Data and AI

The increasing emphasis of Azure on ML and AI has resulted in the creation of many AI-based job roles. Candidates should qualify the newly launched AI-900 certification exam for this fundamental level role.

AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals

The AI-900: Microsoft Azure, AI Fundamentals certification, is one of the recent additions in Azure’s certification model. It is helpful in proving the fundamental knowledge of candidates in artificial intelligence and machine learning concepts. You would receive the Microsoft Certified Azure AI Fundamentals certifications by qualifying this exam.

Prerequisites

Candidates should note that there are no specific prerequisites for the AI-900 Azure certification. AI-900 exam is suitable for candidates from technical and non-technical backgrounds. However, the following prerequisites can help you gain a better chance of qualifying the exam.

• General programming knowledge or experience.
• Knowledge of at least one high-level programming language.
• Basic awareness of common ML and AI concepts and their relation with Azure.

Candidates aspiring to work with data on the Azure Cloud platform could turn to this fundamental role introduced recently in Azure certifications. You have to qualify the newly launched DP-900 certification exam only for this role.

DP-900: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals

The DP-900 Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals is the ideal certification for any aspiring cloud professional who wants to work with data. The certification proves the skills and knowledge of candidates about core data concepts. You can earn the Microsoft Certified Azure Data Fundamentals certifications by qualifying the DP-900 certification.

Prerequisites

Candidates don’t need any specific prerequisites for the DP-900 certification exam. On the other hand, the following knowledge and experience requirements can be helpful for candidates in their exam preparations.

• Familiarity with basic concepts on relational and non-relational data.
• Knowledge of different types of data workloads.

The Microsoft Certified Azure AI Engineer Associate certification is the latest addition in the role-based Azure certifications path. The rising popularity of AI and machine learning is one of the prominent reasons for the emerging need for skilled AI professionals. The certification is suitable for IT professionals aspiring for the role of Azure AI Engineers. The responsibilities of an Azure AI Engineer would include analysis of the requirements of AI solutions alongside recommending proper tools and technologies. 

In addition, they should also implement solutions that address the prerequisites of performance and scalability. The primary role of an Azure AI Engineer is the translation of the vision of solution architects for the development of end-to-end solutions. In the course of this process, the Azure AI Engineer should also work in collaboration with data engineers, AI developers, data scientists, and IoT specialists. 

The Azure AI Engineer Associate certification in the new Azure certifications path also evaluates the abilities of candidates for designing and implementing AI apps and agents. The certification exam tests the fluency of candidates in the use of Azure Bot Service and Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services. Another prominent exam topic refers to the components in the Azure AI portfolio alongside the available data storage options. 

Candidates aspiring for the role of Azure AI engineer would have to qualify one Azure certification exam. The title of the exam is “Designing and Implementing an Azure AI Solution.” The code for the exam is AI 102. Let us find out some additional details about the exam as follows.

Preparing for AI-102: Designing and Implementing an Azure AI Solution exam? Follow this comprehensive guide for the AI-100 EXAM PREPARATION and get ready to pass the exam.

AI-102: Designing and Implementing an Azure AI Solution

The AI-102 exam in the Azure certification path is the right option for aspiring Microsoft Azure AI professionals. Candidates could clear only one exam to achieve the credential of an “Azure AI Engineer Associate.” Candidates could find around 62 questions in which five questions would relate to a case study.

The format of the AI-102 certification exam can also include scenario-based questions with single and multiple response options. You could also find drag and drop questions as well as tasks for arranging in a proper sequence in the AI 102 exam. 

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for the “AI-102: Designing and Implementing an Azure AI Solution” certification exam. 

It is an associate-level exam, thereby implying that certification in Azure Fundamentals would be favorable. 

This certification focuses on the skills and expertise required to excel as an Azure data engineer. Candidates should have a strong understanding of integrating and consolidating data from various sources, transforming it into suitable schemas for analytics solutions. They play a vital role in helping stakeholders explore and understand data, while building and maintaining secure data processing pipelines using Azure tools and techniques.

Azure data engineers are responsible for designing data stores based on business requirements, including modern data warehouse, big data, or lakehouse architecture. They ensure the efficiency, reliability, and performance of data pipelines and troubleshoot any operational or data quality issues that arise. Proficiency in languages like SQL, Python, and Scala is necessary, along with knowledge of parallel processing and data architecture patterns.

Exam DP-203: DP 200 & DP 201 have been merged to create the DP 203 certification. The material is the same, so checking both DP 201 and DP 200 would help you prepare for DP 203.

Microsoft Certified Azure Data Engineer Associate Exam (DP-203)

Candidates should be skilled in using Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Stream Analytics, Azure Event Hubs, Azure Data Lake Storage, and Azure Databricks to create effective data processing solutions. Overall, this certification validates expertise in data engineering and analytics within the Azure ecosystem.

