With all the new Microsoft role-based certifications available, it’s easy to get confused as to what they all are. In this article, we cover the Azure Administrator Associate certification.
Azure Administrator Associate is one of the new role-based certifications rolled out by Microsoft earlier this year. Quickly becoming a popular choice, this associate level course is ideal for those looking to progress further up the IT career ladder, as well as expand their knowledge base and skillset.
In this article we’ll be taking a closer look at this new course, recapping the new role-based certifications as well as the course levels in the process.
Remind Me, what are the Role-Based Certifications?
Introduced in January 2019, the role-based certifications represent another string in Microsoft’s certification bow, aiming to offer more career centered certifications.
These run alongside their existing certifications, which are intended to give more of a general IT over view.
These new certifications bring with them a new three-level tier-system, designed to span from beginner to seasoned IT professional. The new tiers are as follows:
- Level 1: Fundamentals (MTA)
- Level 2: Associate (MCA)
- Level 3: Expert (MCE)
Fundamentals makes a great starting place for IT novices, or those looking for a career change, whereas associate level certification is ideal for those at an intermediate level, and a few years of workplace experience behind them.
Expert is, as the name suggests, for those at the pinnacle of their IT career, with years of experience, and, often, though not always the case, a pre-existing associate certificate.
Associate Level Courses: What is Required?
The table below shows the standard requirements and recommendations for undertaking an associate level Microsoft Certification such as Azure Administrator Associate.
| Tier Level | Requirements | Microsoft Recommendations |
| Associate | Two years of comprehensive work experience | It can be helpful to have a related fundamentals certification before undertaking an associate course. |
Azure Administrator Associate Certification: Overview
This associate level certificate is aimed at those who have intermediate level experience, both theoretical and practical, totaling no less than 2 years in Azure systems.
The role of an Azure Administrator is to implement and monitor Azure systems, as well as maintain all major services that pertain to storage, networks, and security.
Microsoft suggests the optional prerequisite ‘Azure Fundamentals’ certification, but this is not essential if you have other certifications or several years of practical experience instead. The certification requires the successful completion of 1 exam (AZ-103), which can be completed in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.
It is important to note that, should you wish to go for the expert-level certification, Azure DevOps Engineer Expert, then you must first become Azure Administrator Associate certified.
What Skills are Covered in this Certification?
The AZ-103 exam is graded in five sections, which in turn are broken up into subsections, with each section being worth a certain percentage of your overall grade.
Grading in this way means that you are tested on all levels, requiring you to show proficient knowledge in all five sections to secure a passing grade. These sections and their key subheadings are as follows:
Manage Azure subscriptions and resources (15-20%)
- Manage Azure subscriptions
- Analyze resource utilization and consumption
- Manage resource groups
- Manage role-based access control
Implement and manage storage (15-20%)
- Create and configure storage accounts
- Import and export data to Azure
- Configure Azure files
- Implement Azure backup
Deploy and manage virtual machines (VMs) (15-20%)
- Create and configure a VM for Windows and Linux
- Automate deployment of VMs
- Manage Azure VM
- Manage VM backups
Configure and manage virtual networks (30-35%)
- Create connectivity between virtual networks
- Implement and manage virtual networking
- Configure name resolution
- Create and configure a Network Security Group (NSG)
- Implement Azure load balancer
- Monitor and troubleshoot virtual networking
- Integrate on premises network with Azure virtual network
Manage identities (15-20%)
- Manage Azure Active Directory (AD)
- Manage Azure AD objects (users, groups, and devices)
- Implement and manage hybrid identities
- Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Next Steps
If you’ve decided you wish to become certified as an Azure Administrator Associate, then your next step is to seek the correct teaching to ensure you pass your exams. There are several options for how you can do this.
Microsoft offers some great training through Microsoft Learn, or you could also choose to go it solo and study in your own way. You could also follow the most and helpful route, which is to take part in a training boot camp lead by a Microsoft Training Partner, to give you an edge when it comes to passing your exam.