Microsoft Azure is one of the top public cloud providers today, and it witnesses some of the fastest and ever-increasing adoptions by most organizations. As the number of Microsoft Azure clients increases in the industry, the demand for Azure-certified candidates also increases, which in turn increases the value of the skills you gather in Azure.
If you are looking to make a career in the cloud domain, following the Azure certification path could be exactly what you need. In this blog, we will understand all the nitty-gritty of Microsoft Azure Certifications. Here we will provide you with the Azure Certifications list that you can apply for and qualify for.
Following is a list of all topics covered in this blog:
Why Microsoft Azure Certifications?
Firstly, you must be wondering, ‘What is Microsoft Azure Certification?’ Microsoft Azure is widely known and recognized as the most confident cloud provider across the globe.
This is why there are a huge number of opportunities to explore for those who are Microsoft Azure certified. In the below graph, it is quite evident that job opportunities for these professionals have been constantly increasing over the last few years.
The average salary for Microsoft Azure-certified professionals ranges between US$147,779 and US$167,807 per annum. Moreover, 95 percent of Fortune 500 companies are using Microsoft Azure.
Now that we have established why Microsoft Azure certifications are your best bet to start a career in Cloud Computing, let’s explore these certifications in detail.
Watch this Microsoft Azure cloud certification tutorial:
New Role-based Azure Certifications
To align Microsoft Azure certifications with the latest trending job roles in the industry and make the certifications more industry-centric, Microsoft curated role-based certifications, focusing on the core job roles in the cloud domain as follows:
Microsoft Azure offers various exams that must be cleared to gain an Azure certificate. Totally, there are five Microsoft certifications that target the above-mentioned job roles. These certifications are categorized into three different levels:
- Fundamental-level certification: One exam is required to be passed to earn a fundamental-level certification.
- Associate-level certifications: Two associate-level exams are required to be passed to earn an associate-level certification.
- Expert-level certifications: It requires passing two expert-level exams. Associate certification is not a prerequisite for this, but one can first go for the associate-level certification and then attempt for the expert-level certification.
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The following image shows the Microsoft Azure certification roadmap to multiple certifications offered by Microsoft Azure, categorized into the above-mentioned levels:
Let’s explore the role-based certifications and the exams associated with them, in the same order of the Azure certification levels as mentioned above.
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Azure Fundamental-level Certifications
1. Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
This certification falls under the category of the fundamentals level and is basically for beginners. It validates that candidates have a sound understanding of all basic cloud concepts and core Azure fundamentals, such as Azure pricing, support, and more.
Exam:AZ-900 – Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
This exam has to be cleared to earn the Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals certification. This exam is designed to test the basic cloud skills and foundational understanding of Microsoft Azure.
This exam is optional, that is, you don’t have to be Microsoft Azure Fundamentals certified to move on to the next level of Microsoft Azure certifications. You can skip this exam and directly take up the exams for the next-level certifications.
Prerequisites:
- Basic Understanding of Cloud Computing Concepts
- Familiarity with the Microsoft Azure Platform
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Basic Cloud Computing Concepts | 20-25% |
| Core Azure Services | 15–20% |
| Core Solutions and Management Tools | 10–15% |
| General Security and Network Security Features | 10–15% |
| Identity, governance, privacy, and compliance features | 20-25% |
| Azure cost management and Service Level Agreements | 10–15% |
Languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Spanish, German, French
Exam Cost: US$99.00
Also, check out Intellipaat’s blog on Azure Career Opportunities.
2. Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals
This certification is a good starter certification for aspiring data-focused cloud practitioners. It covers core data concepts, relational and non-relational data, analytics workloads, modern data warehousing, data ingestion and processing, data visualization in Microsoft Power BI.
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Exam: DP-900: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals
To crack this exam, one should have a foundational knowledge of core data concepts and their implementation with Microsoft Azure data services.
Again, this certification isn’t a prerequisite for moving up to other Azure levels but it will help learners acquire skills in the data-specific areas that are useful when they later take up the Azure Database Administrator Associate or Azure Data Engineer Associate role.
Prerequisites: None
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Describe core data concepts | 15-20% |
| Describe how to work with relational data on Azure | 25-30% |
| Describe how to work with non-relational data on Azure | 25-30% |
| Describe an analytics workload on Azure | 25-30% |
Languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, French, German, and Spanish
Exam Cost: $99 USD
3. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
This Microsoft Azure certification is for beginners from both technical and non-technical backgrounds. It validates one’s basic knowledge of AI and machine learning in Azure.
Exam: AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals
This isn’t a mandatory starter certification to climb up the Azure career path, but it is helpful for those taking up the Azure AI Engineer Associate and Azure Data Scientist Associate roles.
