Be it any industry or an enterprise of any size, the need for a flexible and efficient storage solution is always at the top. Azure offers a fast method to collect data, analyze it, and use several methods and tools to enable companies, including some of Fortune 500 organizations, to deliver their services and products to their users within a minimal time frame.
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Let us start by learning who these professionals are and the steps you need to follow to get into this field.
Who is an Azure Administrator?
Microsoft Azure is a platform for Cloud Computing that lets its users manage a variety of cloud resources and services such as the storage of data, data transformation, and more. For users to access this data, they must have a stable internet connection, and they should be able to connect to the Azure portal.
An Azure Administrator is someone who implements, manages, and monitors Azure solutions and works on the storage, governance, identity, virtual networks, and compute in a cloud environment.
Now, if you wish to enter the profession, first, you must clear the AZ-103 Microsoft Azure Administration certification exam or the AZ-104 certification exam. You will learn about the two in detail in the blog.
Let us check out the skills you need to have to become a Microsoft Azure Administrator.
Azure Professional Skills
To get into an Azure-based profession, there are numerous skills that you need to acquire. You must be comfortable with setting up cloud systems, balancing and deploying workloads, working with UNIX, Windows, and other operating systems, and more.
Below are some more skills that you need to acquire to become an Azure professional:
- In-depth knowledge of cloud computing services is important in all Azure-based jobs
- Basic understanding of the functions in databases, servers, networking, and software in the cloud
- Knowledge of Microsoft
- Experience in working with Office 365 and PowerShell
- Prior experience in Google Cloud or AWS can be useful
- Programming skills in at least one language
- Knowledge of ASP.NET and open-source frameworks
- Passing the Azure Administrator certification exam conducted by Microsoft
To prepare for the exam, you must apply for the best Azure Course and become capable of clearing the exam on the first attempt.
Now, you will learn about the skills that are specific to the job role of an Azure Administrator.
Role-based Azure Administrator Skills
Listed below are a few of the must-have skills to get a job as an Azure Administrator:
- Ability to run virtual machines on the cloud
- Experience in Kubernetes and Docker for virtualization
- Managing storage solutions for virtual database files, hard disks, application data, etc.
- Securing data from unauthorized access
- Ensuring data backups for restoration
- Maintaining corporate compliance and configuring archival storage
- Expertise in security controls of Microsoft
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Now, let us come to the Azure certification exam.
Azure Administrator Certification
AZ-103 is one of the latest exams released by Microsoft. After this release, Microsoft also released the AZ-104 certification in 2020, which is a replacement for AZ-103.
Earlier, you must have seen that Azure certifications were divided into two parts, AZ-100 and A-101. However, with the recent release, both exams are combined into one. Once you clear the AZ-103 or AZ-104 exam, Microsoft will reward you with the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
The Azure Administrator certification costs about US$165, and for every next attempt, you need to pay the same amount.
Next, get an understanding of the modules that are covered in the examination.
Azure Administrator Syllabus
The modules that are included in this Microsoft Azure certification exam, along with their respective weightage, are listed below:
- Configuration and management of virtual networks: 30–35 percent
- Management of Azure resources and subscriptions: 15–20 percent
- Deployment and management of virtual machines (VMs): 15–20 percent
- Implementation and management of storage: 15–20 percent
- Management of identities: 15–20 percent
Now, briefly read about the above modules to know what you need to learn in them.
Configuration and Management of Virtual Networks
This section has the highest weightage in the certification exam. You will need to know how to set up enterprise-level networks. You should be able to use network gateways and VNet peering to connect various virtual networks, secure VNets with the help of network security groups, and configure public and private DNS zones for the process of name resolution.
Another important topic that is covered in this module is advanced virtual networks. You should be able to use the Azure load balancer to distribute a load of any application across numerous virtual machines, Network Watcher to monitor virtual networks, and ExpressRoute and VPN gateway to integrate the Azure network with your company’s on-premises network.
