Incorporating DevOps practices to accelerate the development, testing, and deployment of software applications, as well as to create an efficient and more robust software development lifecycle process, has enabled most organizations in the IT industry today to be more productive and to ensure timely delivery of products and services to the customers.
However, in recent years, with the unprecedented leap in technological breakthroughs and innovations, cloud service providers have also adopted the DevOps methodology to create and deploy their cloud-based software applications.
This increased adoption of Cloud technology has become a game-changer, especially since Microsoft announced the cloud-based DevOps service called Azure DevOps in 2018.
This has also led to an increase in demand for qualified professionals with Azure DevOps abilities and the right credentials to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities globally.
Therefore, if you want to establish a career in the DevOps and cloud technology realm, then earning an Azure DevOps certification can help you build up the skills and technical knowledge that meets the globally accepted industry standards and put you on a pedestal to becoming a certified professional with high standards, which recruiters are vying for.
What is Azure DevOps?
Azure DevOps includes everything you need to construct and deploy a software project from beginning to end.
It is a software as a service (SaaS) offered by Microsoft, based on the Azure cloud computing platform that provides a comprehensive collection of cloud-based tools for managing and deploying software development applications.
Using Azure DevOps, one may plan the project using agile tools, manage the code running using Git, and deploy the code using the best CI/CD system out there.
As a result, it enables businesses to create software products and handle the entire DevOps lifecycle more quickly and effectively than they could with traditional software development methods.
Additionally, it enables customers to install DevOps procedures everywhere, including third-party clouds and containers.
Services Provided by Azure DevOps
Azure DevOps provides five core services:
- Azure Pipelines helps users in continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD)of their applications via integrated build-and-release workflows.
- Azure Repos simplifies codebase control and versioning either through Git or your preferred cloud-hosted repositories.
- Azure Boards is an agile tool package that allows you to organize and manage tasks, code bugs, and other challenges using Kanban and Scrum methodologies.
- Azure Test Plans to provide a set of tool-kit for testing your software or applications, including manual/exploratory and continuous testing.
- Azure Artifacts enables users to share npm, Maven, and NuGet packages from private and public sources and incorporate package sharing into their CI/CD pipelines.
These services are provided in two forms, which are as follows:
- Azure DevOps Services for the Azure cloud
- Azure DevOps Servers for on-premises infrastructures
Why do you need Azure DevOps Certification?
Azure DevOps certification is an expert-level certification that validates your skill and expertise in DevOps and software development and cloud computing, and Azure proficiency.
These certifications are made available to well-qualified and skilled professionals in the IT industry to upgrade their skill set and knowledge base to an advanced level to maintain high standards in the software development processes and demonstrate that they have the proficiency and skills to work in the capacity of an Azure DevOps engineer expert.
Furthermore, having an Azure DevOps certification in your resume can help you gain access to an ocean of opportunities with high pay scales, such as Azure Administrator, Azure Developer, and Azure DevOps Engineer, where you will be carrying out very important and technical tasks that are linked under the Azure umbrella network.
Top Azure DevOps Certification of 2023
The Azure DevOps certification is a new role-based Azure certification that requires candidates to pass the AZ-4OO: Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions exam.
It is an expert-level exam aimed at developers, infrastructure administrators, and IT professionals who want to become Azure DevOps engineer experts, and candidates passing the AZ-400 will earn the Microsoft Certified Azure DevOps Engineer Expert certification.
The Microsoft Certified DevOps Engineer Expert training and certification are designed to reflect the Azure DevOps Engineer job role, which requires you to combine people, processes, and technologies to deliver valuable products and services that meet end-user needs and business objectives on a continuous basis.
The certification teaches you how to implement a DevOps environment with the help of Microsoft Azure toolsets. Now, let us further explore the details of the exam in detail:
Exam requirement
- The exam prerequisites demand candidates be certified in either the Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator Associate AZ-104 certification or the Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate AZ-204 certification.
- Candidates must be adept in implementing Agile practices.
Exam Curriculum and Marks Weightage
The exam measures your technical competency in accomplishing the following tasks:
• Develop an instrumentation strategy (5-10%)
• Define and implement continuous integration (20-25%)
• Develop a Site Reliability Engineering strategy (SRE strategy) (5-10%)
• Facilitate communication and collaboration (10-15%)
• Manage source control (10-15%)
• Develop a security and compliance plan (10-15%)
• Define & implement a continuous delivery & release management strategy (10-15%)
Languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), and Korean
The certification exam costs $165 USD, which roughly amounts to around INR 13,400.
Training for the Azure DevOps certification
There is a myriad of training programs and courses offering Azure DevOps certifications that meet industry standards.
The Azure DevOps Solutions Expert Master’s program offered on the digital platform of Simplilearn is one of the best certification programs available that will prepare you for a career in the cloud and DevOps industry.
The master’s program is designed keeping in mind the most recent DevOps and Azure technological practices, fulfilling industry standards and enabling you to graduate as a professional who is prepared for the workforce.
With this course, you will learn to plan smarter, collaborate on projects better, and ship faster with a set of modern dev services.
The course curriculum is well-structured in such a way that it covers the course material for the AZ-104, AZ-204, and AZ-400 exams, preparing you for the exam.
It begins with the fundamentals of Microsoft Azure cloud computing principles before progressing on to more advanced and complex concepts of both DevOps and Azure and developing skills in SRE strategy, Instrumentation strategy, developing security and compliance plan, integrating Azure pipelines, etc.
The course also provides you with hands-on experience working on capstone projects that include real-world initiatives and industry case studies, as well as round-the-clock organized mentoring from industry professionals to clear up any conceptual ambiguities.
So, without further ado, start the process of becoming a certified Azure DevOps Engineer.
