier architecture; and a strong familiarity with cloud capabilities, Microsoft Azure products and services, and other Microsoft products and services.

Skills measured:

1. Manage identity and access (20-25%)
2. Implement platform protection (35-40%)
3. Manage security operations (15-20%)
4. Secure data and applications (30-35%)

AZ-120: Planning and Administering Microsoft Azure for SAP Workloads (still in beta)

Candidates for this exam are architects and engineers who are knowledgeable in the SAP Landscape Certification process and industry standards that are specific to the long-term operation of an SAP solution. Candidates make recommendations on services and adjust resources as appropriate for optimal resiliency, performance, scale, provision, size, and monitoring.

Architects of Azure for SAP Workloads should have extensive experience and knowledge of SAP Applications, SAP HANA, S/4HANA, SAP NetWeaver, SAP BW, OS Servers for SAP Applications and Databases, Azure Portal, ARM templates, operating systems, virtualization, cloud infrastructure, storage structures, high availability design, disaster recovery design, data protection concepts, and networking.

It is strongly recommended that candidates for this exam have an Azure Administrator or Azure Architect certification, in addition to SAP HANA and Linux certifications.

Skills measured:

1. Migrate SAP Workloads to Azure (10-15%)
2. Design an Azure Solution to Support SAP Workloads (20-25%)
3. Build and Deploy Azure SAP Workloads (35-40%)
4. Validate Azure Infrastructure for SAP Workloads (10-15%)
5. Operationalize Azure SAP Architecture (10-15%)