Microsoft recently announced the retirement of two Office 365 exams; 70-346 and 70-347, which are scheduled to retire on March 31, 2019. These two exams have been around for quite some time and if you pass both of them you obtain your Office 365 MCSA (Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate) which will remain relevant for an undetermined amount of time after the exams are retired.
The Managing Office 365 Identities and Requirements (70-346) exam contains the following topic areas:
- Provisioning Office 365
- Planning and implementing networking and security in Office 365
- Managing cloud identities
- Implementing and managing identities by using Azure AD Connect
- Implementing and managing federated identities for Single-SignOn (SSO)
- Monitoring and troubleshooting Office 365 availability and usage
Additional information about this exam and the retirement of the exam can be found at this location:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-70-346.aspx
The Enabling Office 365 Services (70-347) exam contains the following topic areas:
- Managing clients and end-user devices
- Provisioning SharePoint Online site collections
- Configuring Exchange Online and Skype for Business Online
- Configuring and securing Office 365 services
Additional information about this exam and the retirement of the exam can be found at this location:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-70-347.aspx
If you are interested in taking these exams, and are looking for help in preparing for them, please check out my Pluralsight courses on the 70-346 and 70-347 exams using this link: http://ow.ly/73F130n2bvi
Microsoft has announced the following replacement exams and the associated instructor-led training for these two replacement exams:
- MS-100 (Microsoft 365 Identity and Services
- Design and Implement Microsoft 365 Services
- Manage User Identity and Roles
- Manage Access and Authentication
- Plan Office 365 Workloads and Applications
Additional information about this exam and exam registration can be found at this location:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-MS-100.aspx
- MS-101 (Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security)
- Implement Modern Device Services
- Implement Microsoft 365 Security and Threat Management
- Manage Microsoft 365 Governance and Compliance
Additional information about this exam and exam registration can be found at this location:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-MS-101.aspx
The new exam structure will also have new certification roles that will replace the MCSA. The tiered roles announced so far include:
i. Microsoft 365 Certified Fundamentals
ii. Microsoft 365 Certified Modern Desktop Administrator Associate
iii. Microsoft 365 Certified Enterprise Administrator Expert
The new exam structure are more role based, have a broader range of expertise, and the certifications are role based as you can see with the three tiers that include fundamentals, associate, and expert level. Visit the following site for a better understanding of why, how, and where Microsoft is heading with the new role-based certifications.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/community-blog-post.aspx?BlogId=8&Id=375161