CertiAce

AZ-900 Study Guide

Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals

 

Before You Start Studying

Before diving into the study sections, review the prerequisites and recommended background knowledge below to understand what will help you succeed.

 

Recommended Exam Path

AZ-900 is a fundamentals-level certification, so it is one of the best starting points if you are new to Microsoft Azure, cloud computing, or Microsoft certification exams.

AZ-900 is especially useful before moving into more role-based certifications such as:

  • AZ-104: Microsoft Certified – Azure Administrator Associate
  • AZ-204: Microsoft Certified – Azure Developer Associate
  • AZ-305: Microsoft Certified – Azure Solutions Architect Expert
  • SC-900: Microsoft Certified – Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals
  • DP-900: Microsoft Certified – Azure Data Fundamentals
  • AI-900: Microsoft Certified – Azure AI Fundamentals

AZ-900 helps you build:

  • Foundational understanding of cloud computing
  • Awareness of Microsoft Azure services
  • Understanding of Azure pricing and support models
  • Familiarity with security, compliance, and governance concepts
  • Confidence before taking role-based Azure certifications

If you are new to Azure, AZ-900 is a strong first exam. If you already work with Azure, you may be able to prepare for AZ-900 quickly, but you should still review the official skills measured because the exam includes broad platform concepts.

 

Prerequisites

There are no strict prerequisites to start AZ-900 preparation.

You do not need to be a developer, administrator, architect, or security engineer to begin. However, it helps if you have basic familiarity with:

  • What cloud computing is
  • Why organizations use cloud services
  • Basic IT concepts such as servers, storage, and networking
  • Common business reasons for using cloud platforms
  • The idea of shared responsibility between a cloud provider and customer

 

Recommended Background Knowledge

AZ-900 focuses on fundamental cloud and Azure concepts, not deep technical implementation.

Cloud Concepts

  • What cloud computing is
  • High availability, scalability, elasticity, agility, and disaster recovery
  • Capital expenditure and operational expenditure
  • Public, private, and hybrid cloud models
  • Infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, and software as a service
  • The shared responsibility model

Azure Architecture and Services

  • Azure regions, region pairs, and availability zones
  • Azure subscriptions and management groups
  • Resource groups and Azure Resource Manager
  • Compute services such as virtual machines, containers, and Azure App Service
  • Networking services such as virtual networks, VPN Gateway, and Azure DNS
  • Storage services such as Blob Storage, Files, Queues, and Tables

Azure Security and Identity

  • Microsoft Entra ID
  • Authentication and authorization
  • Role-based access control
  • Zero Trust concepts
  • Microsoft Defender for Cloud
  • Network security groups and firewalls

Azure Management and Governance

  • Azure Policy
  • Resource locks
  • Tags
  • Azure Cost Management
  • Azure Monitor
  • Azure Advisor
  • Service Health
  • Azure portal, Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, and Cloud Shell

Pricing, Service Levels, and Support

  • Azure pricing factors
  • Pricing calculator and Total Cost of Ownership calculator
  • Service-level agreements
  • Support plans
  • Preview features
  • Azure Marketplace

 

Step-by-Step Study Guide

 

Step 1: Review the Official Study Guide

What to do:

  • Open the official AZ-900 study guide
  • Read the skills measured sections
  • Note any topics that are new to you
  • Use it as your checklist throughout your prep

Link to The Official Study Guide

 

Step 2: Schedule Your Exam

What to do:

  • Choose a date that gives you enough time for study and practice
  • Schedule the exam through the official Microsoft certification page
  • Put the date on your calendar and plan backwards

Recommended timing:

  • If you already know basic cloud concepts: 1 to 2 weeks
  • If you are new to Azure but know general IT: 2 to 3 weeks
  • If you are new to both cloud and IT concepts: 3 to 5 weeks

Certification and Exam Details Page

 

Step 3: Go Through the Official Learning Path

What to do:

  • Complete the official AZ-900 course and modules
  • Take notes on concepts you cannot explain in simple terms
  • Focus on understanding what each Azure service is used for
  • Avoid memorizing product names without understanding the scenario

Official Learning Path Course Page

 

Step 4: Use Microsoft Official Exam Prep Resources

What to do:

  • Review Microsoft’s official exam prep and readiness content
  • Use the videos to understand how Microsoft frames the exam objectives
  • Pay attention to common exam wording and scenario-based questions
  • Revisit the official study guide after watching prep content

Tips:

  • AZ-900 is a fundamentals exam, so focus on concepts before details
  • Make sure you can explain cloud service models in simple terms
  • Understand when Azure services are used, not just what they are called
  • Pay special attention to pricing, governance, identity, and management tools

Microsoft Exam Readiness Zone

Microsoft Course Videos on Microsoft Learn

 

Step 5: Build Basic Hands-On Familiarity

AZ-900 is not a deep hands-on implementation exam, but basic exposure to the Azure portal makes the concepts much easier to understand.

Reading and watching content helps you learn the terminology, but hands-on exploration helps you recognize how Azure resources are organized and managed.

You should aim to get basic familiarity with:

  • Navigating the Azure portal
  • Understanding subscriptions and resource groups
  • Viewing Azure services from the portal
  • Creating or reviewing basic resources
  • Exploring Azure Cost Management
  • Reviewing Microsoft Entra ID at a high level
  • Understanding where Azure Monitor, Advisor, and Service Health are found
  • Recognizing how tags, policies, and resource locks are used

You do not need to become an Azure administrator for AZ-900. The goal is to understand what each service or concept is for, when it is used, and how it fits into Azure.

 

Step 6: Benchmark Your Knowledge

What to do:

  • Use CertiAce to benchmark your readiness
  • Practice exam-style questions
  • Use the official Microsoft practice assessment
  • Review explanations carefully, especially for wrong answers
  • Return to Microsoft Learn for weak topics

Recommended target:

  • Aim for consistent performance, not one lucky high score
  • If a topic is unstable, return to the official learning path
  • Pay close attention to questions involving service selection, pricing, governance, and shared responsibility

CertiAce AZ-900 Exam Practice

Microsoft Practice Assessments

 

Step 7: Take the Exam

The day before:

  • Review your weak topics only
  • Revisit cloud models, service models, and shared responsibility
  • Review core Azure services and their use cases
  • Review governance, pricing, and support concepts
  • Avoid learning brand new topics

On exam day:

  • Read questions carefully and identify what they are truly asking
  • Eliminate wrong options first
  • Watch for wording that points to IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud
  • Focus on the best Azure service for the scenario, not just a service you recognize
  • Remember that AZ-900 tests fundamentals, not advanced implementation details

 

Additional Learning Resources

 

Microsoft Official Resources

 

YouTube

 

Microsoft Product Documentation

Ready to test your knowledge?

Practice questions for AZ-900
CertiAceAboutTerms of ServicePrivacy PolicySign up