Check out our blog on Azure Monitor to learn more.
Management of Azure Resources and Subscriptions
Although it may seem simple, it is one of the most significant subfields of the exam syllabus. Without the knowledge of this, as an admin, you will have loopholes in the security of organizational data, which, in turn, will result in massive losses. Therefore, you need to know how to apply several policies to resources and subscriptions for maintaining your organization’s governance. With the help of Azure, you can enforce the necessary policies in your organization and put a stop to the actions that your organization wishes to prevent.
Moreover, you should be proficient in monitoring resource consumption. Otherwise, you may end up with an exceptionally large amount of bills to pay. Another important topic in this module is controlling role-based access. This particular topic will allow you to understand how to provide the right amount of access to the respective users so that no one gets any privileges that they do not require.
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Deployment and Management of Virtual Machines
An easy module compared to the others is the deployment and management of Azure VMs. To excel in this section, you must be proficient in deploying VMs in a company. Additionally, you should have the skills to use Azure Resource Manager to deploy the VMs, desired state configuration, and policies to back up the VMs. Further, you must set up auto-scaling and high availability.
Implementation and Management of Storage
The next module is to implement and manage storage. However, storage is not the only topic of importance in this section. You will be tested on setting up file shares with the help of Azure File Sync. You should also know how to use the Recovery Services vault to implement data backups.
Also, check out Intellipaat’s blog on Azure Career Opportunities.
Management of Identities
The final module in the syllabus of the certification exam is the management of identities that focus on Azure Active Directory (AD.) It is Microsoft’s managed version of the directory software. It is necessary that you know the process to add users and groups to the directory. Azure AD also has other features that you must become an expert in, including multifactor authentication and synchronizing the available, on-premises AD with Azure AD.
Now that you are familiar with the concepts that you will be tested on in the certification exam, learn about the job opportunities that you will have once you become a Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator.
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Azure Administrator Jobs
As per LinkedIn, there are over 51,000 vacancies for Azure professionals in the leading companies in the United States. While, in India, there are more than 19,000 job openings for Azure experts.
The following are some of the job profiles related to Azure that recruiters hire the most:
- Azure Administrator
- System Administrator
- Azure Cloud Solutions Consultant
- Azure Customer Engineer
- Azure Services Sales Specialist
- Azure Technical Support
- Azure Cloud Engineer
- Azure Systems Engineer
- Cloud Architect
- Azure AD Engineer
Clearing the certification exam is a must to assume any of the mentioned job roles. However, to get selected for these jobs, you must also prepare a good Azure Administrator resume, consisting of all the demanding skills mentioned in the job description. Intellipaat will help you do this and will also update your skills so that you land a high-paying job at a reputed organization.
After reading about the various job opportunities that will be available to you once you acquire the necessary skills and become a certified Azure Administrator, you may wonder what do these jobs demand. Let us take a look at some of the job descriptions so that you understand the roles better.
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Azure Administrator Job Description
Read about some of the job descriptions for Azure professionals posted by the recruiters of leading companies.
Cloud Solutions Consultant at Oracle—Berkeley, California
Source: Indeed
Azure Customer Engineer at Microsoft—Hyderabad, Telangana
Source: Indeed
Let us now discuss the salaries of these Azure professionals.
Azure Administrator Salary
According to Glassdoor, the average salary of an Azure Administrator is US$90,477 p.a. in the United States.
The salary of an Azure Administrator in India is approximately ₹563,000 p.a., which is much higher than the salary of most other IT job profiles. The salary range of Azure Administrator professionals in India is between ₹333,000 p.a. and ₹1,307,000 p.a.
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Prepare for the Exam and Become a Certified Azure Professional
Prepare for the Azure Administration exam from Microsoft and become proficient in this domain. This blog discusses who Azure Administrator professionals are, the necessary skills in this domain, the certification that is needed to get into this field, the job opportunities available after getting the certification, and more.