In the fast-paced world of technology, staying ahead of the curve is essential. One way to ensure you remain competitive and relevant in the job market is through obtaining industry-recognized certifications. Among the most respected and sought-after are Microsoft Certifications. These certifications validate your skills and knowledge in various Microsoft technologies and can significantly enhance your career prospects. This blog post explores the different Microsoft Certifications available and why you should consider getting certified.

Overview of Microsoft Certifications

Microsoft offers a comprehensive certification program designed to validate expertise across a wide range of technologies and roles. The certifications are grouped into three primary categories: Fundamentals, Associate, and Expert levels.

Fundamentals Certifications: Ideal for beginners, these certifications validate foundational knowledge of Microsoft technologies. They are suitable for individuals starting their careers or those looking to switch to tech-related roles. Examples include:

Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals

Microsoft Certified: Microsoft 365 Fundamentals

Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals

Associate Certifications: Targeting professionals with some experience, these certifications focus on specific job roles and technical skills. They demonstrate proficiency in managing, developing, and implementing Microsoft solutions. Notable examples include:

Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate

Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate

Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Sales Functional Consultant Associate

Expert Certifications: These are advanced certifications for individuals with significant experience and expertise in Microsoft technologies. They validate deep technical skills and knowledge necessary for senior roles. Examples include:

Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert

Microsoft Certified: Microsoft 365 Enterprise Administrator Expert

Microsoft Certified: Azure DevOps Engineer Expert

Why Get Microsoft Certified?

Career Advancement

Enhanced Job Prospects: Microsoft certifications are highly regarded in the tech industry. They signal to employers that you have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform effectively in specific roles. Certified professionals often have an edge in job applications and promotions.

Higher Earning Potential: Certifications can lead to higher salaries. According to various industry reports, certified professionals typically earn more than their non-certified counterparts.

Skill Validation and Credibility

Industry Recognition: Microsoft certifications are globally recognized. Earning these certifications demonstrates a commitment to staying current with industry standards and technologies, enhancing your professional credibility.

Up-to-Date Knowledge: The certification process ensures that you are knowledgeable about the latest Microsoft technologies and best practices. This is particularly important in an industry where technology evolves rapidly.

Professional Growth and Networking

Learning and Development: Preparing for Microsoft certifications involves rigorous study and hands-on practice. This process helps you gain a deeper understanding of the technologies you work with, contributing to your professional growth.

Community and Networking: Being part of the Microsoft Certified community opens up networking opportunities with other certified professionals. You can share knowledge, find mentorship, and collaborate on projects.

Employer Benefits

Increased Productivity: Certified employees are often more efficient and effective, as they possess the skills needed to optimize the use of Microsoft technologies. This can lead to better project outcomes and overall productivity.

Competitive Advantage: Organizations with certified professionals can differentiate themselves in the market. Certifications signal to clients and partners that the organization values continuous learning and expertise.

Getting Started with Microsoft Certifications

Choose the Right Certification: Identify which certification aligns with your career goals and current skill level. Microsoft offers a variety of certification paths, so take the time to research which one is best suited for you.

Prepare for the Exam: Utilize Microsoft’s official learning resources, such as Microsoft Learn, to study for your certification exam. There are also numerous third-party training providers and study guides available.

Gain Practical Experience: Hands-on experience with Microsoft technologies is crucial. Set up a lab environment, participate in real-world projects, or use trial versions of Microsoft software to practice.

Schedule and Take the Exam: Once you feel prepared, schedule your certification exam through the Microsoft Certification Dashboard. Be sure to review the exam objectives and practice with sample questions.

Conclusion

Microsoft Certifications are a powerful tool for career advancement, skill validation, and professional growth. They offer a pathway to stay current with technology trends and demonstrate your expertise to employers. Whether you are just starting in the tech industry or looking to enhance your existing skills, obtaining a Microsoft Certification can be a significant step toward achieving your career goals. Embrace the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed with Microsoft Certifications.

Even after spending billions of dollars on training and development, employees might not be paying attention to the material and information being shared. The reasons for this can be numerous. The lack of motivation or even the mounting work load on their desk isa constant distraction. In the information technology sectors, the information being presented during training might seem too factual. This can also cause the attendees to feel bored and close themselves off to new information.

