Business is moving to the cloud. Here’s what the experts are saying:
"80% of new software will be available as cloud services; by 2014, over one-third of software purchases will be delivered through the cloud."
To keep pace with their customers and employers, most IT professionals and developers will need to have additional skills. If you are ready for the challenge, Microsoft is ready to help.
Download the “Cloud Computing: What IT Professionals Need to Know” white paper (Microsoft Word file, 863 KB)
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Use the following table to identify the certification that best fits your current role and career goals.
Your profile
Recommendations
You manage applications
As an IT administrator, you’ve probably specialized in a particular technology, such as Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, or Microsoft Lync. As a Microsoft Office 365 administrator, you’ll build on this expertise as you move from an on-premise deployment model to a public cloud model. You’ll need to develop your planning, design, and infrastructure skills to migrate, deploy, and administer a hosted Office 365 solution.
You develop for the cloud
As a cloud developer, you’ll need to understand how applications are designed, developed, and deployed for platform as a service (PaaS). You’ll focus on innovation and integration, and you’ll work more closely with business units to help them increase productivity. Consider expanding your skills to include identity and access control, through Windows Communication Foundation, and HTML5, to provide richer websites without the need for third-party plug-ins.
You manage the IT infrastructure
As an administrator, you’re in charge of design, configuration, and maintenance. As a Windows Server administrator, you’ll need to reposition your skills for the hosted data center, so that you can work in standardized environments, with standardized applications. You’ll be monitoring, provisioning, and managing the data center with Microsoft System Center.
You manage databases and reporting
As you move from your role as database administrator to data steward in a cloud environment, you’ll need to be able to design and manage databases anywhere. Being able to architect a cloud strategy and identify data to move to cloud storage will be important skills as you work with SQL Azure cloud-based relational database services built on Microsoft SQL Server technologies.
*IDC Predictions 2011: Welcome to the New Mainstream, December 2010, Doc. #225878.
Cloud technology creates new opportunities and job roles, but it also impacts current ones.
We recommend that you start by building skills that apply to both on-premise computing and cloud computing. If you already have on-premise skills, you can enhance your skill set to include cloud computing. Consult the following tables for guidance on where to get started.
Platform as a service (PaaS) delivers a computing platform and/or solution stack as a service, often consuming cloud infrastructure and sustaining cloud applications. It provides a consistent hardware and software infrastructure, such as Microsoft Windows Azure, aimed entirely at running applications.
Click the “+” below to learn more about how to build your skills and obtain new skills.
Certification Path
Required Exams
MCPD: Web Developer 4 Earning the MCPD: Web Developer 4 certification will help you gain core web development skills and better prepare you to develop for the cloud. You are not required to pursue the MCPD: Windows Azure Developer certification.
Exam 70-513Exam 70-515Exam 70-516Exam 70-519
MCPD: Windows Developer 4 Earning the MCPD: Windows Developer 4 certification will help you gain core Windows development skills and better prepare you to develop applications by using cloud technology. You are not required to pursue the MCPD: Windows Azure Developer certification.
Exam 70-511Exam 70-513Exam 70-516Exam 70-518
MCPD: Windows Azure Developer Show employers and clients that you are ready to support the move to cloud services by earning the MCPD: Windows Azure Developer certification. This certification helps validate your ability to design, build, and deploy cloud-based applications that will be hosted on the Windows Azure platform.
Exam 70-513Exam 70-516Exam 70-583
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is fundamentally on-demand computing and storage to host, scale, and manage applications and services on-premise with a dedicated host. By pooling your computing and storage resources, you can scale with ease and speed to meet the infrastructure needs of your entire organization or individual departments, globally or locally.
MCITP: Server Administrator Earning the MCITP: Server Administrator certification will help you gain core Windows Server skills and better prepare you to support a cloud infrastructure. It is not required that you pursue the MCITP: Virtualization Administrator certification.
Exam 70-640Exam 70-642Exam 70-646
MCSE: Private CloudThe Private Cloud certification is built on Windows Server 2008 R2 and System Center 2012. It validates your ability to configure, deploy, monitor, and operate a Microsoft private cloud solution, which transforms the way IT services are delivered.
Exam 70-246Exam 70-247orExam 70-659, Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Enterprise Administrator
MCITP: Virtualization Administrator Get ready for the private cloud by earning your MCITP: Virtualization Administrator certification. This certification helps validate your knowledge and skills in designing and deploying virtualization solutions when using Windows Server 2008 R2 in an enterprise organization.
Exam 70-669Exam 70-693plus eitherExam 70-659or Exam 70-652
MCTS: Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007, Configuring System Center solutions help IT professionals manage the physical and virtual IT environments across data centers, client computers, and devices. This certification helps validate key skills to build a private cloud.
Exam 70-400
Software as a service (SaaS)—meaning delivering software over the Internet—gives you an opportunity to simplify deployment and reduce acquisition costs. Microsoft Online Services are subscription-based, on-demand applications and hosted services, providing your organization with a consistent experience across multiple devices.
MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator 2010 Demonstrate your professional messaging expertise by earning the MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator certification. Updates that include cloud-related skills are now available.
Exam 70-662Exam 70-663
MCITP: SharePoint Administrator 20101 Demonstrate your Microsoft SharePoint 2010 administration skills. Updates will include cloud-related skills.
Exam 70-667Exam 70-668
Dynamics CRM 2011 certifications2 New certifications cover relevant skills for both cloud and on-premise implementations of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Certifications include Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011: Applications, and Microsoft Dynamics 2011: Customization and Configuration.
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1This certification will be updated in the next year to include cloud-related skills. 2These certifications are only accessible to Microsoft Dynamics CRM customers and partners.
MCITP: Lync Server 2010 Administrator This certification helps show that you have the skills to deploy and configure Microsoft Lync Server 2010, which is an integral part of the Microsoft software as a service offering, called Microsoft Office 365.
Exam 70-664andExam 70-665
Recertification requirements for Windows Azure developers
Windows Azure is a frequently updated platform for Microsoft cloud services. The skills required of Windows Azure developers will evolve more rapidly than the skills required for IT professionals working on non-cloud-based technologies. So that we can assure hiring managers that developers who hold the MCPD: Windows Azure Developer certification have kept pace with the evolution of Windows Azure skills, we require developers who hold this certification to recertify every two years. Through recertification, we can maintain the value of the certification as Microsoft cloud services mature over time. More information about this recertification requirement will be provided at a later time.
If you already work with Microsoft cloud technologies, review the exam objectives and register for your exam today.
We design these exams for professionals like you, so there’s no need to wait.
If you’re just getting started, we suggest using our training resources below. Our exams aren’t easy, but we want you to be successful—and so do our Learning Partners, who offer our award-winning instructor-led training.
Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) is a fully cloud-based learning experience that focuses on Microsoft cloud technologies. You can access a variety of training content online and become one of the renowned experts in the IT pro community around the world. Learning through MVA is free of charge, and you can study the contents at any time and at your own pace.
Over the next year, we will introduce new certifications related to Microsoft cloud services and update many of our current certifications to include skills related to cloud technology. Subscribe to the Born to Learn blog to stay current on Microsoft cloud services, and learn about the new Microsoft Learning courses, books, and e-learning as they become available.
Microsoft cloud services help you run your business applications and infrastructure services with freedom, agility, and flexibility. Microsoft products include offerings for the three cloud service types: software as a service, platform as a service, and infrastructure as a service.
After you determine which exam you need to achieve your Microsoft Certification, register for and schedule your exam. All exams for Microsoft Technology Specialist and Professional Series certifications are administered by Prometric, an independent testing organization with more than 3,000 locations worldwide.
