AZ-900 Describe Cloud Concepts Course

Lesson 1 • Cloud Economics and Value

Explains the financial drivers behind cloud adoption, including CapEx vs. OpEx. Students connect cost models to business decision-making.

Lesson 2 • Shared Responsibility Model

Introduces how security and operational duties are divided between providers and customers. Sets expectations for governance throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • What Cloud Computing Means

Defines cloud computing and contrasts it with traditional on-premises IT. Anchors all subsequent cloud concepts in a shared vocabulary.

Lesson 1 • Infrastructure as a Service

Covers IaaS components including virtual machines, storage, and networking. Students identify IaaS use cases and its position in the shared responsibility model.

Lesson 2 • Public, Private, and Hybrid Clouds

Compares public, private, and hybrid deployment models across cost, control, and compliance dimensions. Students match deployment models to organizational requirements.

Lesson 3 • Software as a Service

Describes SaaS as fully managed application delivery over the internet. Students evaluate SaaS trade-offs between convenience and customization.

Lesson 1 • Azure Organizational Hierarchy

Introduces management groups, subscriptions, resource groups, and resources as Azure's logical structure. Students organize resources according to governance best practices.

Lesson 2 • Azure Global Infrastructure

Describes Azure regions, geographies, and availability zones as physical building blocks. Students explain how infrastructure choices affect latency and resilience.

Lesson 3 • Accessing and Managing Azure

Surveys the Azure portal, CLI, PowerShell, and ARM templates as management interfaces. Students choose the right tool for common administrative tasks.

Lesson 1 • Serverless Compute on Azure

Explains Azure Functions and Logic Apps as event-driven, serverless execution models. Students identify scenarios where serverless reduces operational overhead.

Lesson 2 • Azure Virtual Machines

Covers VM creation, sizing, and configuration as the foundational IaaS compute unit. Students understand VM use cases and scaling options.

Lesson 3 • Azure App Service and Containers

Introduces App Service for web apps and Azure Container Instances for containerized workloads. Students differentiate managed PaaS compute from IaaS VMs.

Lesson 1 • Azure Virtual Networking Basics

Explains virtual networks, subnets, and IP addressing as the foundation of Azure networking. Students configure basic virtual network topology.

Lesson 2 • Azure Storage Security and Access

Covers access keys, shared access signatures, and Azure AD-based storage authorization. Students apply appropriate access controls to storage resources.

Lesson 3 • Azure Storage Account Fundamentals

Introduces storage accounts and the four primary storage services: Blob, File, Queue, and Table. Students select the correct storage type for given data requirements.

Lesson 1 • Role-Based Access Control

Explains RBAC roles, assignments, and scope as the primary Azure authorization mechanism. Students assign least-privilege access to users and services.

Lesson 2 • Authentication Methods in Azure

Covers password-based, MFA, and passwordless authentication options in Azure AD. Students evaluate authentication strength for different security requirements.

Lesson 3 • External Identities and Governance

Addresses B2B collaboration, B2C identity, and Azure AD Identity Protection. Students extend identity governance beyond internal users.

Lesson 1 • Azure Security Center and Defender

Covers Microsoft Defender for Cloud as the unified security management and threat protection platform. Students interpret security recommendations and secure scores.

Lesson 2 • Defense-in-Depth Strategy

Presents the layered security model from physical to application layers. Students map Azure services to each defense layer.

Lesson 3 • Compliance and Data Privacy

Introduces the Microsoft Trust Center, compliance offerings, and data sovereignty concepts. Students locate compliance documentation and apply privacy principles.

Lesson 1 • Monitoring and Controlling Spend

Covers Azure Cost Management tools including budgets, alerts, and spending analysis. Students configure cost controls to prevent budget overruns.

Lesson 2 • Resource Locks and Tagging Strategy

Covers resource locks to prevent accidental deletion and tagging for organization and billing. Students implement a governance tagging schema.

Lesson 3 • Azure Pricing and Cost Factors

Explains how Azure meters usage and the factors that influence monthly bills. Students estimate costs before deploying resources.