Yet, the benefits of training and development completely outweigh its challenges.Corporate training ensures increase in productivity and enhancement of existing skills. It provides an open and safe platform to discuss weaknesses and also encourages employees to come up with solutions. Training and development helps the employees understand their roles and responsibilities better, also providing them with the tools to be better at their job. But most importantly, people are less likely to look for changes if they feel that their company is investing in them.

Corporate Training Tips – How To Get People To Pay Attention During Corporate Training

There are multiple ways to keep your employees focused and attentive during training. Some of these corporate tips are listed below :

Eliminate Distractions

It is natural for the participants to feel distracted during training. They could have the urge to send out that very important email, or read up on the new report sitting in their desk drawer. In order for the attendees to soak up new information, the trainer would require their complete attention and focus. It is crucial to identify all the causes of distraction that the attendees might face. These could be generic or be industry specific. As a thumb rule, smart phones and laptops should be turned off in the training area. If technology is required for participation, either clickers should be provided or an announcement for the use of phones or laptops should be made.

It is also important that the attendees aren’t thinking about work. It is for this reason many companies and corporations are opting for offsite trainings, probably a resort of a hotel far from the office. Where the attendees feel relaxed and comfortable and aren’t thinking about the office. These training retreats can also double up as team building opportunities.

Build a learning Space

Where you train is as important as your training material. People respond well to open spaces and a clean environment. The learning space should have ample lighting, although natural day light is preferred. The learning space should be free of distractions such as art or boards which aren’t being used for the purpose of the training. Another useful tip is to not have ‘entry’ and ‘exit’ doors in the view of the attendees.This would ensure that they won’t be distracted by the comings and goings of people.

The best learning spaces are those that aren’t stuffy and cramped. People learn better when they have a sense of ample personal space, yet the attendees shouldn’t be so far apart that the discussion and participation is affected. The ideal space per participant should be around 12 to 15 square feet.

The room’s configuration should be such that it promotes free and easy communication. Althoughtypical auditorium style seating might allow you to increase the number of attendees, u-shape tables or round tables promote participation and learning. In addition,all technology that the trainer requires should be already plugged in and tested before hand. It is hard enough to keep an audience engaged, technical problems particularly those that can be avoided by preparations, would cause an unnecessary break in the flow and retention of information.

Schedule and Controlled Breaks

The average attention span for people when receiving useful information is around 15 to 20 minutes. It takes a while for attendees to get back to the learning mode once they come back from a break. So not only is it important to schedule the material and learning, but also strategically use breaks to help important information sink in.

It is equally important that the audience stays engaged during the break as well. After every 15 to 20 minutes, the trainees should be invited to share and discuss the new information with their colleagues. This would provide them with a necessary break and would not affect their attention span. It would also help them retain the information better and turn the session into an interactive discussion.

Learning Material

Adult learners respond differently to information. As professionals they have gotten use to segmented information with clear market categories. Professionals also respond really well to comparisons. Howusing the information being provided would compare to how they were doing things before should be conveyed more specifically. Clearly numbered lists should be made so as to ensure the points do not contradict each other. If exceptions have to be pointed out, it should be done in that particular point itself.

A very effective way to ensure prolonged attention span and retention is to use visual mediums. Illustrate using charts and graphs. Replacing slides with a lot of text, with pictures. People respond better to visual mediums than text. But it should not be overdone for the sake of aesthetics. People generally pay less attention of pictures which just make the information more pleasant looking. Rather use relevant pictures which could supplement or replace the text.

In order to ensure the attendees retain information, stories and examples should be used to make a point. It would make an overall longer lasting impression and help in recollecting the information and putting it to use.

Corporate Training tips are ever evolving ,therefore you need to keep in mind the following .Training professionals and keeping them engaged is really challenging, so is doing everything mentioned above. So the most important thing you can do to make sure that the attendees learn, is to ensure that they have fun. The training session shouldn’t seem like work, it shouldn’t seem like a part of their day job and definitely shouldn’t feel like just another meeting. It should be an environment that put a pause on their work schedule and reinvigorates their mind.

