Next month MS-900 gets a minor update, so there’s no need to be panic if you’ve already been preparing and are almost ready to sit the exam. It’s mostly catching up on some overdue name changes, rather than introducing new items.
Describe cloud concepts (10-15%)
Describe the different types of cloud services available
- describe Microsoft’s IaaS, and PaaS offerings
- describe where Microsoft Azure and Dynamics 365 fit in to the Microsoft ecosystem
- cloud-based productivity solutions
Describe the benefits of and considerations for using a cloud service instead of onpremises services
- describe public, private, and hybrid scenarios
- identify scenarios when usage of cloud-based services is more beneficial than on-premises services
- compare costs of cloud-based services with on-premises services
- identify factors that drive organizations to move to the cloud
Describe Core Microsoft 365 Services and Concepts (30-35%)
Identify core Microsoft 365 capabilities
- productivity and teamwork (IM and chat, online meetings, email and calendaring, Office productivity apps, file storage and sharing, intranet and team sites, enterprise social, accessibility)
- business management (simplified management, business process automation, extensibility, business voice and phone systems, forms and workflow management, business intelligence, work management, customer scheduling and booking, mileage tracking and reporting)
- security and compliance (identity and access management, information protection and governance, threat protection, security management, insider risk management, compliance management, discover and respond
- describe the capabilities of the Microsoft 365 Admin center and Microsoft 365 user portal
Describe options for deploying and supporting Windows and Office
- describe the deployment and release models for Windows-as-a-Service (WaaS) including deployment rings
- describe the capabilities of Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) and when it makes sense to implement WVD
- identify deployment and servicing methods for Microsoft 365 apps
Describe analytics capabilities in Microsoft 365
- describe capabilities of Workplace Analytics and MyAnalytics
- describe the reports available in the Microsoft 365 Admin center and other admin centers
Describe Microsoft 365 collaboration solutions
- explain how collaboration solutions in Microsoft 365 can drive personal and organizational productivity
- describe the capabilities for extending Office and Microsoft Teams with Power Platform and third-party apps and services
Explain Security, Compliance, Privacy, and Trust in Microsoft 365 (30-35%)
Explain zero-trust security principles for Microsoft 365
- identify key components that need to be protected within an organization’s cloud and on-premises infrastructure
- describe key security pillars of protection, including identity, documents, network, and devices
Explain unified endpoint management concepts
- explain device and application management
- describe bring you own device (BYOD), and application and device management
- explain the value of the Microsoft Endpoint Manager (MEM) including Microsoft Intune and System Center
Explain identity and access management concepts
- describe concepts of cloud identity, on-premises identity, and hybrid identity
- describe the purpose and value of implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- describe the purpose and value of conditional access
Explain Threat Protection in Microsoft 365
- identify how Microsoft 365 services address the most common current threats
- describe the concepts of Cloud App Security
Describe the Service Trust portal, Security center, and Compliance Manager
- identify differences between the Service Trust portal, Microsoft 365 Security center, and Compliance Manager
- explain the trust relationship between Microsoft and service locations
- describe data protection options including data segregation
- describe how compliance scores are generated and how they can be used
- describe scenarios where knowing the compliance score benefits an organization
- describe the value and capabilities of the Service Trust portal
- explain insider risk management capabilities in the compliance score
- identify eDiscovery use cases and scenarios
- explain why privacy matters to Microsoft
- demonstrate the Security Center and Secure Score benefits and capabilities
Describe information protection and governance solutions
- explain information protection and governance
- identify the types of sensitivity labels and when to use each type
Describe Microsoft 365 Pricing and Support (20-25%)
Plan, predict, and compare pricing
- describe the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) pricing model for Windows and Microsoft cloud services
- explain available billing and bill management options including billing frequency and methods of payment
- optimize costs based on licensing options
Identify licensing options available in Microsoft 365
- describe the available licensing and management options for Microsoft 365
- describe additional capabilities available when a customer purchases Azure Active Directory P1, Azure Active Directory P2, and Azure AD Free
Describe the service lifecycle in Microsoft 365
- describe private, public preview, and General Availability (GA) options
- describe the correlation between lifecycle options and pricing
- describe use cases and capabilities for the Microsoft 365 Roadmap portal
So what were the changes, and was there anything that was missed? Office 365 ProPlus was updated to Microsoft 365 apps, Azure AD Basic was removed and replaced with Azure AD Free, and Security Center was updated to Microsoft 365 Security Center. That’s it, I was wasn’t kidding about it being a minor update. That’s a good thing though, because the exam is already incredibly broad, so specifically adding a bunch of new items in to the objectives wasn’t really needed.
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