Microsoft launching new Windows Virtual Desktop certification for developers and IT admins

At Microsoft’s Ignite conference on Tuesday, the company announced that it will launch a new certification for developers and IT administrators working on Windows Virtual Desktop. 

The new certification is Microsoft Certified: Windows Virtual Desktop Speciality. The beta exam will be available to the public on March 29 at the discounted rate of $165. Once all beta exams are scored, the exam will be in general availability and those who pass the test will earn the Microsoft Certification. 

SEE: Top 5 programming languages for systems admins to learn (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

The ideal candidates for this new certification are Microsoft Azure administrators who are skilled in planning, delivering and managing virtual desktop experiences and remote apps on Azure. They’ll need expert Azure administration skills.  

Anyone who is certified in this role will be someone who deploys virtual desktop experiences and apps to Azure, and delivers applications on Windows Virtual Desktop and optimizes them to run in multi-session virtual environments.  

Microsoft Dynamics 365 certifications for CRM and ERP

In December, Microsoft announced two new fundamentals certifications for Microsoft Dynamics 365. The beta exams for these certifications became available in February. The exams are Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals Customer Engagement Apps Associate (CRM) and Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals Finance and Operations Apps Associate (ERP). 

The CRM certification is for someone who is familiar with business operations and is also IT savvy and wants to highlight those skills. The exam is $99 and is still in beta. 

The ERP certification is for someone who is familiar with the ERP capabilities of Dynamics 365 and how finance and operations apps work within the Microsoft ecosystem. The beta exam is $99 for this certification as well. 

Free renewal of Microsoft certifications

Renewal for Microsoft certifications are available free of charge on Microsoft Learn for anyone who wants to keep their technical skills up to date. There’s also optional curated content aligned to the renewal assessment.

Retiring three Microsoft certifications

On June 30, 2020, Microsoft retired all remaining exams associated with three certifications: Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE). Those three professional certification categories had become popular over the last decade among those seeking more expertise with Microsoft products, according to a TechRepublic article by Jonathan Grieg.

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