Discover Microsoft Certified: Power Platform App Maker Associate

by Contributed | Jun 23, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Do you love coming up with creative ways to make apps using Microsoft Power Platform and Power Apps? If you want to use these skills to help advance your career and to earn the recognition you deserve, you’re a great candidate to earn this Microsoft Certification. This validates to the world that you have the applicable skills—whether you’re just starting out creating apps for yourself, looking to use your app maker skills to advance your career, or wanting to change to a new, in-demand career.

You’re not alone if you’re considering that earning your certification with your app maker skills could help boost your income. In fact, 19 percent of respondents in the Nigel Frank Microsoft Dynamics Salary Survey note that app builder certifications are likely to increase their worth. In addition, an app maker certification can help improve your confidence by highlighting your creativity and enthusiasm for using the latest technologies. Add your certifications to your résumé and LinkedIn page to alert employers to your expertise.

The combination of your ingenuity and a globally recognized, industry-endorsed Microsoft Certification sends a career-building message to employers. In this post in our series on discovering your career path, we look at the benefits of achieving a Microsoft Certified: Power Platform App Maker Associate certification, and we also suggest other certifications that can be useful for app makers—whether you’re just starting out or brushing up on your skills as a seasoned professional. 

A great way to get started is by earning the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals certification. This proves that you can use your Microsoft Power Platform skills to improve your team’s productivity. No experience is necessary to train for it—just basic familiarity with computer technology, data analytics, cloud computing, and the internet. To learn more, read our recent blog post, Discover your career path: Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Fundamentals.

The app maker role and certification

You fit the profile for the app maker role if you’re self-directed and solution-focused and if you work with Microsoft Power Platform tools to simplify, automate, and transform tasks and processes for yourself and your team. There are as many pathways to the app maker role as there are people comfortable using the technology to solve problems. Not every app maker works in a business organization. You might be a student or a professional in another field. For example, Lauren Taylor, an elementary school principal, uses Microsoft Power Platform to create apps to track student reading data and to help teachers coordinate lesson plans.  

As an app creator, you might have some experience with creating formulas (or functions and equations) for Excel, Microsoft Teams, and other tools. Although you don’t need to have formal IT training, typically you’re comfortable working with IT administrators and Microsoft Power Platform developers using technology to solve business problems.

If you’re a business professional with deep expertise in your solution domain who wants to leverage your passion for building Microsoft Power Platform solutions, this certification is designed for you. You can use your skills in key technical business analyst tasks, such as data modeling, basic UX design, requirements analysis, and process analysis. Your responsibilities include:

• Designing and creating apps and automating workflows.


• Analyzing and visualizing data in context of an app or automated workflow.


• Implementing and managing apps and automated workflows.

Benefits of certification

The digital revolution is booming, resulting in a well-documented IT skills gap. There’s a growing demand for workers to build the next generation of automation. In the Global Knowledge 2020 IT Skills and Salary Report,[1] 75 percent of IT decision-makers point out that they are dealing with skills gaps. Why not make a difference for one of those employers? Microsoft training and certifications prepare you for the app-building roles that organizations are looking to fill.

In addition to highlighting your specific technical skills, a certification also indicates that you’re willing to put forth effort to learn new technology to get ahead and stay ahead. Employers are building tech-intensive organizations where people not only have the right skills but also have a willingness to embrace a culture of learning.

In the Pearson VUE Value of IT Certification survey, those who have earned their certification report numerous personal benefits, including more professional credibility and greater self-confidence. They also reported increased job satisfaction and responsibilities. Some even reported salary increases.

Business decision-makers see benefits from having workers with certifications. In the Global Knowledge survey mentioned earlier, 93 percent of respondents said employees who have earned certifications add more value, close skills gaps, and are more productive than their peers who haven’t. Plus, they meet their clients’ needs better.