Prerequisites: None (understanding of general programming or experience is a plus)
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Describe AI workloads and considerations | 15-20% |
| Describe fundamental principles of machine learning | 30-35% |
| Describe features of computer vision workloads | 15-20% |
| Describe features of Natural Language Processing (NLP) workloads | 15-20% |
| Describe features of conversational AI workloads | (15-20%) |
Languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, French, German, and Spanish
Exam Cost: $99 USD
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Azure Associate-level Certifications
1. Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator
This Azure certification falls under the associate level. It validates that the candidate has acquired a wide range of Cloud Computing skills and has a sound understanding of Microsoft Azure resources. A candidate possessing this Azure Administrator certification is expected to be able to manage various cloud services, such as security, networking, storage, and more.
Exam: AZ-104 – Microsoft Azure Administrator
This certification exam is ideal for somebody who wants to pursue the role of an Azure Administrator.
Prerequisites:
One must have at least 6 months of experience working with Azure administration, along with a basic understanding of core Azure services, security governance, and Azure workloads and hands-on experience with Azure PowerShell, ARM templates, command-line interface, and the Azure portal.
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Managing Azure Identities and Governance | 15–20% |
| Implementing and Managing Storage | 15–20% |
| Deploying and Managing Azure Compute Resources | 20–25% |
| Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks | 25–30% |
| Monitoring and Backing up Azure resources | 10–15% |
Languages: English, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Japanese
Exam Cost: US$165.00
2. Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer
This is another associate-level role-based certification by Microsoft Azure. Candidates possessing this certification are expected to be fairly proficient with designing and building cloud applications, using Azure tools and technologies.
Exam: AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
Candidates for this exam should have subject matter expertise designing, building, testing, and maintaining cloud applications and services on Microsoft Azure.
Prerequisites:
- In-depth proficiency in Azure SDKs, APIs, data storage options, app authentication, authorization, debugging, monitoring, compute and container deployment, data connections, monitoring, and performance tuning
- At least 1 to 2 years of hands-on experience in professional development
- Practical experience in working on the Microsoft Azure platform
- Knowledge of at least one programming language supported by Azure
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Developing Azure Compute Solutions | 25–30% |
| Developing for Azure Storage | 15–20% |
| Implementing Azure Security | 20–25% |
| Monitoring, Troubleshooting, and Optimizing Azure Solutions | 15–20% |
| Connecting and Consuming Azure Services and Third-party Services | 15–20% |
Languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), and Korean
Exam Cost: US$165.00
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3. Azure AI Engineer Associate
The Azure AI Engineer Associate certification is for people aspiring to become Microsoft Azure AI professionals.
Exam: AI-102: Designing and Implementing a Microsoft Azure AI Solution
Candidates for AI-102 should know building, management, and deployment of AI solutions that leverage Azure Cognitive Search, Azure Cognitive Services, and Microsoft Bot Framework.
Prerequisites: None. However, an Azure Fundamentals certification is favorable.
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Plan and Manage an Azure Cognitive Services Solution | 15-20% |
| Computer Vision Solutions | 20-25% |
| Natural Language Processing solutions | 20-25% |
| Knowledge Mining Solutions | 15-20% |
| Conversational AI Solutions | 15-20% |
Languages: English
Exam Cost: US$165.00
4. Azure Data Scientist Associate
The Azure Data Scientist Associate certification is suitable for anyone pursuing the role of Azure Data Scientist Associate.
Exam: DP-100: Designing and Implementing a Data Science Solution on Azure
In the DP-100 certification exam, you may find questions that involve tasks for arranging a few components in a particular sequence, along with the general MCQ questions.
Prerequisites: None, but having an Azure Fundamentals certification is favorable.
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Manage Azure Resources for Machine Learning | 25-30% |
| Running Experiments and Training Models | 20-25% |
| Deploy and Operationalize Machine Learning Solutions | 35-40% |
| Implement Responsible Machine Learning | 5-10% |
Languages:English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), and Korean
Exam cost:US$165.00
5. Azure Security Engineer Associate
The Azure Security Engineer Associate certification is suitable for anyone pursuing the role of an Azure Security Engineer Associate.
Exam: AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies
The AZ-500 exam is aimed at achieving the Azure Security Engineer Associate certification. It is recommended to pass the Azure Fundamentals exam before taking this AZ-500 exam.