Hope these Corporate Training Tips work for you !

A brief history of Corporate Training

Training like all learning systems has its inception in the classroom. Where a trainer would pass around self-authored slides known as foils which would contain the training material and the tests. The first big change that the corporate trainers had to adapt came with the popularization of computers.

The trainers now went ahead and started to create Training CD-ROMs, where the content wasn’t limited to slides. It had videos and explanatory graphicsas well. These training systems were very expensive to create and would only work on a single pc. The major challenge was to track the progress of the trainee, as these systems weren’t interactive units. As computers networks were born sharing information become easier. Training companies came up with learning management systems (LMS). These systems tracked and stored data received from the e-learning databases that the trainee was given.

Web browsers came into the market during the 90s. E-learning saw a considerable rise. Trainers could now build instructional website using HTML and flash. The entire industry was shifting to an online university model where courses were designed and trainees could enroll and learn.

At the turn of the century search engines had improved drastically, people now wanted to learn and get instant answers to their problems. But the world of training was slow to catch up. As video content came into the picture, people flocked to it. It was easy to log into YouTube and Khan academy and learn the latest material. People were now learning faster than ever before.

The training world during this time was focusing on talent management. Training employees to be better and more effective at their jobs. Not embracing the learning needs of the workforce.

In order to be more competitive training companies started building their own video libraries and started the channel based learning system. Which incorporated related videos and relevant content suggestions.

The new Paradigm

As training has moved into the video and playlist sort of format, it is important to remember that corporate training is a different industry and it might not be the best way to move forward. The next big paradigm might not be caused by newer and better technologies but rather it would be influenced by the way people think and learn.

The main problem with the shift to this relevant content approach is that the content creators such as Netflix, Spotify and New York times, want the consumers to spend more and more time on their mediums. This type of content consumption can’t take place at the work place. Therefore, we have to move towards a more integrated solution. Some of these training methods are already in use by some of the larger companies out there.

The average employee today just doesn’t have the time to devote to learning at the workplace. It is estimated that at max an employee can spare 24 minutes a week on their learning. One innovation in training which might be a game changer in this paradigm is the introduction of pin point learning and flow of work training methods. These micro learning models would allow for a more effective learning experience.

How do they work

Employees simply can’t spare the time to browse through informational content while working. They need tools and information which makes them more productive while they work. So instead of providing them traditional means of training. We need to adapt and bring about flow of work training methods. These methods would allow an employee to see content and information which is relevant to the problem at hand. Helping them solve issues more effectively, while learning new methods to solve the same problems. These tools are in some form available today. Employees of software companies are giveneBooks’ and aids for instant assists while the employees are coding. Teaching them as they work and answering their queries, if they have any.

These integrated training tools could take advantage of the existing video libraries, sending employees small instructional videos with safety or sales tips on their connected devises, not only serving reminders but re-informing them of the training they already have. So while a machine operator is about to perform a function on a newer machine; he or she gets a small video which familiarizes the employees to the machines operation and reminding them of the necessary safety precautions that they need to adhere too. All while taking their feedback of how the machine works and performs and their confidence in that particular task. So that next time, based on this information they could receive more relevant content.

A sales employee in the field might benefit too. They could receive small videos that remind them of their training, the features of the product being sold along with tips to better negotiate. This type of on the job training where the employee get to use the training immediately would help retention of information as well.

Whether it is sales, manufacturing or a service based industry. The main goal of imparting training to your employees is to make them more adept at their jobs. The same can be achieved with integrated training tools which use micro learning and flow of work training. Not only would it move this multi-billion dollar industry into a new and interactive direction but would also ensure immediate and effective results.

Serverless architecture isn’t about hosting applications without servers. Of course, there still needs to be CPU, RAM, Networking and other components of a computer server to host any software. It really is about using Platform as a Service (PaaS) to the fullest. Its main objective is to make the job easier for a software developer composing code which is intended to run on a cloud platform, that performs a clearly-defined job.

Why Choose Serverless Architecture ?