Other certifications for you

If you’re an experienced app maker, consider exploring other certifications for Microsoft Power Platform, too. Many IT professionals hold multiple certifications. The Pearson VUE survey notes that more than 90 percent of certified technical professionals say that they would recommend certification to a friend or colleague looking to advance their career in a tech-related field.

If you have a more traditional development background and some experience with Microsoft Power Platform, take a look at the new Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate certification. To learn more, read New certification: Microsoft Power Platform Developer Associate. 

How do I get started?

Inventiveness and creativity characterize people who become app makers. These days, you might not be following a traditional career path, but you might have successfully built Microsoft Power Platform apps. However, if you don’t feel ready to take the certification exam just yet, we recommend that you work closely with a Microsoft Power Platform or Power Apps expert and take on a project to deepen your skills. Get some real-life experience with designing and creating apps and automating workflows. Explore Microsoft training opportunities. No matter where you are on your journey, we have training that can help you get underway.

To get started, check out our Microsoft Power Platform App Maker Associate certification journey map. You can also find it in the resources section on the associated certification and exam pages.

To map out your path, follow the sequence on the journey map. As shown at the beginning of the map, start by deciding whether this certification is a good fit for you.

Next, choose the training you’ll need to be prepared. To understand what you’ll be measured on when taking Exam PL-100, review the Power Platform App Maker Associate skills outline guide on the exam page. Then sign up for the training that fits your learning style and experience:

• On the certification page, choose curated learning paths and modules for Microsoft Power Platform on Microsoft Learn. Explore hours of free, self-paced online learning to help you get ready.


• If you prefer to learn from an instructor, review the instructor-led training led by Microsoft Learning Partners. To learn more, check out Microsoft Learning Partners: Teaching the skills of tomorrow, today.

A practice exam is available for this certification. You can take a trial run with Microsoft Official Practice Test PL-100 Microsoft Power Platform App Maker. All the exam objectives are covered in depth, so you’ll find what you need to be ready for any question.

After you pass the exam and earn your certification, you can continue to broaden your technical expertise by taking one of the other certifications described in this blog post or by exploring other certification offerings. Consider our intermediate and advanced certifications when you achieve the next milestones on your career journey. To map out the possibilities, explore Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 certification paths.

Where’s my community?

Join a community to network with other app makers, share ideas, and ask questions. You can also find news about Microsoft events and learning opportunities.

• Microsoft Learn Community


• Business Applications Community


• Microsoft Power Apps Community


• Microsoft Power Automate Community


• Microsoft Power BI Community


• Microsoft Power Virtual Agents Community


• LinkedIn: Microsoft Power Platform job board


• Microsoft Power Platform Community: Forums, blogs, videos, support

Celebrate with the world: Post your badge on LinkedIn

When you earn a certification or learn a new skill, celebrate your accomplishment with your network. It often takes less than a minute to update your LinkedIn profile and share your achievements, highlight your skills, and help boost your career potential. Here’s how:  

• If you’ve earned a certification already, follow the instructions in the congratulations email you received. Or find your badge on your Certification Dashboard, and follow the instructions there to share it. (You’ll be transferred to the Acclaim website.)


• For more information on badges, check out the Certification Badges FAQ.


• To add specific skills to your LinkedIn profile, go to your profile page and update the Skills and endorsements section. Tip: We recommend that you choose skills listed in the skills outline guide for your certification.

Related blogs and other resources

• Blog: Microsoft Power Platform


• April Dunnam’s Power Apps blog


• Microsoft Learn resources: Microsoft Power Platform


• Udacity: Training from Cloud Advocates for Microsoft Power Platform


• “Introducing Microsoft’s Power Platform Solution Architect Certification” | The Launch Space | Channel 9


• Microsoft Learn TV for Developers


• Discover your career path: Get started with fundamentals


• Video (April Dunnam): How to get started with Power Apps


• Video (April Dunnam): Microsoft Power Platform videos


• Video (April Dunnam): Power Platform Certification Guide


• Need another reason to earn a Microsoft Certification?


