Understand the complete landscape of Microsoft Azure Certification Path.
Role Based Microsoft Azure Certification
1. Azure Fundamentals
2. Azure Administrator Associate: (AZ-103)
3. Azure Developer Associate: (AZ-203)
4. Azure Solutions Architect Expert: (AZ-301)
5. Azure DevOps Engineer Expert: (AZ-400)
6. Azure Security Engineer Associate: (AZ-500)
Azure Security engineer is a candidate who is skilled and looks after security controls, threat protection, data protection, identity access, networks in the cloud, and end-to-end infrastructure.
7. Azure Data Engineer Associate: (DP-203)
8. Azure AI Engineer Associate: (AI-102)
Microsoft Azure certifications
1. Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
AZ-900
Skills covered:
- High availability in cloud computing
- Foundational cloud concepts
- Cloud scalability
- Fault tolerance in cloud computing
- Capex vs Opex cloud computing
Who’s it for?
Pretty much anyone. New or aspiring developers or IT pros and non-technical people with a cloud-adjacent job could benefit from understanding what the heck the cloud actually is and isn’t. The knowledge needed to pass this exam is essential for anyone who wants to understand the Microsoft Azure ecosystem.
2. Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals
DP-900
Skills covered:
- Core data concepts
- Relational and non-relational data on Azure
- Analytics workloads on Azure
- Modern data warehousing
- Data ingestion and processing
- Data visualization in Microsoft Power BI
Who’s it for?
This is for database engineers and database administrators just getting started working with data in the cloud.
3. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
AI-900
Skills covered:
- AI workloads and considerations
- Principles of machine learning on Azure
- Computer vision workloads on Azure
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) workloads on Azure
- Conversational AI workloads on Azure
Who’s it for?
AI Engineers, Data Scientists, Developers, and Solutions Architects who have a basic understanding of AL and ML and Azure services related to them. Like all the Azure Fundamentals certifications, this one is for people with both technical and non-technical backgrounds. That means data science and software engineering experience aren’t mandatory — but Microsoft says some general programming understanding or experience is a plus.
4. Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
AZ-104
Skills covered:
- Configure Azure backups
- Manage Microsoft Azure resource groups
- Microsoft Azure subscription management
- Create Azure file storage
- Deploy Azure virtual machines
- Manage Azure Active Directory
- Implement Azure load balancer
Who’s it for?
IT pros and administrators who keep tabs on cloud assets and resources and manage cloud infrastructure should seek this cert. This exam gets (mistakenly) regarded as an entry-level exam, but there’s a monster-truckload of assumed knowledge you’ll need to know to pass and not get your AZ handed to you.
5. Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate
AZ-204
Skills covered:
- Deploy Azure Resource Manager (ARM)
- Build Azure Managed Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster
- Create Azure app services
- Implement Azure RBAC
- Implement IaaS with Azure
- Develop Azure Cosmos DB solutions
Who’s it for?
This certification is for developers who want to flex their Azure skills. You’ll need to learn Azure and get up to speed on development before taking a swing at this exam. The ideal candidates have proven development experience and familiarity with Azure command-line interface, PowerShell, C#, Azure SQL, and the Azure portal. Sound like you? Note that even though this is an Associate-level certification, many find this exam to be especially tricky. Approach it with patience, and don’t feel discouraged or overwhelmed if you don’t ace it on your first try.
6. Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate
DP-300
Skills covered:
● Plan and implement data platform resources
● Implement a secure environment
● High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HADR)
● Optimize operational resources and query performance
● Task automation
● Perform administration using T-SQL
Who’s it for?
Database administrators and data management specialists who manage on-perm and cloud relational databases cooked up with SQL Server and Microsoft Azure Data Services.
7. Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate
AZ-500
Skills covered:
● Configure azure log analytics
● Manage azure security alerts
● Secure cloud based infrastructure
● Azure privileged identity management
Who’s it for?
This cert is for security engineers who design, configure, and implement security tools and controls in Azure.
Why should you get it?
Cloud security is a highly sought-after skill. As more organizations do hyper-critical things in the cloud, people who can ensure those things stay safe will continue to see their stock (and salaries) soaring.
8. Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate
DP-100
Skills covered:
● Configure Azure data science environments
● How to identify cloud data imbalances
● Evaluate cloud model performance
● How to assess cloud environment constraints
Who’s it for?
