It’s been over a year and a half since I published the initial version of this prep guide, so I thought it’s about time I update it and discuss where this fits in the Microsoft 365 exam world. Additional exams have been announced and released since this exam first went into beta, moving the conversation away from comparisons with the exams that were being replaced.
What are the two main exams that have changed this landscape? MS-900 Microsoft 365 Fundamentals and MS-500 Microsoft 365 Security Administration were both introduced as exams that would give you a certification as opposed to this exam which also requires you to to pass multiple exams to get a certification. What I’ve learned, and been somewhat surprised by over the last couple of years is that for many people the exam to certification ratio drives behaviors in ways I wouldn’t have believed, even when it leads to people following a path that will lead to better skills.
I still recommend MS-100 as the starting exam exam for someone who wants to get Microsoft 365 certifications, as the skills required really have moved into being expected skills in many organizations. Once you’ve done MS-100 and MS-101, there really isn’t a huge amount of effort for you to sit MS-900 and MS-500 if you are in certification acquisition mode.
Design and implement Microsoft 365 services (25-30%)
Manage domains
- add and configure additional domains
- configure user identities for new domain name
- configure workloads for new domain name
- design domain name configuration
- set primary domain name
- verify custom domain
Plan a Microsoft 365 implementation
- plan for Microsoft 365 on-premises Infrastructure
- plan identity and authentication solution
Setup Microsoft 365 tenancy and subscription
- configure subscription and tenant roles and workload settings
- evaluate Microsoft 365 for organization
- plan and create tenant
- upgrade existing subscriptions to Microsoft 365
- monitor license allocations
Manage Microsoft 365 subscription and tenant health
- manage service health alerts
- create & manage service requests
- create internal service health response plan
- monitor service health
- configure and review reports, including BI, OMS, and Microsoft 365 reporting
- schedule and review security and compliance reports
- schedule and review usage metrics
Plan migration of users and data
- identify data to be migrated and method
- identify users and mailboxes to be migrated and method
- plan migration of on-prem users and groups
- import PST Files
Manage user identity and roles (35-40%)
Design identity strategy
- evaluate requirements and solution for synchronization
- evaluate requirements and solution for identity management
- evaluate requirements and solution for authentication
Plan identity synchronization by using Azure AD Connect
- design directory synchronization
- implement directory synchronization with directory services, federation services, and Azure endpoints
Manage identity synchronization by using Azure AD Connect
- monitor Azure AD Connect Health
- manage Azure AD Connect synchronization
- configure object filters
- configure password sync
- implement multi-forest AD Connect scenarios
Manage Azure AD identities
- plan Azure AD identities
- implement and manage Azure AD self-service password reset
- manage access reviews
- manage groups
- manage passwords
- manage product licenses
- manage users
- perform bulk user management
Manage user roles
- plan user roles
- allocate roles in workloads
- configure administrative accounts
- configure RBAC within Azure AD
- delegate admin rights
- manage admin roles
- manage role allocations by using Azure AD
- plan security and compliance roles for Microsoft 365
Manage access and authentication (20-25%)
Manage authentication
- design authentication method
- configure authentication
- implement authentication method
- manage authentication
- monitor authentication
Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- design an MFA solution
- configure MFA for apps or users
- administer MFA users
- report MFA utilization
Configure application access
- configure application registration in Azure AD
- configure Azure AD application proxy
- publish enterprise apps in Azure AD
Implement access for external users of Microsoft 365 workloads
- create guest accounts
- design solutions for external access
- manage external collaboration settings
Plan Office 365 workloads and applications (10-15%)
Plan for Office 365 workload deployment
- identify hybrid requirements
- Hybrid Modern Authentication and prereqs for Skype for Business Server and Exchange Server
- How to configure Exchange Server on-premises to use Hybrid Modern Authentication
- How to configure Skype for Business on-premises to use Hybrid Modern Authentication
- Removing or disabling Hybrid Modern Authentication from Skype for Business and Exchange
- plan connectivity and data flow for each workload
- plan for Microsoft 365 workload connectivity
- plan migration strategy for workloads
- prepare workloads for new deployments and migrations
Plan Microsoft 365 Apps deployment
- manage Office software downloads
- plan for Microsoft 365 apps for Enterprise
- plan for Microsoft 365 apps for Enterprise updates
- plan for Microsoft 365 apps for Enterprise connectivity
- plan for Office for the web
- plan Microsoft 365 apps for Enterprise deployment
One of the things you probably noticed on the list is that the exam objectives haven’t been updated yet to reflect some of the name changes such as Microsoft 365 apps for Enterprise instead of Office 365 ProPlus for example. Expect a transition to the updated names over time, but these changes can take a while.
