Differences To Understand Between AZ-103 vs AZ-104 Exam in San Jose, CA

If you've been to Microsoft Azure Certificates before, you know that exams and certificates change very rapidly. Microsoft offers a variety of certification programs, which may change from time to time due to technological upgrades and demands of the market. In September 2020, Microsoft stopped certifying the popular AZ-103. This is a certification program that you must study to become a Microsoft certifier: Azure Administrator Associate, one of the highest paid Azure certifications to date. In November 2020, Microsoft discontinued the program and replaced it with the AZ-104 certification program. This should ensure the same candidate certification but with some changes.

If you are interested in trying this certification program, you will also be interested in knowing the differences between the AZ-103 and AZ-104.

Microsoft Azure’s Role-based Certifications:

It seems terrible that credential programs keep changing. There is a feeling that the company is not sure it will continue to change. But when you think about it, it's a good thing. Microsoft is one of the world's leading IT companies and understands the transforming requirements and needs of the market. As more businesses rapidly migrate to the cloud, the demand for cloud computing skills and experience is increasing. The certification program is constantly changing to keep up with market needs.

AZ-103 vs AZ-104: What's changed?

The recently retired MS Azure Administrator Associate Certification focuses more on resource creation and configuration. Meanwhile, the AZ-104 shifted focus to deeper training. It teaches candidates how to create and configure resources, but also how to manage resources effectively.

Consider this example. One of the more complex tasks administered by Azure is to integrate application information into web applications. Application codes and enforcement tools need to be changed to collect usable telemetry for this task. This is then visualized and queried with the help of upscaled analysis solutions from Application Insights, along with several third-party tools. However, as you move toward more comprehensive resource management, it's important to understand the Microsoft Azure services and solutions. You can better understand these changes by reading the AZ-104 exam syllabus along with the guide. 

Changes to exam requirements:

Another important area of ​​change between the two exams is the type of prerequisites required for the AZ-103 versus the AZ-104. There are no official requirements for either of these exams. If you're wondering why we are discussing them, here is the reason why? The formal premise means that you cannot be eligible for credentials without meeting these scenarios. This may mean some work experience, previous certifications, etc. However, certain requirements are recommended for the AZ-103 and AZ-104 certificates. As a candidate for Azure Administrator certification, it will be easier for you to pass the exam if you have an existing field of knowledge and hands-on experience. At the time when the AZ-103 exam was replaced by the AZ-104 exam, the focus of certification training changed. This means you now need to focus on little different skills for a better chance of success.

The recommended need for AZ-104 certification are:

• Six months of hands-on experience managing Azure workloads

• MS Azure basic service mastery

• In-depth understanding of security, workloads, and management in Azure

• Experience PowerShell, Azure Portal, CLI (command line interface) and ARM templates.

• Fluent in areas such as cloud infrastructure, networking, storage structures, operating systems and virtualization.

Differences between covered domains - AZ-103 vs AZ-104:

Changes between the two certificates can be seen by the domain included in each test. Topics of the AZ-103 Certification Exam include:

• Storage implementation and management

• Azure Resource and Subscription Management

• VM (virtual machine) management and deployment

• Visual network management and configuration

• Identity management

Subjects in the AZ-104 Certification Course vary slightly:

• Azure Identification and Administration Management

• Storage management and implementation

• Computer resource management and deployment

• Azure resource backup and maintenance

• Virtual network management and configuration

If you look at all the domains covered by each Azure Associate Administrator exam, you can see a lot of differences and similarities between the two. Some similar domains, e.g. Virtual network management and configuration, and storage management and provisioning. Meanwhile, the new Azure AZ-104 Associate Administrator certification exam focuses more on managing and deploying compute resources than managing and deploying virtual networks.

This is an important factor in distinguishing between AZ-103 and AZ-104. Let's look at some similarities and differences.

AZ-103 vs AZ-104 - The main differences:

You've learned that the new Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification training program has shifted its focus from resources and subscriptions to management and identity. Here are some areas to look for in the differences between the AZ-104 and its predecessors:

Caution when managing data in Azure Storage:

AZ-103 certification course, covering areas such as configuring and creating storage accounts within a domain. The AZ-104 covers this topic and storage account management as well. Azure Administration Certificates earlier versions only covered topics such as exporting and importing data to and from Azure. Azure Admin Collaborative Certification covers data management in Microsoft Azure repositories.

Dedicated domains for restore and backup:

The new Microsoft Azure AZ-104 Administrator Certificate has a specific domain for restore and backup. Instead of covering Azure archiving when managing and deploying Azure storage, it has an advanced module which is dedicated to Azure resource archiving and monitoring. This new module covers subtopics including using Microsoft Azure Monitor to monitor resources and apply restores and backups.

Focus on computing resources:

Experienced Azure certification candidates will be familiar with the differences in the Azure Administration certification domain, which marks a shift towards computing resources away from VMs (virtual machines). The new Azure Administrator Certification exam training covers a new area of ​​managing and provisioning compute resources in Microsoft Azure. As you progress through the syllabus, you will come across several subtopics covering the configuration and creation of web applications and containers in the areas covered by the AZ-104.

From what we discussed above, you can see that the new Azure AZ-104 Associate Administrator Certificate is here with challenges and opportunities. As a potential candidate, you will need to develop your experience across several new domains to make yourself eligible for the Azure credential exam for the Azure Administrator role. What gives you an edge over the competition is a reliable set of resources, training materials, and mentoring.

Therefore, you have to understand in detail the differences and similarities between AZ-103 and AZ-104 Azure Credentials. This helps you aim on the right tools and areas as you prepare. Recognizing these differences will also help you know if the course is still a good match for your interests and skills. If the course changes too much, it may not reach the originally planned target. This will help you in taking better informed decisions.

If taking the AZ-104 certification exam is your area of ​​interest, then go for it and sign-up for the certification training course today with Vinsys.