This is for data scientists — current and aspiring — who want to work with data in Azure.
9. Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate
DP-203
Skills covered:
● Implement relational storage solutions
● Implement non-relational data storage solutions
● Manage dynamic data masking
● Develop Azure batch processing solutions
Who’s it for?
This certification is for data engineers responsible for data solutions that use Azure services.
10. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate
AI-102
Skills covered:
● Identify cloud automation requirements
● Design pipeline for AI apps
● Integrate bots with Azure extensions
11. Microsoft Certified: Azure Stack Hub Operator Associate
AZ-600
Skills covered:
● A strong understanding of Azure
● Knowledge of virtualization, networking, and identity management
● Understanding of how Azure Stack Hub enables DevOps processes and the hybrid development model
Who’s it for?
This new cert is for Azure admins and Azure Stack Hub operators who provide cloud services to users/customers via your own datacenter using Azure Stack Hub. You plan, deploy, package, update, and maintain Azure Stack Hub infrastructure. Your responsibilities also include offering hybrid cloud resources and requested services and managing infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS).
12. Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
AZ-303 + AZ-304
Skills covered:
● Manage Azure Active Directory
● Cloud migration to Azure strategy
● Configure serverless computing with Azure
● Integration of on-prem infrastructure
● Configure Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Who’s it for?
This is for experienced IT and DevOps pros with existing Azure administration and development skills. A successful solutions architect is a day-walker who works effortlessly with cutting-edge technology and good old-fashioned humans. They’re capable of taking on technical tasks like creating apps, configuring cloud infrastructure, and planning continuity. But they’re equally up for getting chatty about cloud with colleagues — helping pair teams with solutions and serving as a persuasive cloud evangelist to convert cloud naysayers.
13. Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert
AZ-400
Skills covered:
● Form instrumentation and SRE strategies
● Create a security and compliance plan
● Manage source control
● Define and implement continuous integration
● Mobile DevOps strategy with Azure
● Manage cloud hosting infrastructure
● Capture Azure cloud feedback
Who’s it for?
This is for the engineer who is equal parts coder, people person, and a pro-level cat wrangler. You’re familiar with Azure administration and development (and an expert in one or the other) and well versed in Agile development practices.
14. Microsoft Certified: Azure IoT Developer Specialty
AZ-220
Skills covered:
● Implement IoT solution infrastructure and security
● Provision and manage devices
● Set up, deploy, and configure an IoT Edge device
● Process and manage data
● Troubleshoot and optimize IoT solutions
Who’s it for?
This certification is for Azure-fluent developers looking to get into IoT or IoT devs who want to get into Azure.
The 12 Microsoft Azure Certifications
Fundamental-Level Microsoft Azure Certification
Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Exam AZ-900
This certification is designed to validate the foundational knowledge level of Azure cloud services. It also helps non-technical candidates understand cloud services that are offering services such as sales, purchasing, and marketing Azure cloud services.
Areas Covered
● Understand foundational cloud concepts such as High Availability (HA), Scalability, Fault Tolerance (FT), Disaster Recovery, scalability, and the difference between CapEx and OpEx
● Describe Regions, Availability Zones, Resource Groups, Azure Resource Manager, and Azure architectural components
● Describe Azure Firewall, DDoS protection, Network Security Group (NSG)
● Describe Azure subscription, understand purchasing of Azure services and products, Azure free account, and pricing calculator
Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals Exam AI-900
Candidates who are interested in earning this new fundamental level certification must have a basic knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) and how to implement them on Microsoft Azure.
Areas Covered
● Describe AI workloads and considerations, identify features of common AI workloads, and guiding principles for responsible AI
● Describe fundamental principles of machine learning on Azure, identify common machine learning types and scenarios
● Describe features of computer vision workloads on Azure, identify common types of computer vision solution, identify Azure tools and services for computer vision tasks, and identify Azure tools and services for NLP workloads
● Describe features of conversational AI workloads on Azure and identify common use cases for conversational AI Azure services for conversational AI
Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals Exam DP-900
Candidates who want to earn this new certification should have core data concepts such as relational or non-relational data while implementing them on Microsoft Azure architecture.
Areas Covered
● Describe types of core data workloads, batch and streaming data, and core concepts of data analytics.
