Microsoft 365 Learning Resources & Certifications

Fellow IT Pros,

If you haven't already realised, long gone are the days where you went on a 5 day training course to become an "expert" in your product of choice and then had 3 - 5 years before you had to learn about the next release and latest features of the product.

We need to embrace this rapid change of pace and become lifelong learners, as the alternative is to become less relevant in the brave new world that is EaaS….Everything As A Service (for the avoidance of doubt this not a new Microsoft product, as far as I'm aware…)

Below I've shared just some of the tools, websites, blogs and YouTube channels I use to both learn about new Microsoft 365 products and keep up to date with the latest announcements, most of which are completely free.

I've also added links to the new Microsoft role based certifications, with the Microsoft 365 ones specified.

Learning

Modern Desktop Deployment and Management Lab Kit

I personally recommend that every IT Pro that is or will be involved with Windows 10, Office 365 or EMS should have access to this lab kit as it has been one of my best resources for continual learning since joining Microsoft 2 years ago (with a few rebuilds thrown in). Be sure to review and practice the Step-by-step labs

Worth noting that we recently released Create a Configuration Manager technical preview lab in Azure guidance which I can see being really useful for provisioning an Azure hosted learning environment.

Microsoft Learn - Mainly Azure content for now however new Microsoft 365 content should be coming soon.

Microsoft Hands-on Labs

Microsoft 365 Roadmap

Microsoft 365 Blog

docs.microsoft.com- Official Microsoft documentation hub.

Tip: Bing "docs product name" to quickly find relevant documentation.

LinkedIn Learning - Content here is constantly improving.

Twitter - Follow experts from both Microsoft and our MVPs

YouTube Channels:

Microsoft Mechanics - Short 10 - 15 min videos. Great for getting a quick look at specific products.

Microsoft Ignite - Recordings from previous Microsoft Ignite sessions. Typically a more in-depth look at specific products.

Microsoft

Microsoft Cloud

Microsoft Office 365

Windows

Certifications

New Microsoft Role-based Certifications Overview

Most of the exams listed below are currently in beta, meaning there are few with directly aligned training courses available yet however this should change once these are fully released and the new Microsoft Learn content will help too.

I recommend looking at the "skills measured" section of the exam you're interested in then try to gain hands-on experience with these areas and products using the Modern Desktop Deployment and Management Lab Kit and the Office 365 / EMS E5 free trials.

Microsoft 365 Fundamentals - MS-900

This is a great introduction to Microsoft 365 for those just starting their IT career or for those currently holding less technical hands-on positions such as management. Experienced IT Pros that have completed previous Microsoft client exams should skip this in my opinion.

Microsoft 365 Certified : Enterprise Administrator Expert

This is made up of the following exams:

Microsoft 365 Identity and Services - MS-100

Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security - MS-101

Microsoft 365 Certified: Messaging Administrator Associate

This is made up of the following exams:

Planning and Configuring a Messaging Platform - MS-200

Implementing a Hybrid and Secure Messaging Platform - MS-201

Microsoft 365 Certified: Teamwork Administrator Associate

This is made up of the following exams:

Deploying Microsoft 365 Teamwork - MS-300

Deploying SharePoint Server Hybrid - MS-301

Microsoft 365 Certified: Security Administrator Associate

This is made up of the following exams:

Microsoft 365 Security Administration - MS-500

I completed the MCSE: Mobility last year so need to move on to the Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert, then potentially some of the others, when I make time!

I hope you find this useful and feel free to share.