Microsoft Certifications
Embrace
Although many SAP professionals, BASIS administrators, and ABAP developers are still working in a predominantly on-premises environment, the future of cloud computing is approaching fast. SAP partners with all mayor cloud providers – the hyperscalers – but the relation with Microsoft Azure is particularly intimate at the time.
In 2019, Microsoft and SAP launched project Embrace to make it easier for customers to move to cloud.
As a result, there is a lot of material (freely) available to learn about SAP on Azure and you can get certified for free (or almost).
Azure is favourite amongst SAP customers
Why Bother?
According to Microsoft
- Get hired—faster: employers regularly use certification as a criterion for hiring.
- Get recognized: certification demonstrates skills mastery, willingness to embrace new technologies, and your commitment to lifelong learning and growth.
- Get rewarded: certified employees earn more than those without certification, are more productive, and have longer tenure.
- Get promoted: employers regularly use certification as a criterion for promotion.
- Satisfaction: 90 percent of people who earned certification said they would recommend it to a colleague.
But also for those happy with their jobs, studying for a certification provides an effective way to learn new skills. It sets a goal, helps to stay focused, and rewards the effort.
Certification Program
For general information about the Microsoft certification program, see
For the poster of the program, go to
Note that Microsoft certification structure is flat. You do not have to take Fundamentals first before taking on Associate or Expert level certifications.
AZ-900 Exam
How Hard Can It Be?
Although Fundamental, the exam is still challenging as it covers a broad scope with questions about most of the Microsoft Azure services. This is exactly also the reason why you might want to consider preparing for the certification as it will help you get familiar with the platform.
Exam Guide
Everything you need to now about the exam and the certification is on Microsoft Docs. This is also where you can book your exam.
Microsoft has been in the certification business for a long time and it shows, as the exam experience is very smooth. You get the opportunity to provide feedback to each question once you are done with the exam (but before you get the results), to comment upon the language used, technical accuracy, or other observations.
Learning Dashboard
To book your exam, select Schedule Now to be redirected to your Microsoft Learning Dashboard.
From the Microsoft Learning Dashboard you can schedule (and re-schedule) your appointments, start the online exam, collect your badge, or print the certificate or a transcript of past achievements.
Credly
Like SAP, IBM, Oracle, and other vendors, Microsoft uses Credly (f.k.a Acclaim) for cross-vendor overview, record keeping, and social media sharing. This requires your agreement, of course.
Skills Measured
Microsoft is very clear about what you need to know for the exam. The certification skill outline (PDF) lists them all. This is updated from time to time, so make sure you are looking at the latest version (accessible from the exam page).
How To Prepare
Self-Study with Sandbox
The AZ-900 exam page lists two ways to prepare: self-study (free) or instructor-led (paid).
For self-study, 6 learning paths are listed which take about 10 hours to complete.
Most modules include exercises and for this a free sandbox environment (Concierge Subscription) is made available.
Instructor-Led
If you have the time and budget, you can also take the instructor-led course either with (2 days) or without labs (1 day).
See below under Microsoft Enterprise Skills Initiative for how you can attend at no charge.
Course Labs
The lab instructions of the instructor-led course can be found on the Microsoft Learning repository on GitHub, for those that prefer a yourself-led course.
- AZ-900T0x-MicrosoftAzureFundamentals
- microsoftlearning.github.io/az-900t0x-microsoftazurefundamentals/
DIY with Microsoft Docs
A very effective approach is to look up all the topics listed on Skill Measured in the Microsoft documentation. An even more effective approach is to have someone else do the hard work and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Some recommended resources
- AzureMentor / Azure-AZ-900-Study-Guide (GitHub)
- AZ-900 Study Guide: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals 2021 | Thomas Maurer
- AZ-900 Study Guide: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals| Vlad Catrinescu
From the Bookstore
Microsoft Press Exam Guides
Microsoft Press by Pearson publishes the Exam Ref Series which includes books, videos, and practice tests (see below for how to access the test at no charge).
A Month of Lunches
For those who like to read something while munching, you might appreciate
The book includes labs and exercises, again on GitHub. Microsoft offers both the e-book and audiobook, from Manning Publications, at no charge.
Online Training
Coursera
You can enrol for free for the AZ-900 Exam Prep specialisation offered by Microsoft and hosted on Coursera. For the labs, you can use the Microsoft Learn sandbox subscription.
There are four courses in the specialisation, 17 hours of study.
Pluralsight, LinkedIn Learning, Cloud Academy, A Cloud Guru, Udemy, …
For those with a subscription to an online learning platform, you can also decide to watch your these courses as an alternative to the instructor-led course mentioned above.
- Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) | Pluralsight (8h)
- Prepare for the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Exam (AZ-900) | LinkedIn Learning (6h)
- AZ-900 Exam Preparation: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals | Cloud Academy (8h)
- AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals | A Cloud Guru (14h) – includes practice exam
YouTube
For those without a subscription to an online learning platform, you can also decide to go for some binge watching on YouTube. Although there is a risk to waste precious time, there is also some first-class material available for free by the same instructors found on the online learning platform mentioned above.
- Exam AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Online Study Guide | Tim Warner
- Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Certification Course (AZ-900) | freeCodeCamp
- AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals Hints and Tips | John Saville
Practice Test
Microsoft Enterprise Skills Initiative
In case you work for a company that has embraced Microsoft Azure, you might be able to sign up for Microsoft’s Enterprise Skills Initiative (ESI)
This provides free (or cost-center charged) access to instructor-led training and free access to the Microsoft official practice test for the exam.
MeasureUp
MeasureUp is the official supplier of Microsoft practice tests. Unfortunately, the test costs almost as much as the real exam but they do reflect the real exam experience and provide excellent study material. For each question, explanations are provided with references to the documentation. If you are short on time and want results quick, MeasureUp practise tests might be a good investment.
- Microsoft Official Practice Test AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
- Exam Ref AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals with Practice Test
Kaplan/Cybervista (Pluralsight)
Kaplan has been in the certification business as long as Microsoft. They offer practice test for most Microsoft certifications plus any other IT and non-IT test imaginable. As a consequence, their test are not always the most current.
Pluralsight partners with Kaplan (Cybervista) which provides free access to the tests (accessible from the learning path).
Cloud Academy
Cloud Academy ends its learning paths with a rigorous test. Although challenging, these tests tend to diverge a bit from the actual Microsoft exam as well.
Non-official Practice Tests
The Google search engine returns a few million results when searching for “AZ-900 sample questions”. Many website offer dubious material at a charge (old exam questions with incorrect answers) with little to no educational value.
The more serious efforts can be found on platforms like Udemy (Über for online learning), usually reasonably priced and with clear explanations. You might want to check the reviews and look up the course instructor on YouTube or LinkedIn before purchase.
Also make sure the material does not infringe on the conditions of the program.
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