Serverless architecture makes developers focus more on their core product and not the infrastructure. Most of the time developers keep on worrying about implementing, maintaining, debugging, and monitoring the infrastructure, whether managing them in the cloud or on-site. Using serverless services takes care of the physical hardware, virtual machine operating system as well as the web server, while as a developer the only worry is code.

Who should use a serverless architecture ?

With a lot of micro utilities, communities built around serverless architectures and efficient load balancing of requests, serverless architectures have become a viable solution for organizations, who want to take their products to market in significantly lesser amount of time as compared to legacy based in house architectures with minimal community support.

There are applications which have an inconsistent usage like a peak period which is alternated with periods of little or no traffic. Purchasing a server or a block of servers that are constantly running and always available, even when unused, is a waste of resources. Serverless architectures reduce costs for such applications by responding instantly when needed and no cost while at rest.

A partially serverless architecture is necessary for developers who want to push some or all their application functions close to end users for reduced latency as doing so necessitates moving some processes out of the origin server.

Pros:

• Pricing: One of the biggest advantages of Serverless computing is, of course, low pricing. You pay only for what is used. On top of that you are reducing operational costs i.e. years of server-related fees and capacity that has been pre-purchased – basically, all of that is now money saved.
• Reduced maintenance: With no backend infrastructure to manage, as it all falls to Cloud vendors, you are free of maintenance problems you’d have if you’re running a server on your own. That includes updates, patches and taking care of potential hacks.
• Scalability: Serverless architectures are inherently scalable allowing your application to, for example, scale automatically as the user base grows or usage increases.
• Faster delivery: For example, FaaS functions are a lot more straightforward when deploying, as opposed to the deployment of a huge server.
• Setting up different environments: Much easier than with the traditional approach.
• Security: But only in the sense that you are responsible for your application and code.

Cons:

• This is a vendor-operated environment: When developing in a serverless environment, you are essentially forfeiting any system control as you’re implementing APIs and you’ll get system downtime, unwanted API upgrades, and so on with no way to directly influence them.
• Limits and cost alterations: They are prone to change based on your previous business scope history with Cloud vendors for example.
• Security: With so many components the total surface open to hazardous attacks is significantly larger, and with reduced overall control you can be blindsided when it happens.
• Performance: All the above + few technical bits like increased request latency influence performance and user experience.

Going serverless means a mindset change rather than just a technical change. For organizations with legacy infrastructure, the migration will be painful as well as expensive. It is not as cost- effective as it’s promised to be for starting organizations. When there already is an established workflow, adopting newer tools to completely get rid of servers to manage can be quite trying.

Moreover, serverless is not something which is very mainstream that people can easily identify with.

Cloud Services Available in Current Market

Most of the cloud providers have invested heavily in serverless. Some of the currently available cloud services in the market are:

What is Microsoft Azure ?

Microsoft Azure is Microsoft’s public cloud computing platform. Cloud services for compute, analytics, storage and networking are some of the many services offered by Azure. Pick and choose option for users to develop and scale new applications, or run existing applications, in the public cloud is available for any of these services.

Core services offered by Azure are:

• Software as a service (SaaS)
• Platform as a service (PaaS)
• Infrastructure as a service (Iaas)

Additionally, various programming languages, tools and frameworks, including both Microsoft- specific and third-party software and systems are supported. It can be used to replace or supplement on-premise servers.

Conclusion

Azure can be a compelling upgrade for organizations with an existing deployment of Microsoft technologies, particularly Windows Server and Active Directory. Rather than investment in new server hardware and Windows Server licenses, migration to cloud-hosted Azure services may be preferable.

Azure’s pay how you use mode of billing becomes very cost effective for smaller organizations or startups as compared to capital intensive provisioning of hardware and associated costs of a traditional on-premise deployment or leasing dedicated servers in a traditional data center. Turning to the cloud allows a company’s IT backbone to scale with corporate growth.

Organizations looking to migrate from other Microsoft products say SharePoint or integration with an existing deployment, can very easily do it using Azure. This is one of the core strengths of Azure- the ease of transition. For those organizations, it is likely to be the most compelling option for a seamless transition to cloud. Additionally, Microsoft also heavily touts compliance certifications for government users, noting that Azure was the first public cloud platform with a FedRAMP P-ATO.