Microsoft Releases Two New Power Platform Certifications (3 in 2020!)
On this date one year ago, Microsoft had zero certification for Power Platform professionals! Last year at Ignite, Microsoft announced the PL-900 certification, and earlier in 2020 Microsoft announced the Power Platform App Maker Certification. As the Power Platform keeps growing, so is the need for trained and certified professionals, and at Inspire 2020 Microsoft announced two new Power Platform Certifications!
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate
The first certification is the Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate! By reading the Skills Measured, I really have a feeling that this is the logical evolution to the PL-900 exam and this role fits perfectly with the skills that I use in Power Apps! The detailed Skills Measured has not been shared, however we do have the main subjects:
- Configure the Common Data Service
- Build a Power App
- Create automations with Power Automate
- Configure Power Virtual Agents
- Create visualizations with Power BI
It does look like they will have to re-work a bit of the objective given that the Common Data Service got renamed to DataFlex Pro (and a few other technical changes inside) but from a Skills Measured perspective, it really fits with what I think most Power Platform consultants do. The beta of this exam will be out in September, and we will probably get a full release around November-December 2020!
There is only one exam needed for this certification, which is the PL-200 exam! You can learn more on the following links:
- Exam PL-200: Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant
- Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate
The second Power Platform certification that was announced is the Power Platform Developer Associate! As the name says, this exam is really aimed at developers who create custom solutions on top of the Power Platform and extend the platform to the needs of their customers! Here are the high-level skills measured:
- Create a technical design
- Configure Common Data Service
- Create and configure Power Apps
- Configure business process automation
- Extend the user experience
- Extend the platform
- Develop integrations
For this certification, the detailed Skills Measured are also available!
I find that this certification definitely has it’s place in the Power Platform certification portfolio, even if it’s not one that I will personally go for as I am really in the “Functional Consultant” role above. I do believe that the Power Platform can be greatly extended for people with the skills and I do think that the skills measured in this certification do a good job in defining the skills needed to be a Power Platform developer. The beta of the exam will also be out in September, and the general availability around November – December 2020!
There is only one exam needed for this certification, which is the PL-400 exam! You can learn more on the following links:
- Exam PL-400: Microsoft Power Platform Developer
- Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate
Which exam are you most interested in?
Which exam are you most excited about? I will definitely take the PL-200 while in beta and that’s the one I am really excited about, but between PL-100/PL-200/PL-400 which exam will you go for? Let me know in the comments!