Prerequisites:
- Familiarity with the implementation of security controls on the Microsoft Azure platform
- In-depth knowledge of virtualization, cloud N-tier architecture,Amazon Kubernetes service, and networking
- Ability to recognize and address vulnerabilities using several security tools; implementing security solutions for the protection of networks, applications, and data
- Expertise in scripting and automation, identity and access management, and maintaining security status
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Managing Identity and Access | 30–35% |
| Implementing Platform Protection | 15–20% |
| Managing Security Operations | 25–30% |
| Securing Data and Applications | 20–25% |
Languages:English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), and Korean
Exam Cost:US$165.00
6. Azure Data Engineer Associate
Azure Data Engineers are skilled at integration, transformation, and consolidation of data from various structured and unstructured data systems into structures suitable for building analytics solutions.
Exam: DP-203: Implementing an Azure Data Solution
Prerequisites: None, but candidates must know how to implement data solutions using Azure service.
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Design and Implement Data Storage | 40–45% |
| Design and Develop Data Processing | 25–30% |
| Design and Implement Data Security | 10-15% |
| Monitoring and Optimizing Data Storage and Data Processing | 10–15% |
Languages:English
Exam cost:US$165.00
7. Azure Database Administrator Associate
The Azure Database Administrator Associate certification focuses on the implementation and management of the operational side of Azure cloud-native and hybrid data platform solutions.
Exam: DP-300: Administering Relational Databases on Microsoft Azure
The new DP-300 certification exam by Microsoft Azure is the perfect exam for cloud-based database administrator and database management specialists. The certification is currently in the beta stage; i.e., there will be no facility for getting immediate results.
Prerequisites:
- Skills in a variety of tools or methods for carrying out the tasks related to day-to-day database administration
- At least 2 years of working experience in database administration
- A minimum of 1-year hands-on experience working with the Microsoft Azure Cloud ecosystem
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Planning and Implementation of Data Platform Resources | 15–20% |
| Implementation of a Secure Environment | 15–20% |
| Monitoring and Optimization of Operational Resources | 15–20% |
| Optimization of Query Performance | 5–10% |
| Performing the Automation of Tasks | 10–15% |
| Planning and Implementing a High-availability Disaster Recovery (HADR) environment | 15–20% |
| Performing Administration by Using T-SQL | 10–15% |
Languages:English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), and Korean
Exam cost:US$165.00
8. Microsoft Certified: Azure Architect for SAP Workloads Specialty
The Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty certification is meant for those architects or engineers having working experience and an understanding of the SAP ecosystem and industry norms specific to the SAP solutions used for Azure.
Exam: AZ-120: Planning and Administering Microsoft Azure for SAP Workloads
This Azure certification exam is ideal for people who have a thorough knowledge of the SAP Landscape certification process and want to acquire knowledge in integrating SAP with Azure.
Prerequisites:
- In-depth understanding of SAP applications, SAP S/4HANA, SAP NetWeaver, SAP BW, and OS servers for SAP applications and databases
- Fluency working on the Azure portal, virtualization, cloud infrastructure, ARM templates, storage structures, networking, disaster recovery designs, data protection concepts, and high-availability reliable designs.
- Either the Azure Architect or the Azure Administrator certification is highly recommended, along with Linux and SAP certifications
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Migration of SAP Workloads to Azure | 25-30% |
| Design and Implement a Structure to Support SAP Workloads | 25-30% |
| Design and Implement High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HA/DR) | 20-25% |
| Maintain SAP Workloads | 15-20% |
Languages:English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), and Korean
Exam cost:US$165.00
9. Microsoft Certified: Azure IoT Developer Specialty
This Azure IoT Developer Specialty certification requires candidates to have a thorough knowledge of developing and deploying the components of IoT solutions on Microsoft Azure.
Exam: AZ-220: Microsoft Azure IoT Developer Exam
The AZ-220 certification exam is ideal for somebody who wants to assume the Azure IoT Developer job role. It focuses on implementing IoT solutions, along with knowledge of coding needed for creating and managing different aspects of IoT solutions’ implementation.
Prerequisites:
- Extensive knowledge of implementing Azure services to develop an IoT solution
- Ability to identify the settings of Azure IoT service configuration within the code of an IoT solution
- Skills for performing IoT coding tasks in any one of the programming languages supported by Azure, such as Python, C#, C, or Node
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Implementation of the IoT Solution Infrastructure | 10-15% |
| Provisioning and Management of Devices | 15-20% |
| Implementation IoT Edge | 15–20% |
| Data Processing and Management | 15–20% |
| Monitoring, Troubleshooting, and Optimizing IoT Solutions | 15–20% |
| Implementation of Security | 10-15% |
Languages:English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), and Korean
Exam cost:US$165.00
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Azure Expert-level Certifications
1. Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect
This is the first role-based certification that is launched at an expert level. According to the new role-based certification model, candidates are required to pass two exams to earn this Azure Solutions Architect certification. They are:
- AZ-303: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies
- AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design
Candidates possessing this certification are expected to be proficient in translating business requirements into secure, scalable, and reliable solutions.
