10 Best Microsoft Azure Cloud Certification IT Professionals can Aim in 2024

Find the right Azure certification you can aim for in 2024 and become a Microsoft Azure certified cloud expert with links to resources.

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10 min readFeb 6, 2022

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Hello guys, if you are want to become an Azure certified professional and looking for the best Azure certifications to aim for in 2024 then you have come to the right place.

Earlier, I have shared the best AWS certifications for 2024 and many best online courses to learn AWS, GCP, Azure, and today I am going to share the top 10 Azure certifications you can aim for in 2024.

Cloud computing technology is growing almost faster than any other industry and in fact, the growth has increased by 17% in 2024 compared to the last year, and that because of many facts like the tremendous increase in Saas companies as well as the power you get compared to what you paid for made a lot of people thinking to use the cloud to store their websites and running their businesses.

For this reason, many big-name companies have created their cloud services and some of the best are Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, Digital Ocean, Linode, and more but this article will focus on Microsoft Azure which is one of the leading cloud computing services in today’s technology.

This guide will show you the certification offered by Microsoft Azure to start using their services effectively and also you need to have them if you planning to have a job in a company that uses this cloud to run their business.

Microsoft Azure provides different kinds of certifications based upon your skill, experience, and roles but most of the certifications can be broadly classified into 4 different categories

Fundamentals-Level Certifications like AZ-900, AI-900, and DP-900
Associate-Level Certifications like AZ-104, AZ-204, DP-300
Expert-Level Certifications like AZ-305
Specialty Certifications like AZ-120 and AZ-220

Fundamentals certifications are for beginners who want to get into the field of Cloud computing and based upon your role like whether you want to explore AI or Data in Azure, you can choose the AI-900 and DP-900 certifications and in general AZ-900 exam is for everyone.

In this article, we will explore different kinds of certifications so that you can find the right certification for you. This Azure Certification RoadMap also provides a nice overview of all Azure cloud certifications you can aim for in 2024.

10 Best Microsoft Azure Certifications for IT Professional to Aim in 2024

Here is a list of the best Azure Certifications developers, system admin, AI experts, Security professionals, Solution architects, and DevOps engineers can aim for in 2024.

1. Exam AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals [Best Azure certification for Beginners]

This certification is for beginners who have no knowledge of Microsoft Azure services and you will learn the cloud concepts as well as Azure services and security and calculate the pricing and more.

AZ-900 examination will have around 40 to 60 questions, which you have to appear in 85 minutes. The passing mark for the examination will be 700, and you have no penalty for any incorrect answer

If you are just starting your career in cloud computing and Azure then this is the certification you should aim for in 2024. If you need a resource then there is a course called Microsoft Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 Exam Prep Specialization on Coursera that can help you learn all of this before jumping to the exam.

This best Coursera AZ 900 course is designed by Microsoft and you will be learning from Microsoft experts, best of all, the course is tightly aligned with the AZ-900 syllabus and topics and you will get a 50% OFF coupon for the AZ-900 exam after completing this course.

2. Exam AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals

Microsoft Azure can be used to deploy your AI solution and to learn how this is possible you need to take this certification that is intended to teach you to use those services and cover some of the AI concepts.

This is another fundamental level certification and you will be tested against fundamentals concepts related to artificial intelligence (AI) and the services in the Azure cloud. This is the best Azure certification for AI experts who wants to learn Azure and design AI driven solutions.

If you want to learn Artificial Intelligence in the Azure cloud then I would recommend you to go for this certification in 2024. If you need a resource to prepare then this course on Pluralsight called Managing Microsoft Azure AI Solutions will help to learn those skills.

By the way, you would need a Pluralsight membership to join this course which costs around $29 per month or $299 per year (14% discount). I highly recommend this subscription to all programmers as it provides instant access to more than 7000+ online courses to learn any tech skill. Alternatively, you can also use their 10-day-free-pass to watch this course for FREE.

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3. Exam DP-900: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals

This certificate is for beginners and teaches you the data fundamentals and how you can implement them inside Microsoft Azure such as managing databases and data analytics.

This is the best Azure cloud certification for Data Programmers and DBAs who wants to learn Azure. In order to pass this exam, you will be tested on key concepts of relational and non-relational data, and different types of data workloads such as transactional or analytical.

Azure Data Fundamentals can be used to prepare for other Azure role-based certifications like Azure Database Administrator Associate or Azure Data Engineer Associate, but it’s not a prerequisite for any of them.