• Renew your Microsoft Certification

It’s easy to renew your certification

When your Power Platform App Maker Associate certification expires, we’ve got good news. You’ll soon be able to renew your current certifications by passing a free renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn—anytime within six months before your certification expires. For more details, read our blog post, Stay current with in-demand skills through free certification renewals.

Plus, effective June 2021, a certification is valid for one year from the date you earned it. This shift aligns with the rapid evolution of cloud technology and skills. Get more information in our blog post Is your certification expiring soon? Renew it for free today!

Ready to discover your career path?

As a creative app maker, are you ready to get started on your certification journey? It’s time to let a Microsoft Certification shine a light on your builder skills and help you make the most out of the Microsoft Power Platform career path. By demonstrating your expertise with a Microsoft Certification, you let employers know that you have what it takes to be an agile player in today’s rapidly changing business environment.

[1] Global Knowledge, 2020 IT Skills and Salary Report, 2020.

Providing students with the latest knowledge and skills required to develop exciting careers

by Contributed | Jun 23, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Guest blog Cyrus Wong, Senior Lecturer and and Microsoft Learn for Educators Ambassador from the Department of Information Technology of IVE (Lee Wai Lee) in Hong Kong.

I am Cyrus Wong, senior lecturer from the Department of Information Technology of IVE (Lee Wai Lee) in Hong Kong. I am the programme leader of Higher Diploma in Cloud and Data Centre Administration which is a 2-year fulltime cloud computing major higher diploma offered by IVE IT Discipline. The picture above is my achievement at the Vocational Training Council (VTC) receiving a Teaching Excellence Award 2018/19.

“The IVE Information Technology Discipline (IT Discipline) offers a comprehensive range of IT programmes that provide students with the latest knowledge and skills required to develop exciting careers in this rapidly changing industry in Hong Kong. As a member of the VTC Group, the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) is the leading vocational and professional education provider in Hong Kong, committed to nurturing professionals valued by industries. I love to teach and build hands projects with my students and my courses are very hands-on because we are a technical college, and our course targets to train students for cloud engineer roles.

Microsoft Learn for Educators (MSLE) Partnership & Impact

We have adopted Microsoft Learn curriculum especially because in addition to being high-quality content, it also provides many lab exercises for free. Currently, we have integrated 4 Microsoft Learn courses into the diploma – Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900), Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900), Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900), and Azure Administrator(AZ-104). Students learn the 3 Fundamental level curriculums during year one summer semester. It is a core course, and all students must complete all lectures and hand on lab within 8 weeks. Students are also required to take the 3 MS Fundamentals certification exams as part of the course assessment. Microsoft Azure Administrator, which is an Advanced Role Based course, is part of a 2^nd year course in semester 1.

VTC and Microsoft Hong Kong have signed an MoU though Innovation & Technology Co-creation Centre and as a result of that we are able to offer our all our students Microsoft Fundamentals certification exam at a significant discount. The three Microsoft Certification exams are part of our course assessment. The big impact for Instructors is that we do not have to spend time in preparing questions and grade them for course assessment. And our students are now graduating with industry recognized certifications, which is adds to their employability prospects.

For the diploma or a course, we need to meet 2 important KPIs – number of students and employment rate. With MSLE, we can promote our diploma to recruit more students easily because all junior students are using Microsoft products every day and integration of Microsoft curriculum and certifications in the program only makes it more attractive. Azure skills are in huge demand in the Hong Kong region, and students can get jobs much more easily after they complete the MS curriculum and certification exams.
 

Our Plans For The Future

We joined the Microsoft Learn Educators program on June 17^th 2021, to date 63 of our students are certified on Microsoft Azure and have collectively received 103 certifications across Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900), Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900), Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900), and Azure Administrator(AZ-104).

