In 2025, Microsoft Azure holds a significant market share in cloud computing. Although it is not a global market leader, it has gained a lot of traction this year. Microsoft Azure is viewed as the world’s second largest cloud service provider, capturing a market share of 21% to 25%.

If you want to create a career in cloud computing, especially in Microsoft Azure then this blog is the perfect place to start with. The goal is to simplify the Microsoft Azure certification roadmap for you so that you get a starting point.

In this blog you’ll learn, why choose Microsoft Azure certification, what are the various Azure certification levels, the best Azure certification to start with and the best place to get Azure online training.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

Why Choose Microsoft Azure?

Launched in the year 2010, Microsoft Azure contributes to a solid market share. It is widely adopted by enterprises and tech giants such as Walmart, FedEx, BMW, Adobe, Coca Cola and many other companies.

 With such wide adoption, Azure cloud engineers are in extremely high demand today. The best part about Microsoft Azure is that it has laid a well-structured certification path. Aspirants can follow it from scratch and climb up the career ladder.

In fact, Microsoft Azure has been recognized as one of the leaders in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Strategic Cloud Platform Services (SCPS). It has been placed the furthest in completeness of vision and the highest in ability to execute.

If you want to build a career in Azure cloud computing, choosing Azure online training certification programs is a reliable path to build Azure expertise. 

Overview of Azure Certification Levels

There are 4 levels of Azure certification. These are mentioned below:

1. Fundamental-level certifications

2. Associate-level certifications

3. Expert-level certifications

4. Specialty-level certifications

Let’s understand each one of these!

Fundamental certifications are the most beginner-friendly certifications. They form the foundation and the starting point of a career in cloud computing.

Best Azure Certifications to Start With

1. Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)

Microsoft’s AZ-900 is the perfect starting point for absolute beginners. The best part is that no technical background is required. When you gain knowledge for this certification, you learn about various cloud concepts, such as:

• Core azure services

• Azure management

• Azure governance feature and tools

This Azure online certification is best for the following candidates:

• People in non-tech roles

• Beginners who want to start a career in cloud

• Project managers

• Business owners

Azure Certifications for Various Career Goals

Once you’ve cleared your foundational knowledge with the Azure fundamentals certification, it is time to upskill with the Associate-level Azure certification. There are different Associate certifications to choose from:

1. Azure Administrator (AZ-104)

This Azure certification validates your skills to manage cloud services like storage, networking and compute. 

Pre-requisites:

You need to have AZ-900 fundamentals knowledge before jumping to this Azure certification. However, it is not mandatory.

The following concepts are covered in this certification:

• Manage identities and governance in Azure

• Implement and manage storage in Azure

• Deploy and manage Azure compute resources

• Configure and manage virtual networks for Azure administrators

• Monitor and backup Azure resources

Job roles in the market:

• Azure administrator

• System Administrator

• Cloud Support Engineer

2. Azure Developer (AZ-204)

This is another Associate-level certification that validates a candidate’s skills to build, test and maintain cloud applications. The following concepts are covered in this certification:

• SDK

• Data storage options

• Data connections

• APIs

• App authentication and authorization

• Compute and container deployment

• Debugging

Pre-requisites:

You need to have programming knowledge.

Job roles in the market:

• Azure Developer

• Cloud Engineer

3. Azure Security Engineer (AZ-500)

This certification validates your skills in implementing, managing and monitoring security for resources in Azure, multi-cloud and hybrid environments.

The following concepts are covered in this certification:

• Learning to manage the complete security posture

• Implementing threat protection

• Identifying and remediating vulnerabilities

Pre-requisites:

You must have fundamental knowledge of Azure cloud. 

Job roles in the market:

• Azure Security Engineer

• Cloud Security Specialist

• DevSecOps Engineer

• Security Consultant

Expert-Level Azure Certifications

Expert-level certifications are a great choice of certifications after you’ve stepped into the cloud computing industry for more than 3 years. These certifications validate your skills as a dedicated skilled professional in the Azure cloud environment.

4. Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)

When you learn to become an Azure Solutions Architect expert, you learn to design end-to-end cloud and hybrid solutions that run on Azure.

The following concepts are covered in this certification:

• Design infrastructure solutions with Azure

• Create cloud and hybrid solutions including network, storage, monitoring and security

Pre-requisites:

For expert-level certifications, it is recommended to have associate-level certification first.

Job roles in the market:

• Azure Solutions Architect - Expert

• Cloud Architect

• Technical Architect

• Cloud Consultant

5. Azure DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400)

This expert-level certification by Microsoft Azure validates your skills in working with people, processes, and products to enable continuous delivery of value in organizations.

The following concepts are covered in this certification:

• Design and implement processes and communications 

• Design and implement a source control strategy 

• Design and implement build and release pipelines

• Implement an instrumentation strategy

• Develop a security and compliance plan 

Pre-requisites:

For expert-level certifications, it is recommended to have associate-level certification first.

Job roles in the market:

• DevOps Engineer

• Site Reliability Engineer

• CI/CD Engineer

Specialty-Level Azure Certifications

Specialty-level Azure certifications are optional niche tracks you can opt for if you have over 5 years of experience in the Azure cloud computing industry.  The following are the various specialty-level azure certifications:

• Azure IoT Developer (AZ-220)

• Azure Data Engineer (DP-203)

• Azure Virtual Desktop (AZ-140)

Where Can I Find the Best Azure Online Training?

If you’re looking for Azure online training certification, look no further than the Network Kings’ Azure Cloud Security Master’s program.

The best part? This Azure online training certification covers all levels of Azure certifications, from associate to expert level certifications. Therefore, you can become job-ready. The following are the highlighting features of training at Network Kings:

• Learn from top 1% engineers in the industry.

• Cover the most in-demand certifications curriculum in the cloud industry.

• Weekend and weekday batches available with flexible timings.

• Access exclusive learning materials, pdfs, exam dumps and much more.

• Become job-ready and get exclusive access to the job-guarantee program by Engineer-Edge.

Conclusion

Microsoft Azure is one of the most in-demand cloud computing certifications. If you’re planning to become an Azure Engineer/Solutions Architect, starting from Network Kings’ Azure Cloud Security Master’s program is the best bet. To conclude, we have the following:

• Are you new to cloud? → Start with AZ-900

• Do you manage infrastructure? → Go for AZ-104

• Are you into coding? → Pick AZ-204

• Are you a security-focused professional? → AZ-500

• Want to go high-level strategy? → Aim for AZ-305