In this post, we’ll be looking at Microsoft’s AZ-900 exam (Microsoft Azure Fundamentals) and, based on my own experiences, I’ll share some tips to help you gain this certification.

Who should take this exam?

AZ-900 is a part of Microsoft’s “Fundamentals” series, so it’s mainly focused on people who are new to Azure and have little or no prior experience with the platform. It’s also a great fit for non-technical candidates who’d like to learn more about Azure.

Although AZ-900 is not a prerequisite for other Azure exams, it’s a great starting point if you’re looking to take a more focused role-based certification in the future (such as the Azure Data Engineer or Azure Administrator exams).

It’s also worth mentioning that it covers topics which are not otherwise included in other exams, such as billing and cost management features, so there are still plenty of learning opportunities available, even for a seasoned professional.

Preparation

If you’ve read any of previous exam posts, you’ll know that I always start my preparation with the Skills Measured document. It tells you exactly what types of questions you can expect to see and what percentage of the exam score is based on that section.

As you’ll see below from the topics covered below, the key theme for AZ-900 is about describing Azure concepts and services, rather than how you would implement them.

• Describe cloud concepts
• Describe core Azure services
• Describe core solutions and management tools on Azure
• Describe general security and network security features
• Describe identity, governance, privacy, and compliance features
• Describe Azure cost management and Service Level Agreements

Learning Resources

Once you’re happy with the skills measured, I would then recommend working through the training resources below:

Microsoft Learn

Microsoft provide a free 6-part Azure Fundamentals Learning Path which closely aligns with the exam’s main topics. The modules are continually updated and provide a mixture of study guides and hands-on exercises for you to work through.

• Part 1: Describe core Azure concepts
• Part 2: Describe core Azure services
• Part 3: Describe core solutions and management tools on Azure
• Part 4: Describe general security and network security features
• Part 5: Describe identity, governance, privacy, and compliance features
• Part 6: Describe Azure cost management and service level agreements
  

YouTube

There are also fantastic training materials available on YouTube which I would recommend taking some time to watch:

• AZ-900 Full Course and Study Guide (by Adam Marczak)
• AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals Hints and Tips (by John Savill)

I really enjoyed Adam’s course, in particular the practice questions that he includes after each module.

Hands-on with Azure

Although hands-on experience isn’t strictly necessary for AZ-900, I would highly recommend you spend some time familiarising yourself with the Azure Portal and exploring what it has to offer first-hand.

If you don’t already have access to an Azure subscription, Microsoft make this easy for you to try, with free access for 12 months when you sign up.

Summary

If you enjoyed learning about Azure in AZ-900 and are looking to continue your development, there are plenty of role-based certifications for you to choose from.

Thank you very much for reading, and on behalf of everyone at Coeo, I'd like to wish you the best of luck for AZ-900!