Azure Cloud Certifications and Their Associated Paths

Microsoft Azure offers one of the most structured and role-based certification ecosystems in the cloud industry. Each certification aligns closely with real-world job functions—administration, security, architecture, data, AI, DevOps, and specialty domains. Azure’s paths emphasize building foundational knowledge, progressing into job-specific expertise, and optionally achieving expert or specialty recognition.

This guide summarizes the major Azure certifications, grouped into logical career paths, and explains how they fit together.

Foundational Certification (Optional, but Recommended)

1. Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)

Role: Anyone new to cloud
Focus: Cloud concepts, Azure services, governance, pricing, support

Who should take it:

• Absolute beginners

• Business/management teams

• Technical teams transitioning to Azure

Outcome:
A solid conceptual baseline that helps you choose a specialization path.

Administrator Path

2. Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)

Role: Azure Administrator
Focus: Identity, governance, storage, compute, networking, resource management

Path Overview:

• Start: AZ-900 (optional)

• Core: AZ-104

• Next Options: Move toward Security (AZ-500), Networking, or Architect track

Typical Job Titles:

• Cloud Administrator

• Systems Administrator

• Infrastructure Engineer

Security Path

3. Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500)

Role: Security Engineer
Focus: Identity & access, platform protection, data security, network security, monitoring, governance

Prerequisites:

• AZ-104 recommended

• Experience with IAM, networking, and basic security

Path Extensions:

• Specialty: SC-100 (Cybersecurity Architect)

• Broader Security: SC-200 / SC-300 / SC-400

4. Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect (SC-100)

Expert-level certification combining Azure security, governance, identity, and compliance.

Path Overview:

• Take any one of these Associate exams:

  • AZ-500 (Security Engineer)

  • SC-200 (Security Operations Analyst)

  • SC-300 (Identity & Access Administrator)

  • SC-400 (Information Protection Admin)

• Pass SC-100

Outcome:
Recognition as an enterprise-level cloud security architect.

Solution Architect Path

5. Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)

Role: Solutions Architect
Focus: Designing infrastructure, identity, networking, data, security, resilience, and cost optimization

Prerequisite Recommendation:

• Azure Administrator (AZ-104) strongly recommended

Path Overview:

• Start: AZ-900 (optional)

• Foundation: AZ-104

• Expert: AZ-305

Outcome:
Ability to architect full end-to-end Azure solutions.

DevOps Path

6. Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)

Role: Developer / Cloud Engineer
Focus: App development, storage, compute, API integration, monitoring, identity, DevOps practices

7. DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400)

Role: DevOps Engineer
Focus: Scaling code pipelines, CI/CD, automation, observability, governance

Path Overview:

• One of: AZ-104 (Admin) OR AZ-204 (Developer)

• Then: AZ-400

Outcome:
Expertise in cloud automation and delivery engineering.

Data Path

8. Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900)

Intro to data workloads, relational and non-relational concepts, and analytics.

9. Azure Data Engineer Associate (DP-203)

Role: Data Engineer
Focus: Data pipelines, data lakes, analytics, ETL/ELT, storage optimization

10. Azure Database Administrator Associate (DP-300)

Role: DBA
Focus: Managing SQL databases, backups, HA, tuning, security

Path Overview:

• Start: DP-900

• Specialize: DP-203 or DP-300

AI & Machine Learning Path

11. Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900)

12. Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102)

Role: AI Engineer
Focus: Cognitive services, AI models, vision, speech, natural language, integration

Path Overview:

• Start: AI-900 (optional)

• Complete: AI-102
  
  

Specialty Certifications

These target advanced, niche skills:

Azure IoT Developer (AZ-220)

IoT infrastructure, device provisioning, edge compute.

Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty (AZ-140)

VDI deployment, management, scaling, security.

Azure for SAP Workloads (AZ-120)

SAP workload migration, sizing, HANA architecture.

Azure Stack Hub Operator (AZ-600)

Hybrid cloud with Azure hardware in private datacenters.

Recommended Learning Paths (By Career Goal)

Cloud Administrator

1. AZ-900

2. AZ-104

3. Optional: AZ-500 or AZ-305

Cloud Security Engineer

1. AZ-900

2. AZ-104

3. AZ-500

4. SC-100 (expert)

Solutions Architect

1. AZ-900

2. AZ-104

3. AZ-305

DevOps Engineer

1. AZ-900

2. AZ-104 or AZ-204

3. AZ-400

Data Engineer

1. DP-900

2. DP-203

AI Engineer

1. AI-900

2. AI-102
   
   

Final Thoughts

Azure’s certification ecosystem is mature and role-aligned, making it straightforward to plan a path based on your career goals. Beginners can start with the AZ-900 Fundamentals, while experienced professionals can jump directly into Associate-level exams. Expert and specialty credentials provide structured paths to deepen expertise in architecture, security, DevOps, and data.