With a trail-blazing adoption of cloud, more and more organizations are on the lookout for qualified and highly skilled Azure administrators and developers to skyrocket their ROI. To help candidates and companies fulfill this rising demand, Microsoft has launched role- based Azure certifications, meticulously crafted to prepare solution architects, administrators, and developers for real-world tasks. These certifications include:

• Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate
• Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator Associate
• Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect Expert

If your organization is on the lookout to better align the certifications toward professionals’ roles in the company, here’s all you need to know about the most up-and-coming Azure certifications to see how they can better prepare your employees for the field.

Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate

In order to excel in their roles, Azure developers need to ace advanced programming skills. This Azure certification aids you in securing, updating, and creating top-notch cloud solutions. Here’s what you need to know to nail the certification exam with flying colors:

• Implement IoT and bot solutions, cognitive services, and cloud integration solutions
• Develop for cloud models and cloud storage
• Secure, create, and select the pertinent cloud technology solutions
• This certification is ideal for professionals who are proficient in at least one Azure-supported language and are comfortable with Azure. In addition, it goes in a candidate’s favor if they are fluent in multiple languages, such as JavaScript, Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, Node.js, and C#.

Prerequisites:  Experience with Azure, and foundational programming and IT skills

Recommended Training:

• Azure Developer Advanced Solutions
• Azure Developer Core Solutions

Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator Associate

 All Azure administrators are entailed to be drilled in the myriad IT services along the lifecycle. Earning the Azure Administrator Associate certification reinforces your ability to maintain, monitor, and manage Azure cloud solutions. The exam aims to gauge your skills in managing storage and identities, deploying virtual machines, managing resources and subscriptions and more. You must also possess in-depth knowledge of implementing application services and performing server migrations to pass the exam. If you are a cloud administrator who aspires to hone in on their skills in using the Command Line Interface, the PowerShell, and Azure Portal, and are comfortable with the Azure infrastructure.

Prerequisites: Experience with Azure and Foundational IT skills

Recommended Training:

• Azure Integration and Security
• Azure Infrastructure and Deployment

Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect Expert

This is an advanced level certification that gauges your skills in designing and creating solutions that are Azure based.  Here are the skills that are indispensable if you wish to pursue a career as a Azure Solutions Architect Expert:

• Architecting infrastructure strategies, continuity plans, and data platforms
• Managing security and workloads
• Deploying and designing infrastructures and applications

For cloud solutions architects who are well versed in networking, billing, storage structures, cloud infrastructures, virtualization, and operating systems, this certification is the next step.

Prerequisites:  Experience with Azure and foundation IT skills

Recommended Training:

Azure Solutions Architect – Design

Azure Architect Technologies

Benefits of Earning the Newest Azure Certifications

These role-based Microsoft Azure certifications were created to meet the job demands of today’s cloud and IT workforce. By attaining valuable knowledge and vast experience that come from earning one of these role-based Azure certifications, employees can shatter the glass ceiling and take their careers to unprecedented heights. Be it as a working professional or a job candidate, these certifications can greatly boost an individual’s credibility. Being one of the most popular cloud computing platforms, Azure makes sure that your employees attain all the skills that are in hot demand.

Employees looking to move up the corporate ladder within the cloud and IT services field, can greatly benefit from embarking on the Azure certification journey.

How Can your Organization leverage these Role-based Azure Certifications?

Associate Level

Azure Administrator

Organizations looking to train their workforce in maintaining, monitoring, and implementing Microsoft Azure solutions, including services pertaining to security, network, and storage, can greatly benefit from this certification. Your employees can garner this certification by acing two exams, and each requires a unique set of acumen and skills to fly through:

• Exam AZ-100 – Microsoft Azure Deployment and Infrastructure: An employee must possess a knowledge of managing identities, managing and configuring virtual networks, managing and deploying virtual machines, and managing resources and subscriptions.
• Exam AZ-101 – Microsoft Azure Security and Integration: Employees must be well acquainted with securing identities, implementing advanced virtual networking, managing and implementing application services, and performing and evaluating migration to Azure.

Azure Developer

Organizations looking to train their resources in building and designing cloud solutions, such as services and applications, should make their employees train for the Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate certification. This certification will empower them to partake in all the development phases, such as maintenance, testing, deployment, development, and solution design. As a certified Developer Associate, they would be better able to capitalize on the Azure technologies and tools to develop services and apps, including communications, computing, security, and storage. Employees need to qualify by passing two unique exams, each entailing a diverse skill set:

• AZ-200 – Microsoft Azure Developer Core Solutions Exam: Employees must be acquainted with securing cloud solutions, creating PaaS solutions, developing for cloud storage, and choosing the best cloud technology solution.
• AZ-201: Microsoft Azure Developer Advanced Solutions Exam: Employees must be acquainted with developing IoT and Bot solutions and Azure cognitive services and implementing cloud solutions.

Expert Level

DevOps Engineer

If your employees further wish to boost their skills in DevOps after passing either of the above-mentioned certifications, they can leverage Microsoft Certified Azure DevOps Engineer Expert certification. The exams have not been released for this certification yet.

Solution Architect

Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect Expert is another viable expert level certification. Employees need to qualify by passing two unique exams, each entailing a diverse skill set:

• AZ-300: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies Exam: Employees must get to grips with implementing security and authentication of data, developing for the cloud, creating and deploying apps, developing cloud solutions, implementing security and workloads, and configuring and deploying infrastructure.
• AZ-301: Microsoft Azure Architect Design Exam: Employees must be acquainted with designing for integration, migrationand deployment, designing a business infrastructure and continuity strategy, designing a data platform solution, designing for security and identity, and determining workload requirements.