The graduates of the IT114115 Higher Diploma in Cloud and Data Centre Administration program have demonstrated the latest knowledge and skills in cloud computing. Many companies, including some big enterprises in Hong Kong have shared positive feedback about our student interns in providing effective technical support to their daily operations and development of their cloud systems. This is enabling VTC build longer term relationships and employment pipelines with these employers. Next we plan to collaborate with Microsoft Azure Partners and major customers for internship and employment pipelines for our students by developing relationships with local and regional businesses for direct career pathways

 
Students proudly demonstrating Microsoft Azure Fundamentals certifications

My teaching team are all Microsoft Azure Certified.

Students Comments

	“I am glad to be able to learn 3 Microsoft Learn courses at school and passed 3 Azure exam in one day at age 18! With those certifications, I got my internship offer at a global consulting firm as a cloud engineer.”
	“I got my graduate job as a cloud solution developer in one of the Microsoft Azure partners. I complete 4 Microsoft Azure courses at school and passed 3 Azure exams. My boss loves to recruit students with formal Azure training and now I start my MS tech stack career!”

Azure SQL Database Hyperscale named replicas are now in preview

by Contributed | Jun 23, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

The ability to scale out a database is a key feature for a modern solution, allowing it to adapt easily and quickly to varying workloads. From implementing complex massive scale-out scenarios that handle highly concurrent OLTP requests, to highly performing HTAP solutions that analyze incoming data in near-real time and with minimum data transformation overhead, elasticity is a winning factor.

Capabilities

Today with the introduction of Azure SQL Hyperscale named replicas, it is possible to create up to 30 secondary read-only replicas that:

• Appear as regular (read-only) Azure SQL databases in the portal and in API (CLI, PowerShell, T-SQL) calls.


• Can have a database name different from the primary replica, and optionally be located on a different logical server.


• Have their own Service Level Objective that can be set and changed independently from the primary replica.


• Support different authentication and authorization for each named replica by creating different logins on logical servers hosting named replicas.


• Use Azure Hybrid Benefit: it is possible to save a substantial amount of money by taking advantage of the ability to scale-out instead of scaling-up.

Named replicas take advantage of Hyperscale native cloud architecture, so that a database replica is created without copying data around. As a result, a named replica can usually be created in less than a minute, no matter the size of the primary database.

Use Cases

The main goal of named replicas is to allow massive OLTP read scale-out scenario and to improve Hybrid Transactional and Analytical Processing (HTAP) workloads.

Aside from the main scenarios listed above, named replicas offer flexibility and elasticity to also satisfy many other use cases:

• Access Isolation: grant a login access to a named replica only and deny it from accessing the primary replica or other named replicas.


• Workload-Dependent Service Objective: as a named replica can have its own service level objective, it is possible to use different named replicas for different workloads and use cases. For example, one named replica could be used to serve Power BI requests, while another can be used to serve data to Apache Spark for Data Science tasks. Each one can have an independent service level objective and scale independently.

Workload-Dependent Routing: with up to 30 named replicas, it is possible allowing workload isolation even within the same solution. For example, four named replicas could be used to serve requests coming from mobile applications, while other two named replicas can be used to serve requests coming from a web application. This approach would allow a fine-grained tuning of performance and costs for each use case: taking advantage of the ability to easily and quickly create named replicas, their number can be adjusted over time to keep the performance and cost ratio always at optimum level.

User Experience

Azure SQL Hyperscale named replicas in all regions where Azure SQL Hyperscale is available. They can be created from the portal, using the new Replica blade available for each database:

This new Replica blade has been introduced to harmonize the user experience for all types of secondary replicas, including named replicas and geo replicas. Beside the portal, full support for named replicas has been added also via REST API, Powershell or AZ CLI.

Next Steps

More details on Azure SQL Hyperscale named replicas, the related use cases, and general information on all secondary replicas supported by Azure SQL Hyperscale here: Hyperscale secondary replicas.

You’ll find full documentation, samples with GitHub repo ready to be used, along with answers to common FAQ, so that you can start to take advantage of Azure SQL Hyperscale named replicas right away.

Creating amazing charts and graphs with Charticulator Open Sourced Project from Microsoft Research

by Contributed | Jun 23, 2021 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.