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It is no longer news that most of the popular Microsoft credentials have been already retired, and by the middle of 2020, more will be retired as well. If you are planning to obtain one of the certificates of this vendorin the future, it is important that you understand the changes that have been made.Thus, you can make an informed choice when searching for the one you want. In this article, we will look at the dynamics of the new Microsoft certification program.
Brief overview of retired Microsoft certifications
It’s important to have a clear understanding of the changes and replacements that have been made so far. If you are pursuing any of the MCSA, MCSD, or MCSE credentials, you need to pass all the exams and earn the badges till June 30, 2020. There are many MCSA and MCSE that are still available for those professionals who want to get certified on specific Microsoft products.The list of the old certifications that have been retired back in 2018 includes MCSA: Windows 10, MCSA: Data Engineering with Azure, MCSA: Dynamics 365, MCSA: Office 365, MCSE: Mobility, MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure, and Click Here : Cloud Platform.
Detailed overview of new Microsoft role-based certification paths
The company has four different pathways for its role-based certificates. They are the following:
- Apps and Infrastructure;
- Business Apps;
- Modern Workplace;
- Data and AI.
The Azure-based credentials fall within the Apps & Infrastructure as well as Data & AI certification paths. Thus, Apps & Infrastructure is designed for those professionals who want to certify their knowledge and skills in building, securing, and developing Azure infrastructure & solutions. The Data & AI path, on the other hand, is focused more on the IT specialists with the relevant skills in data on Azure, including the business analysts and data scientists. The Business Apps track is aimed at the functional consultants who work with different apps within the Microsoft Dynamics 365 scope. As for Modern Workplace, it focuses on the development of operational collaboration and efficiency in the modern organization. Within this certification pathway, you’ll find products, such as Office 365, Microsoft 365, OneDrive, Azure AD, Teams, and OneDrive.
Each of these paths has three distinct levels like in the old tracks. However, instead of MTA, MCSA, and Certbolt MCSE, the new role-based credentials have the Fundamentals, Associate, Expert, and Specialty levels. MTA/Fundamentals are the introductory-level certificates. They are intended for the individuals who are new to technology. There are no prerequisites, so the students have to pass only a single exam to earn them. MCSA/Associates usually the next step for the candidates with MTA/Fundamentals. However, you don’t need one of the previous levels to pursue this track. There are also no prerequisites but a good grasp of the IT fundamentals is very important. MCSE/MCSD/Expert is the highest certification level that is designed for the professionals with multi-faceted technical skills and knowledge. MCSA/Associate is a prerequisite for it.
More details of Microsoft certification levels
There is also the MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) credentials, which are designed for those specialists who want to validate their skills in Microsoft Office products. This certification path also has three levels:
- MOS;
- MOS Associate;
- MOS Expert.
There are no prerequisites for MOS and MOS Associate, but to get MOS Expert, the applicants must have earned the previous level before progressing to the next one.
When it comes to the required exams for the new role-based certificates, each one determines the number that a candidate has to take and pass. For MTA/Fundamentals, the students have to pass only one test. MCSA/Associate requires two or three exams, depending on the specific credential. As for MCSE/MCSD/Expert, you have to pass one from a list of elective tests.
Whatever the level of the Microsoft certifications you want to pursue, passing the exam(s) is very important. If you don’t pass it/them, you cannot be awarded the certificate. You don’t have to worry though, as there are numerous tools that are available to help you prepare. For example, Prepaway is one of the top resource platforms to explore for your exam preparation. On this website, you will find everything you need to pass your test, for instance, training courses, video tutorials, exam dumps, practice tests, and study guides.
Upcoming new Microsoft role-based certifications available
Although the new role-based certificates are categorized under four different paths, the list under each of them is quite long. That is why we recommend that you visit the official Microsoft website to see the details.
As for other changes that will take place soon, Microsoft released some notes about two new role-based credentials that will be available after April 2, 2020. They are as follows:
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate;
- Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate.
For the first certification, you require to pass the Microsoft DP-300 exam, and for the second one – Microsoft DA-100. Both of them are in the beta version now and the details are changeable, so you need to check for the updates on the official web pages of these tests. As for now, by passing Microsoft DP-300, the candidates will gain knowledge and skills in availability, security, management, and performance optimization and monitoring of today’s relational database solutions. And the DA-100 certification exam evaluates one’s ability to clean & transform data, design & build scalable data models, and enable advanced analytic capabilities.
Conclusion
The world is constantly changing and so does the credentials of different vendors. Microsoft gives some changes to its certification program due to this evolvement. And thus, in April, the company begins to release final versions of different tests. That is why it is recommended that you start preparing as soon as possible in order to be able to obtain one or two of the MCSA, MCSD, or MCSE certificates.