Skills measured:

• Design and implement data storage
• Develop data processing
• Secure, monitor, and optimise data storage and data processing

The addition of the Azure Data Scientist Associate track in the new Azure certifications path is also promising news for aspiring candidates. The role of an Azure data scientist involves the application of knowledge in data science and machine learning for implementing and running machine learning workloads on Azure. The specific abilities of an Azure Data Scientist Associate should be in the use of Azure Machine Learning Service. 

Azure Data Scientist would have to plan and create an ideal working environment for data science workloads on Microsoft Azure. In addition, they should also show their capabilities in conducting data experiments alongside training predictive models. The work of Azure Data Scientists also involves the management and optimization of machine learning models. Most important of all, they are also responsible for the deployment of machine learning models into production. 

Microsoft has only one Azure certification exam in the new role-based certification model for the Azure Data Scientist Associate job role. 

The role of an Azure Database Administrator or Azure Database Management Specialist also includes implementation and management of operational aspects pertaining to cloud-native and hybrid data platform solutions on Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Azure data services.

In addition, Azure Database Administrators or database management specialists have to focus on management, performance monitoring, security, optimization of contemporary relational database solutions, and availability. 

Administering Relational Databases on Microsoft Azure Exam (DP-300) 

Microsoft DP-300: Administering Relational Databases on the Microsoft Azure certification exam is one of the new additions among existing role-based certifications. The new certification by Microsoft Azure would be the ideal exam for aspiring cloud-based database administrator and database management specialists.

Candidates will receive the Azure Database Administer Associate certification on clearing this exam. The role of certified candidates would primarily involve the management of relational databases on the cloud as well as on-premises, developed on top of Microsoft Azure data services and Microsoft SQL Server. The certification exam is presently in the beta stage, thereby implying that there would be no facility of immediate scoring.

Prerequisites

As you all know, there are no mandatory prerequisites for the Azure certification exams. The recommended prerequisites for the new Azure certification exam for the database administrator role include the following.

• Skills for using a variety of tools and methods for performing day-to-day database administration tasks.
• At least two years of industry involvement in database administration.
• Minimum of one year of hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure Cloud ecosystem.

 DP 600 certification focuses on assessing candidates’ expertise in designing, creating, and deploying enterprise-scale data analytics solutions. As a candidate, you should have in-depth knowledge of transforming data into reusable analytics assets using Microsoft Fabric components like lakehouses, data warehouses, notebooks, dataflows, data pipelines, semantic models, and reports. Implementing analytics best practices, including version control and deployment, is crucial. Collaboration with various roles such as solution architects, data engineers, data scientists, AI engineers, database administrators, and Power BI data analysts is essential. Additionally, candidates should have experience in data modeling, data transformation, Git-based source control, exploratory analytics, and proficiency in SQL, DAX, and PySpark.

Exam DP-600: Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate

Let’s have a look at the details of the Azure DP-600 exam.

Skills measured

Prerequisites: 

It is recommended to have a working knowledge of Microsoft Azure, data engineering concepts, and experience designing and implementing data solutions on Azure. Prior hands-on experience with Azure technologies will also be beneficial.

Microsoft Power BI is essential for showcasing techniques and optimal approaches that align with both business and technical requirements, candidates should demonstrate their ability to model, visualize, and analyze data effectively.

As a Power BI data analyst, your role involves close collaboration with business stakeholders to understand and gather business requirements. You work alongside enterprise data analysts and data engineers to identify and acquire the necessary data. Using Power BI, you are responsible for transforming the data, creating data models, visualizing the data, and sharing the resulting assets.

Exam PL-300: You should be proficient at using Power Query and writing expressions by using Data Analysis Expressions (DAX). You know how to assess data quality. Plus, you understand data security, including row-level security and data sensitivity.

PL-300: Microsoft Certified Power BI Data Analyst Associate

Skills measured

• Prepare the data
• Model the data
• Visualize and analyze the data
• Deploy and maintain assets

The DP-420 certification focuses on candidates’ subject matter expertise in designing, implementing, and monitoring cloud-native applications for data storage and management, specifically using Azure Cosmos DB. Candidates are expected to have knowledge and experience in designing data models, data distribution, and loading data into Azure Cosmos DB databases. They should also be proficient in integrating the solution with other Azure services and considering security, availability, resilience, and performance requirements. Additionally, candidates should have strong skills in developing applications for Azure, working with Azure Cosmos DB technologies, creating server-side objects with JavaScript, and utilizing the NoSQL API of Azure Cosmos DB. Familiarity with provisioning and managing Azure resources is also important for this certification.

(DP-420) Azure Cosmos DB Developer Specialty Exam

After obtaining the DP-420 certification one will be able to write efficient queries, create indexing policies, manage, and provision resources in the SQL API and SDK. 

Skills measured

• Design and implement data models
• Design and implement data distribution
• Integrate an Azure Cosmos DB solution
• Optimize an Azure Cosmos DB solution
• Maintain an Azure Cosmos DB solution