This DP-900 Azure Data Fundamentals course on udemy is one of the best resources to prepare for this exam.

4. Exam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator

The certificate is for intermediate people who have some knowledge in PowerShell command line and operating systems and it will teach you managing the cloud services from storage and security to networking and more in-depth.

This is the best Azure certification for system administration. This is also an associate-level exam that you should attempt after passing a fundamental level Azure certification like AZ-900, AI-900, or DP-900.

You must have a deep understanding of different Azure services across the full IT lifecycle, and take requests for infrastructure services, applications, and environments to pass this exam.

As a certified Azure Administration, you will make recommendations on services to use for optimal performance and scale, as well as provision, size, monitor, and adjust resources as appropriate, hence strong knowledge of Azure services are expected.

If you are preparing for this exam and need a resource then a course called AZ-104 Microsoft Azure Administrator will help you in this journey.

5. Exam AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure

If you have at least one year of developing Azure cloud solutions then you should take this certification exam that will teach you how to design and build as well as develop solutions for enterprises on Azure cloud services such as application as a Service.

AZ 204 exam has a duration of 120 minutes with random 40–60 questions in different types of use-case scenarios, programming codes, true/false, and you need to score 70% and above to pass the AZ-204 exam.

If you are a software developer then getting certified for Azure Developer or AZ-204 in 2024 is a great idea. It is the best Azure certification for developers. If you need a resource to prepare well then this course AZ-204 Developing for Microsoft Azure will help you prepare for the certificate.

6. Exam AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies

If you want to learn security at the cloud level then this certificate is right for you and your job is to implement security solutions and threat protection for the applications as well as maintain the security vulnerabilities.

This Azure certification is ideal for IT Security Professionals who want to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to implement Security on their Azure cloud infrastructure.

This course on udemy called AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies will teach you everything you need to know to pass the exam.

7. AI-102 — Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate

Build an Artificial Intelligence solution for enterprises using Microsoft Azure in this certification and you will have to design and implement the AI solution as well as recommend the appropriate tool to work with machine learning and NLP application.

In order to pass the Azure AI Engineer Associate certification, you should be able to build, manage, and deploy AI solutions that leverage Azure Cognitive Services and Azure Applied AI services.

Their responsibilities include participating in all phases of AI solutions development — from requirements definition and design to development, deployment, maintenance, performance tuning, and monitoring.

This online course AI-102 Microsoft Azure AI Solution Complete Exam Prep on Udemy by Scott Duffy will help you on this journey.

8. Exam DP-300: Administering Relational Databases

The student will learn how to manage ad design relational databases using Microsoft SQL server as well as using the other Microsoft Azure data services and you are responsible for performance monitoring and security and more.

This is an ideal Azure certification for database administrators and data management specialists that manage on-premises and cloud relational databases built with Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Azure Data Services.

If you want to go for this azure certification and need resources for this exam then a course called DP-300: Administering Relational Databases — Azure DBA will test your knowledge in this certification.

9. Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert

This certificate is a little bit advanced and the holder of the certification must know how to design and implement a solution for your application that runs on Microsoft Azure such as networking and security to name a few.

By the way exam, AZ-303 and exam AZ-304 are retired. A new exam, Exam AZ-305, is available in beta, which means you need to pass that exam to become an Azure certified architect.

If you want to go for AZ 303 now then this course Exam AZ-303: Azure Architect Technologies Certification will help you prepare for the exam.

10. Exam DP-200: Implementing an Azure Data Solution

If you love working with data then this certification is right for you because you are going to implement data solutions using the Microsoft Azure services such as Azure SQL database and Azure Synapse analytics.

This course on Udemy DP-200: Implementing Azure Data Solution will help you learn those skills.

That’s all about the best Azure Certifications you can aim for in 2024. The Microsoft Azure services have dominated a high percentage of the cloud computing market and for a professional and successful career in this technology consider having one of those certifications mentioned above and have a better job position.

Other Certification Resources for IT Professionals and Java Programmers

Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these Microsoft Azure Cloud Certifications then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If these questions have helped you to pass the exam, then please spread the word so that other people can also benefit.

P. S. — If you are a complete beginner to Azure and Cloud Computing and looking for some free courses to learn Microsoft Azure then you can also check out these free Azure courses. It’s a nice course to start with and you can get it free. All you need is a Udemy account to access this course.

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