Cloud computing has today become an indispensable aspect of information technology that futuristic businesses cannot operate without. With more businesses shifting the entire or part of their operations to the cloud, the battle for cloud market monopoly has been fiercest among three cloud service providers, AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, and Google cloud.
Each of these three providers has some unique services in their product lines that clients are drawn to. In terms of growth, all have seen wide adoption across industries with Microsoft Azure registering rather impressive growth with up to 100,000 new customer visits every month. For this reason, among the most in-demand cloud skills, Azure certification training comes as a necessity and a boost for any professional who desires to stay ahead of the competition and remain highly employable in the future.
The future of Microsoft Azure
As we have already seen, Microsoft Azure is one of the top three cloud computing service providers that has seen steady growth in adoption over the past years. Azure offers application building, testing, deployment, and management services on data centers owned and managed by Microsoft making it very convenient especially for customers who are already on board Microsoft to shift their operations.
It offers cloud services in all three categories including PaaS (Platform as a service), SaaS (Software as a service), and IaaS (Infrastructure as a service). Azure employs the flexible pay-as-you-go pricing model on a per-minute basis which allows its customers to pay only for the services they have used during specific times without upfront costs. Additionally, its services are reliable and easily scalable which is something that most businesses are keen on. Azure also supports both Microsoft and third-party programming languages, libraries, frameworks, and tools.
Azure also offers a number of credentials to professionals who wish to specialize in delivering its services to clients. These include
- Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification
- Azure Database Administrator Certification
- Azure Development Certification
- Azure DevOps Certification
- Azure Solutions Architect Certification
The role of a Cloud Architect
To understand the role of Azure Solutions Architect, we must first understand the general role of a cloud architect.
A cloud architect is a professional who in coordination with various teams/team members builds a cloud-based solution for clients. He is responsible for:
- Understanding the needs of the client and together documenting the requirements.
- Coordinating developers, testers, and others through the process of building the solution for the client as per the requirements, testing it, allocating to it cloud resources, and deploying it.
- He works with the customer as he gathers feedback through the process, to improve the product and ultimately deliver a functional solution that meets the customer’s needs.
- Once the product is complete and delivered to the client, he offers maintenance and support services for a defined period of time.
In short, the cloud architect is in charge of managing the entire life cycle of the product including the resources and the team roles involved. The burden of the success or failure of the project squarely sits on him. For this reason, he should have an in-depth understanding of matters of the cloud including database management; software development, testing and deployment; virtualization; networking; and warehousing; among others.
The cloud architect is also responsible for supporting cloud adoption in the business and educating the entire business on the benefits of the cloud.
Some essential skills that a cloud architect should posses include:
- Communication and collaboration between both internal and external stakeholders
- Broad understanding of a range of technical cloud-related concepts like networking, security, and virtualization
Who is Azure Solutions Architect?
Just like the cloud architect is in charge of developing cloud-based solutions, Azure Solutions Architect is responsible for developing effective cloud-based solutions (architecture) on the Azure platform according to the needs of the business. He works together with the database administrators and other stakeholders to implement these solutions. This means that he should be skilled and experienced in Azure cloud database administration, DevOps, Azure development, security, storage, and networks.
He is also in charge of developing an effective cloud strategy for the business, implementing a cloud strategy, and monitoring it to ensure that it achieves the objectives intended for it. Finally, he is in charge of governance and compliance, making sure that industry standards and best practices are adhered to.
A senior Azure architect is required to possess at least 10 years of practical experience in developing, deploying, and managing software solutions throughout the entire life cycle on the Azure cloud platform. He should also have governance and team role management to be able to execute any project successfully.
How to become an Azure Architect
As an Azure Architect, your roles and responsibilities will be the same as those of a cloud architect but within the confines of the Azure cloud platform. Therefore, if you are considering this career path, you should have a solid cloud computing foundation in addition to some basic general skills like:
- A strong cloud computing background
- Cloud infrastructure operations
- Working knowledge of Networking concepts like IP addresses, HTTP, DNS, and others
- An understanding of one or more operating systems like Linux, Windows, Unix, and others
- Knowledge of common programming languages and identity management
Azure architect knowledge areas
The skills listed above are general to the cloud architect role. However, to specialize in Azure as a cloud architect here are 8 knowledge areas that a professional should consider gaining knowledge in.
- General IT operations
- Virtualization
- Security and identity management
- Business analysis and continuity
- Governance
- Data storage
- Database management
Azure Architect Certification requirements
If you are completely new to cloud computing and the Azure cloud platform, it is advisable to first enroll for the fundamental exams to have a good grasp of the concepts, fundamentals, and best practices of the Azure cloud platform. These include:
This will help you make a sound decision whether you want to pursue the Azure Architect solution path or opt for a different path. Opting for the former means that you should also be familiar with DevOps and Azure development processes and have certifications for these if possible.
Azure currently offers the AZ-203 (Microsoft Azure Developer) certification. As for DevOps, you could take a third party course to get a basic understanding as Azure offers the AZ-400 (Microsoft Azure DevOps Engineer) certification which is way on a higher level for a beginner to take up.
- AZ-300 and AZ-301 Certification exams
Taking the Azure Solutions Architect certification requires that one passes the expert level AZ-300 (Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies) and AZ-301 (Microsoft Azure Architect Design) exams.
The AZ-300 certification should be taken first before the AZ-301. Microsoft offers study modules for both of these certifications. In addition, it also offers instructor-led video lessons that you can take advantage of but this comes at a cost.
There are also credible third party training providers like Simplilearn that you can partner with to get quality training.
Alternatively, go solo and do self-paced learning on your own using Microsoft Learn resources that are available online.
Top Azure Architect skills these exams will test
- In-depth understanding of the fundamentals of Azure cloud
- Azure infrastructure design, implementation, and monitoring
- Design and implementation of security and identity management solutions on Azure infrastructure
- Design, implementation, management, and maintenance of data platforms
- Data storage design
- Business continuity design and strategy
- Design monitoring
- Design and implementation of application solutions
Wrapping up
If you have a liking for cloud computing and often find yourself in a position of offering cloud-based advice and recommendations to businesses and clients, then Azure Solutions Architect certification is right for you.
This certification will not only boost your employability but also open up a world of opportunities for you as you pursue further experience and specialization. Azure has attracted some big names including Apple, Adobe, eBay, Samsung, and many others that are already on board and those that are still coming on board.