Cloud Certifications: Azure Data Fundamentals

This guide provides information and resources to prepare you for the Azure Data Fundamentals" (DP-900) certification. It also gives you some tips and recommendations based on the experiences of other data architects who have approved and are certified in Azure.

This certification is designed for data and big data engineers who have knowledge of database types, concepts behind big data (such as Hadoop and Spark), and unstructured data management.

This certification is recommended for people who are starting out in the world of Azure certifications and want to validate their knowledge in cloud data platforms. No experience is required, but knowledge of databases, Big Data, and Data Lakes is required.

This certification is useful for many reasons, but the most important are:

To achieve this certification, you must pass one exam:

Your preparation for the DP-900 exam should look like this:

You must know how to differentiate relational databases very well and understand the main NoSQL databases and when to use them, as well as the best Big Data processing platform according to each context (for example, real-time processing).

Remember that the key is in the details, both in study and in practice.

There are no prerequisites for this exam, but having experience in Azure will help you tackle this certification, including not only the use of data platforms, but also how they are created in Azure.

Finally, in addition to how to implement each service, make sure you also understand the best practices for these services (use virtual networks, backups, databases pools, service plans).

The exam measures four competencies:

For all of these skills, you must be able to explain and answer how to do it through the Azure portal or one of its code options (Azure CLI, Powershell and ARM Templates).

You must also understand the following technologies (it is not required, but is ideal to have some experience in these topics):

For each of these technologies, in addition to knowing and experimenting with them, you should be prepared to explain which contexts to use them in and iwhich not to use them in.

Although the exam does not delve much into technical details, it is recommended to review the documentation of each technology to become familiar with each concept of each service.

You can enhance and accelerate your learning with the range of Pluralsight courses on each Azure technology:

You can complement the Pluralsight courses with the official Azure documentation:

You can also complement the other courses with Microsoft Learning Paths:

The benefits of obtaining this certification include:

According to Neuvoo, the average annual salary of a Azure data engineer reaches US$150,000—or more if you have additional experience and certifications (like this one).

This is one of the initial Azure certifications, making it a good foundation to later continue with other certifications, such as Azure Data Engineer Associate or Azure Database Administrator Associate.

Finally, some advice:

I wish you a lot of success on your way to the Azure Data Fundamentals certification!