● Describe relational data workloads, relational Azure data services such as comparing PaaS, IaaS, and SaaS delivery models.
● Identify basic management tasks for relational data including provisioning and deployment of relational data services and describing query techniques for data using SQL language.
● Describe non-relational data workloads and non-relational data offerings on Azure and describe provisioning and deployment of non-relational data services.
● Describe analytics workloads and components of a modern data warehouse
● Describe data ingestion and processing on Azure and data visualization in Microsoft Power BI
Associate-Level Microsoft Azure Certifications
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate Exam AZ-104
Exam AZ-104 for Microsoft Azure Administrator is the updated version of Microsoft Azure Administrator AZ-103 .
This exam will test the knowledge and capabilities of the candidates in the configuration and management of compute, storage, virtual networking, and monitoring in the Azure environment.
An Azure Administrator is a subject matter expert (SME) who is responsible for implementing the Azure-based cloud infrastructure of an organization.
Areas Covered
● Manage Azure AD objects, role-based access control (RBAC), and subscriptions and governance such as configuring Azure policies and resources
● Manage storage accounts and data in Azure storage, configure Azure files, Azure blob storage, and configure storage tiers for Azure blobs
● Configure VMs for high availability, scalability, and Automate deployment and configuration of VMs
● Create and configure VMs, containers, and web apps including app services and service plans
● Configure and manage virtual networking, backup, and monitor Azure resources
Microsoft Azure Developer Associate Exam AZ-204
Microsoft Azure Developer Associate Exam AZ-204 is the latest version of the Microsoft Azure Developer Associate AZ-203 exam that has been available since February 2020.
Candidates for this certification should be familiar with designing, building, and testing Azure-based apps and services. Candidates should also have 1-2 years of development experience with proficiency in data storage and connections, Azure SDKs, debugging, monitoring, and performance tuning, etc.
Areas Covered
● Implementation of IaaS services such as provisioning of VMs, creation of RM templates, and implementation of Azure functions
● Develop solutions for Cosmos DB storage and blob storage
● Implementation of Azure security such as user authentication and authorization, and role-based access (RBAC)
● Troubleshoot and monitor Azure solutions such as developing code to implement CDN
● Develop event-based solutions, message-based solutions, App Service Logic App, and implement API management while creating APIM instance
Microsoft Azure Security Engineer – Associate Exam AZ-500
This certification is designed for candidates who implement and manage security controls, identity, and access management and are responsible for securing cloud data, apps, and networks. As a Microsoft Azure security engineer, candidates are responsible for managing and securing cloud-based solutions and may also secure hybrid cloud solutions as part of an end-to-end infrastructure.
This exam requires strong skills in automation and scripting, a deep understanding of virtualization technology and virtual networking, and a strong familiarity with Microsoft cloud services and products.
Areas Covered
● Configure MS AD for workloads, Azure AD privileged identity management, and Azure tenant security
● Implement network and container security, host, and Azure resource management security
● Configure Azure monitor and Azure log analytics, manage security alerts, and configure security policies
● Configure and manage security for data infrastructure, configure SSL/TLS for application security, and configure and manage key vault and encryption for data at rest
Microsoft Azure AI Engineer – Associate Exam AI-100
This associate-level certification is designed for candidates who implement Microsoft AI solutions like natural language processing, speech, computer vision, bots, and agents using Cognitive Services, Machine Learning, and Knowledge Mining.
Candidates for this exam have to:
● Analyze the requirements for AI solutions
● Recommend appropriate tools and technologies
● Implements solutions that meet scalability and performance requirements
Areas Covered
● Select the processing architecture, appropriate data processing technologies, AI models and services, and identify automation requirements and appropriate services and tools for a solution
● Design a strategy for ingesting and egress data, pipelines for AI apps, integrate bots and AI solutions, and define how users and apps will authenticate to AI services
● Develop AI pipelines, implement AI workflow, and data logging processes
● Monitor AI components for availability, maintain AI solution for continuous improvements, and recommend changes to an AI solution as per performance data
Microsoft Azure Data Scientist – Associate Exam DP-100
This certification is designed to learn about designing and implementing a Data Science Solution on Azure. You will learn how to apply the Azure machine learning approaches in training, evaluation, and deployment of models that are used to solve business problems.
