Microsoft Azure Training Day: Fundamentals

An introductory course in Microsoft Azure with a broad audience

The Microsoft Azure Training Days are a fairly new series of free Azure trainings which Microsoft has been hosting monthly since Fall 2019. As can be gleaned from the title, the Fundamentals training covers a broad range of topics related to Azure and aims to introduce the student to both tools and concepts they will encounter when using Azure in a corporate environment. The training is aimed at a broad public and while the primary target audience consists of IT technicians getting ready to take their first steps into cloud computing with Azure, the training is easy to follow for a less technically minded audience with a broader business interest in Azure.

The course is clearly aimed at those with an entry-level understanding of Azure and covers the topics steadily and concisely. This does mean that it can feel a little slow for the more experienced technician. This is mitigated by covering some topics in more detail, ensuring that the training remains relevant for a more experienced audience while staying relevant for its core audience. At the end of each study topic a quiz powered by Mentimeter is used to revisit the topics discussed in that topic, each question gets covered in depth, especially when it becomes clear that some more explanation is required. Keep in mind that these quizzes are not representative of the AZ-900 exam, but they are a good way of checking whether you are still properly following along with the course material.

At the end of the event all participants receive a voucher to take the AZ-900: Azure Fundamentals exam for free and become certified by Microsoft. While it is possible to take the test immediately after the training is concluded, there is only limited room to do so and Microsoft will allow you to use this voucher to take the test for free at a Microsoft testing location, or at your own leisure through a remote proctored examination. In my experience the training should be enough to allow you to successfully achieve the certification given some practical experience with Azure. If you are completely new to Azure, you should take the opportunity to work directly with Azure for a little while before committing to the exam as you have three months before the voucher expires.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this training for IT professionals aiming to move into cloud computing with Azure, as well as those who interact with Azure in a non-technical capacity but have a business-related interest in the product. If you are interested in following a training, please follow the link below. Please be aware that this training is very popular and as such they fill up rather quickly. At the time of writing, all trainings up to May have already been booked, so you should be prepared to book a number of months ahead.