We have compiled a list of all the best Azure Training online resources for you to advance your Azure skills. Below we cover the best Books, Courses, Articles and Content we have found to help you become hyper focused and motivated with your Azure Training.
Azure Books
Below are some of our favourite Azure Books we have read, some are designed to help you pass specific Azure Exams and some are designed to help you with learning a new breadth of knowledge.
Exam Reference Books
Title: Exam Ref AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
Cost: £30.99
Info: This second edition exam reference book for the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals exam was written by Microsoft Employee Jim Cheshire and backed by 225, 5 star reviews.
Title: Exam Ref AZ-104 Microsoft Azure Administrator
Cost: £25.99
Info: Written my Michael Washam, the AZ-104 exam reference book organises the material by exam objectives, features what-if scenarios and guides you on administering diverse Azure environments
Azure Security Books
Title: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies Certification and Beyond
Cost: £33.99
Info: Gain the knowledge and practical skills to significantly reduce the attack surface of your Azure environment and protect your workloads from constantly evolving threats.
Title: Penetration Testing Azure for Ethical Hackers
Cost: £33.99
Info: This book is written for security professionals working with Azure to be able to put their knowledge to the test with this practical guide on penetration testing.
Azure Powershell Books
Title: Azure PowerShell Quick Start Guide
Cost: £22.00 (paperback), £12.34 (Kindle)
Info: This book will help you get to grips with Azure PowerShell and teach you how to; manage virtual machines, create OS disk snapshots, provision new resources and much more.
Power BI Books
Title: Microsoft Power BI Cookbook
Cost: £37.99 (paperback), £21.59 (Kindle)
Info: The Microsoft Power BI Cookbook, Second Edition is a must-have book for all Power BI developers and users from beginners to advanced.
Free Online Azure Training
Below are some of my favourite free Azure training resources that have helped me upskill and pass the Azure role-based exams.
Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Learn is a completely free and open training platform, provided directly by Microsoft. It provided a large amount of role-based training paths for Azure architects, developers and administrators. It is broken down into full learning paths, modules and units.
Virtual Training Days
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/events/training-days/#microsoft-azure
Virtual Azure Training Days and virtual, pre-recorded study sessions hosted by Microsoft staff that cover specific fundamental subjects such as Azure in general, AI, Data and Virtual Desktop. They are hosted weekly and you can often earn yourself a free certification exam.
Free Udemy Courses
Udemy’s online learning platform is a teaching marketplace for SME’s to help you study. Many contributors are providing free azure training material specifically for Microsoft Azure, covering topics from fundamentals to Azure governance.
Pluralsight is another online Azure training platform that offers free authored video content from Azure SME’s as well as providing you free assessments and a skills grade for different topics within Microsoft Azure.
Paid Online Azure Training
As well as free online training you may find that paid online Azure training is better tailed to your needs and would be a worthwhile investment for yourself or your business.
Cloud Academy
Cloud academy is an online platform providing full in-depth training for Microsoft Azure as well as other cloud platforms. It offers a monthly subscription model for individuals or businesses and can be paid monthly or annually. It includes different learning paths, courses, hands-on labs, challenges, quizzes and exams.
Microsoft Learning Partner
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/partners#united-kingdom
You can use the Microsoft article here to help you find a direct Microsoft Learning partner to help you or your team boost their cloud skills. Each learning partner offers a wide reach of on-person and online training solutions to help meet your Azure training goals.
Microsoft Certified Trainer
Linkedin!
We have previously had great experiences hiring local Microsoft Certified Trainers by directly contacting them on LinkedIn, without going through a 3rd party.
Other Free Content
Get Free Microsoft Exams – We have compiled all the latest methods for you to not pay a dime when it comes to taking Microsoft exams. All the methods are available directly through Microsoft offerings which you have likely not yet heard about!
OurCloudNetwork Blog – We create regular content to aid with your Azure Training! our articles cover feedback on Azure Exams, Guides on how to training for Azure Exam and information on designing, creating and administering Microsoft Azure service.
Reddit.com – Without a doubt one of the greatest places to learn azure or begin your Azure training is the online Reddit forums. Both the Azure and AzureExam subreddits provide lots of content, questions and area for discussion to keep you engaged and motivated with your training. You will get the opportunity to speak to like minded individuals who are on a similar path to yourself.
Azure Community Support – The Azure community support page is a place you can ask technical questions and get free Azure support provided by Microsoft engineers and community experts.
YouTube Creators – YouTube is a fantastic place for those visual learners. There are thousands of hours of free content online that subject matter experts have uploaded for you! Some creators include John Savill, FreeCodeCamp and Simplilearn.
Summary
Microsoft Azure is a constantly changing technology. I highly recommend purchasing some books to get that foundation level understanding and use cases for Azure and Azure Services. But to be inside the Azure world, it is a constantly evolving system that requires continuous Azure Training. Without that your Azure environment and workloads are at risk.