Let’s explore both of these expert-level exams, individually.
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1.1 Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies Exam (AZ-303)
The AZ-303 exam tests the capabilities of applicants to advise stakeholders and convert business requirements into highly secure, reliable, and scalable solutions.
Prerequisites:
- In-depth knowledge and experience in IT operations, such as business continuity, virtualization, networking, data platform, disaster recovery, governance, and budgeting
- High-level experience and expertise in Azure administration
- Working experience in DevOps and Azure development processes
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Implementing and Monitoring an Azure Infrastructure | 50–55% |
| Implementation of Management and Security Solutions | 25–30% |
| Implementation of Solutions for Apps | 10–15% |
| Implementation and Management of Data Platforms | 10–15% |
Languages: English
Exam Cost: US$165.00
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1.2 Exam: Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-304)
Applicants of this exam have to prove their expertise in offering recommendations to stakeholders and translate business requirements into solutions that are highly secure, reliable, and scalable.
Prerequisites:
- Experience in Azure administration
- Working knowledge of Azure development and DevOps processes
- In-depth knowledge and experience in IT operations, such as virtualization, budgeting, networking, governance, security, disaster recovery, and business continuity
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Design Monitoring | 10–15% |
| Designing Identity and Security | 25–30% |
| Designing Data Storage | 15–20% |
| Designing for Business Continuity | 10–15% |
| Designing Infrastructure | 25–30% |
Languages:English
Exam cost:US$165.00
2. Azure DevOps Engineer Expert
This Azure DevOps certification falls under the category of expert-level certification. Candidates possessing this certification are expected to be proficient in implementing DevOps methodologies and development processes.
Exam: AZ-400: Designing and Implementing Microsoft Azure DevOps Solutions
This AZ-400 certification exam is for those who want to assume the role of an Azure DevOps Engineer. It tests the ability of candidates to design and implement various DevOps methodologies.
Study from the Azure DevOps Tutorial to learn more about Azure DevOps.
Prerequisites:
- Candidates must be familiar with both Azure development and Azure administration.
- Candidates must be Azure certified with any of the two associate-level certifications.
- Candidates must be proficient in implementing Agile processes.
Exam Curriculum:
| Skills Measured | Exam Weightage |
| Developing an Instrumentation Strategy | 5-10% |
| Develop a Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) Strategy | 5-10% |
| Develop a Security and Compliance Plan | 10–15% |
| Manage Source Control | 10–15% |
| Facilitate Communication and Collaboration | 10-15% |
| Define and Implement Continuous Integration | 20-25% |
| Define and Implement a Continuous Delivery and Release Management Strategy | 10–15% |
Languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), and Korean
Exam Cost: US$165.00
Go through these Azure DevOps Interview Questions to have better preparation for the exam.
Retired Azure Certification Exams
Realizing the new demands and needs that should be met while designing certification programs to pursue a lucrative career in the current industry, Microsoft Azure has modified its exams and certifications. Microsoft Azure retired a particular set of exams and replaced them with newly designed and modified exams.
The new exams are intended to measure some new skills, in addition to all the skills that were measured in the old exams.
Transition Exams
Microsoft Azure has also launched transition exams for each one of the retired exams that are valid for a limited period. These transition exams are designed to measure the newly added skills in the new exams and are meant for those candidates who have already cleared the old exams so that they can upgrade their certifications without having to take up the new exams entirely. As of June 30, 2019, the transition exams are no longer available.
We have covered the latest exams for each Azure certification role in this blog. Let’s now have a brief look at the retired exams and their transition exams.
| Retired exams | Retired Transition Exams |
| 70-532: Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions | AZ-202: Microsoft Azure Developer Certification Transition |
| 70-533: Implementing Microsoft Azure Solutions | AZ-102: Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Transition |
| 70-535: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions | AZ-302: Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Certification Transition |
| AZ-103: Microsoft Azure Administrator | AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator |
| AZ-300: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies | AZ-303: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies |
| AZ-301: Microsoft Azure Architect Design | AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design |
Recommended Azure Certification Training Roadmap
Intellipaat offers well-structured, industry-based training courses in Azure certifications that are designed keeping in mind the current needs of most of organizations in the field of cloud infrastructure.
These training courses also include real-world hands-on projects, case studies, and more for you to work on enhancing your Azure skills and knowledge.
Through these courses, you will learn all about the Azure cloud platform, its architecture, cloud solutions, and much more. These courses will help you clear the respective Microsoft Azure exams and take you a step closer to becoming Azure-certified professional.
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