Microsoft releases a new certification for Microsoft Teams Administrators
Microsoft Ignite started today, November 4th, and we didn’t only get announcements on technology, but also on certifications! And as you know, it’s a topic that I write quite a lot about on this blog! One of the certifications announced today is the MS-700: Managing Microsoft Teams to work towards the Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate certification! Finally something for dedicated Microsoft Teams Administrators
Why a new certification?
While this is not official, and just my opinion based on a lot of conversation with readers from this blog and the community, I think Microsoft wanted a certification for Administrators that only manage Office 365, without touching on-premises. The Microsoft Certified Teamwork Associate (MS-300 + MS-301) requires an admin to also master SharePoint 2019 On-Premises / hybrid in order to get the title, and a lot of people complained that their organization is now fully Office 365, and they simply aren’t working with on-premises anymore! This is also a certification for the Skype for Business admins turned Teams Administrators and covers a lot of topics not covered in the MS-300 such as upgrading from Skype for Business, network planning and more!
What is covered in this certification?
At a first glance, the topics covered in the MS-700 seem pretty straightforward, and with only three topics, it might look quite easy, however remember that with MS Certification exams, the less top level objectives, the more you have to study and the devil is in the details!
- Plan and Configure a Microsoft Teams Environment (45-50%)
- Manage Chat, Calling, and Meetings (30-35%)
- Manage Teams and App Policies (20-25%)
While there is some overlap with the content covered in the MS-300 exam, here are some of the topics that really set the MS-700 apart directly from the exam introduction!
The Teams Administrator must be able to plan, deploy, and manage Teams chat, apps, channels, meetings, audio conferencing, live events, and calling. The Teams Administrator is also responsible for upgrading from Skype for Business to Teams.
The Teams Administrator collaborates with Telephony engineers to integrate advanced voice features into Microsoft Teams. This role is not responsible for configuring direct routing, configuring call routing, or integrating telephony. The Teams Administrator may work with other workload administrator roles, including security and compliance, messaging, networking, identity, and devices.
A SharePoint Admin, now turned also Teams admin that has never managed Skype for Business or Voice and network testing might find this exam a lot more difficult and outside of their daily tasks versus a Skype for Business admin, now turned Teams Admin! So, while there is an overlap, I think I really see this certification more for Skype for Business admins now doing Teams, or Unified Communications admins in general!
Certification Path
The Certification path for this exam is easy, pass the MS-700 and you become a Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate!
When can we take it?
The Beta for the MS-700 opens today on November 4th, and you can pass it today as a beta exam, but you will not get the results until the beta is over. Remember, you can also get free exams by attending Microsoft Ignite, or Microsoft Ignite the Tour! Check out my blog post on this to learn more!
More Info and Discount Code!
Learn more about the exam on the Microsoft Learning page or by clicking the picture below! Use code MS700Farmington to save 80% of the beta if you take the exam before December 15! (Limit 300 codes used!)
Will you go for the exam? Let me know what you think about it, and the topics covered in the comments!