Areas Covered
● Create and configure Azure data science environments, assess the deployment environment constraints, analyze and recommend tools to meet system requirements
● Prepare and transform data into usable data sets, identify and resolve anomalies, and review visual data analytics to discover patterns
● Perform feature selection, extraction, and scaling
● Identify data imbalances, split datasets, and evaluate model performance
Microsoft Azure Data Engineer – Associate Exams DP-200 and DP-201
To become a certified as Azure Data Engineer, you’ll have to pass two exams: DP-200 and DP-201.
Exam DP-200: Implementing an Azure Data Solution
This exam is designed to implement data solutions that include provisioning of data storage services, batch data processing, develop streaming, implement security requirements, implement data retention policies, and accessing external data sources. Candidates must have the ability to implement Azure SQL Databases, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure Stream Analytics, and Blob storage services.
Areas Covered
● Implement relational and non-relational data storage solutions
● Manage data security by implementing data masking and encrypting data at rest and in motion
● Develop streaming and batch processing solutions
● Monitor data storage, data processing, and optimize Azure data solutions
Exam DP-201: Designing an Azure Data Solution
This is the second exam for Azure Data Engineer and this exam helps engineers to design data storage, data processing, and data security and compliance solutions for Azure services. Candidates must have the ability to design Azure SQL Databases, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure Stream Analytics, and Blob storage services.
Areas Covered
● Design relational and non-relational cloud data stores
● Design real-time and batch processing solutions and provision compute resources
● Design security solutions as encryption, auditing, and privacy of the data
● Design data retention policies and plan archiving strategies
Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Associate Exam DP-300
This is a role-based Azure certification exam that would be ideal for candidates who are interested in administering cloud-based database systems. By achieving this certification, candidates will be responsible to administer and manage relational databases on cloud and on-premises developed on Azure data services and SQL Server.
Areas Covered
● Plan and implement resources of data platform such as deploy database solutions on selected platforms and configure customized deployment templates
● Implement a secure database environment such as Azure AD authentication and implement security for data at rest and data at transit
● Monitor activities, implement performance-based maintenance tasks and configure resources for optimal performance
● Review queries, index design, and database tables
● Planning and implementing High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HADR) strategy for continuous services and perform backups
Expert-Level Microsoft Azure Certifications
Azure Certified Solutions Architect
To become an Azure Certified Solutions Architect, you’ll have to pass two exams: AZ-303 and AZ-304.
Exam AZ-303: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies
The exam AZ-303 is the updated version of the former Azure Solution Architect AZ-300 exam, for testing the capabilities of candidates for managing Azure cloud resources.
Candidates who are interested in earning this certification should be SMEs in implementing cloud resources on Microsoft Azure such as compute, storage, networking, and security of the resources.
Areas Covered
● Implement Azure AD, infrastructure monitoring, storage accounts, and virtual networking
● Manage workloads in Azure cloud, implement network security, and load balancing
● Implement container-based apps, create and configure AKS
● Implement NoSQL and Azure SQL databases
Exam AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design
The exam AZ-304 for designing Microsoft Azure architecture is the updated version of the former Azure Solution Architect Design AZ-301 exam.
Areas Covered
● Gather requirements, optimize consumption strategy, and design auditing and monitoring strategy
● Design authentication, authorization, and identity management
● Design data management, data protection, and data flow strategies
● Design high availability, site recovery, and data archiving strategies
● Design deployments, migration, and API integration strategies
● Design compute, storage, networking, and monitoring strategies
Microsoft Azure DevOps Engineer – Expert Exam AZ-400
This certification is designed for DevOps professionals who bring people, processes, and technologies closer to deliver valuable services and products that meet business requirements and objectives. DevOps professionals are responsible for delivering cloud services by improving collaboration and communications, designing, and implementing strategies for app coding, and creating automation, continuous delivery, monitoring, and feedback. For this job role, candidates should be proficient with Agile practices and familiar with both Azure development and operations processes.
Areas Covered
● Design a secure development lifecycle and tool integration process
● Design and implement version control and mobile DevOps strategy, implement and integrate source control, and manage to build infrastructure
● Analyze and manage hosting infrastructure and Azure Kubernetes Service infrastructure
● Implement infrastructure as code, compliance, and security of the infrastructure
● Design and optimize the feedback mechanism