Microsoft Courses: Our Curated Directory

Microsoft Learn, Azure certifications, Microsoft Educator Center, and Microsoft Office training.

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Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)

The standard first certification for a cloud career — Microsoft’s own certification page describes it as "a common starting point in a journey towards a career in Azure." It covers core cloud concepts, Azure services (compute, networking, storage) and Azure management/governance tools across three free Microsoft Learn training modules totalling just over 5 hours (56 min + 2h 48m + 1h 21m, taken directly from Microsoft’s own module listing, not a third-party estimate). One thing worth flagging: Microsoft is refreshing the English-language version of this exam on 20 July 2026, so anyone sitting it after that date should check the updated study guide rather than older prep material, which may cover content that’s about to change. Beginner level, no prerequisites, and the role tag on Microsoft’s own page is simply "Administrator." Recommend to anyone still deciding whether a cloud career is worth pursuing — the training itself is free even if you never book the exam.

Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-901)

Formerly AI-900 — Microsoft retired the old English-language version and updated this exam on 15 April 2026, so this is meaningfully different from what older reviews and blog posts describe, and prep material written before that date may be out of sync with the current exam. The new AI-901 syllabus covers AI workload concepts, machine learning principles, computer vision, NLP and generative AI features on Azure, split across 12 short modules in two Microsoft Learn paths: core AI concepts, then applications and agents (including Microsoft Foundry, Microsoft’s newer agent-building platform). Microsoft doesn’t publish one combined hour total for the refreshed path on the certification page itself; budget a similar chunk of time to AZ-900’s ~5-hour path, likely more given the added generative-AI content that wasn’t in the old AI-900. Despite the "fundamentals" label, Microsoft’s own prerequisites call for basic Python familiarity, so this suits developers more than total beginners with no coding background at all.

Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals (SC-900)

Covers security, compliance and identity concepts across Microsoft’s cloud platform generally, not just Azure — Microsoft’s own page lists the target role as "Security Engineer" and the level as Beginner, last updated November 2025. It’s the least hands-on certification in this list: mostly concepts and terminology (Zero Trust, identity, compliance frameworks) rather than actual configuration work, which is why some reviewers note it doesn’t fully prepare you for a working security role on its own — it’s a vocabulary and concepts exam, not a skills test. Microsoft doesn’t publish a single combined hour figure for the self-paced path on the certification page, unlike AZ-104’s more granular module breakdown. Best treated as a resume line and a genuine primer on security vocabulary before attempting the more technical SC-200 (Security Operations Analyst) or SC-300 (Identity and Access Administrator) certifications, not a substitute for hands-on security experience in a real environment.

Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900)

A companion Fundamentals-level exam to AZ-900, but focused specifically on core data concepts and Azure’s data services rather than general cloud infrastructure. Microsoft’s own page lists the target role as "Data Engineer", Beginner level, last updated 31 October 2025. It covers relational data concepts, non-relational (NoSQL) data, and the basics of analytics workloads on Azure — useful groundwork before attempting the Power BI Data Analyst Associate exam below, since DP-900 explains the underlying data-platform concepts that PL-300 assumes you already understand. Like the other Fundamentals-tier exams here, Microsoft doesn’t require any specific learning path be completed first, just familiarity with the material. Recommend as a genuinely useful stepping stone for anyone planning to sit PL-300 eventually, rather than as a standalone destination credential on its own.

Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)

A genuine step up from the Fundamentals-level exams above — Intermediate level, requiring actual subject-matter expertise in Azure virtual networks, storage, compute, identity, security and governance, not just concept recognition. Microsoft’s own Learn site lists six official training paths totalling just over 18 hours: prerequisites (1h 3m), identities and governance (4h 24m), virtual networks (4h 30m), storage (3h 7m), compute resources (3h 33m) and monitoring/backup (1h 28m) — a level of granular, verifiable detail the Fundamentals exams above simply don’t publish. Last updated April 2026. The certification requires renewal every 12 months via a free online assessment — worth knowing before committing, since this isn’t a one-and-done credential like the Fundamentals tier. Recommend to people who already have AZ-900 or genuine hands-on Azure experience; going straight from zero to AZ-104 is a much rougher ride than the 18-hour estimate suggests to someone reading it cold.

Power BI Data Analyst Associate (PL-300)

Intermediate level, aimed at people who build and manage Power BI data models, reports and dashboards for business use rather than general data scientists. Last updated April 2026. Microsoft’s own course page (PL-300T00-A) lists a 3-day instructor-led format for that route, though most self-taught candidates use the free Microsoft Learn modules instead — Microsoft doesn’t total the self-paced hours on the certification page itself, so treat any specific hour figure you see elsewhere online as a third-party estimate rather than an official one. The exam covers data modeling, DAX formulas, visualization design and deployment/governance within the Power BI Service, so budget meaningfully more than a weekend regardless of which route you take. Recommend to working analysts already using Power BI day-to-day who want a credential to formalize existing skills for a CV or promotion case; less useful as someone’s very first introduction to the tool.

Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)

Expert level — the top rung of the Azure certifications covered here, and the only Expert-tier credential on this list. Candidates need subject-matter expertise designing cloud and hybrid solutions across compute, networking, storage, monitoring and security, aligned to Microsoft’s Well-Architected Framework and Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure. In practice, Microsoft’s own Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) content is the de facto prerequisite — the architect role is explicitly built on admin-level experience per Microsoft’s own overview text, so budget for two exams, not one, if starting from scratch rather than assuming AZ-305 stands alone. It’s priced the same as the Associate-level exams above despite being a harder, more senior credential aimed at people already designing infrastructure, not learning it for the first time. Recommend only to people already working hands-on in Azure infrastructure or architecture roles; this isn’t a study-and-pass certification for career-changers coming from outside IT. One more practical note that applies to every exam above: all prices shown are Microsoft’s official global list prices in USD, since Microsoft only reveals the final localized price — including VAT — at checkout once you select United Kingdom as your test location, so treat the GBP figures here as a well-corroborated estimate from UK training providers rather than numbers pulled directly from Microsoft’s own pricing page.