Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Discover Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert

If you have experience using your technical expertise to drive Microsoft Power Platform projects that seamlessly combine developer and business needs and that optimize solutions for your organization, the new Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert certification is designed for you. This expert certification demonstrates that you’re highly proficient at applying technical knowledge to solve today’s business challenges. It validates to the world that in addition to your years of experience, you’re keeping up with technology changes and refreshing your skills with new training. Use this industry-recognized Microsoft Certification to help open career doors. 

 

To stay competitive, solution architects need to swiftly adopt new technologies that drive innovations to bring better solutions to customers. In addition to taking advantage of new tech capabilities, these professionals must often develop new capabilities from technology that’s available. In other words, they are drivers of tech intensity, which can only exist in a culture of learning. Solution architects can help build that learning culture by example, showing other team members that certification and training can enhance their competitive advantage and career success. A Microsoft white paper on role-based tech training and certifications reports that professionals with Microsoft Certifications are 90 percent more productive than their non-certified peers. And they’re better at meeting client requirements, increasing productivity, and finishing projects rapidly.

 

You can add your certifications to your résumé and your LinkedIn page to alert organizations to your expertise. In this post in our series on discovering your career path, we look at the benefits of earning the new Power Platform Solution Architect Expert certification. Plus, we suggest other certifications that can be useful for solution architects and aspiring solution architects who want to call attention to their broad variety of skills as seasoned professionals. 

 

The solution architect role and certification

You fit the profile for this certification if you’re a solution architect or if you’re a developer or a senior functional consultant ready to take the next step to become a solution architect. This leader works with all project team members, including functional consultants, project managers, developers, and business analysts. And they facilitate design decisions across development, configuration, integration, infrastructure, security, availability, storage, and change management.  

 

As a candidate for this certification, you need functional and technical knowledge of Microsoft Power Platform, Dynamics 365 customer engagement apps, related cloud solutions from Microsoft, and other third-party technologies. You can apply your experience as a Microsoft Power Platform solution architect (minimum 1–3 years) or as a senior consultant or developer (7–10 years), along with your deep knowledge of Microsoft Power Platform architecture.

 

To earn this certification, you must first earn one of the prerequisite certifications: 

 

Your experience with the following tasks is the background you need to take Exam PL-600: Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect:

  • Initiate solution planning and identify Microsoft Power Platform components.
  • Identify organization information and metrics.
  • Evaluate an organization’s enterprise architecture.
  • Capture requirements and perform gap analysis.
  • Architect a solution.
  • Lead the design process, and use Power Automate in your automation strategy.
  • Design integrations between Microsoft Power Platform solutions and Dynamics 365 apps.
  • Identify opportunities to integrate and extend Microsoft Power Platform solutions by using Azure.
  • Design the data and security models.
  • Validate the solution design.
  • Support and troubleshoot the solution as it goes live.

 

Benefits of certification

It’s no surprise that senior technical leaders typically have more than one certification. In fact, 49 percent of respondents in the 2020–2021 Microsoft Dynamics Salary Survey from Nigel Frank believe that Business Applications certifications are likely to increase their worth. That survey lists the salary for senior solution architects in the United States as more than $140,000. In addition, 54 percent of respondents said that they had at least one Microsoft Certification.

 

In a Pearson VUE Value of IT Certification report, professionals list their top reasons for certification as improving professional standing, increasing technical knowledge, and increasing their chances of a salary increase. Plus, 74 percent of the respondents indicated that they mostly or completely achieved their objectives. 

 

Obtaining a variety of certifications can help you as you explore different pathways to success. Certifications give you good career flexibility and good earning options. The Global Knowledge 2020 IT Skills and Salary Report found that 87 percent of IT professionals hold at least one certification and that IT professionals with certifications on average earn more than their peers without one. Interestingly, the survey found that the more certifications a professional holds, the higher their average salary. In North America, for example, someone with six or more certifications earns $13,000 more than someone with one certification.

 

Other certifications for you

Depending on your development skills and domain experience, investigate the different Microsoft Certifications available to you. They signal that you have the skills that organizations are looking for when they hire and advance employees. Certification, combined with your expertise and experience, can help you take the next step in your career.  

 

If you don’t have this certification yet, a great way to call attention to the breadth of your Microsoft Power Platform abilities is to get the fundamentals certification. Check out Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals (pass Exam PL-900). This baseline certification proves your flexibility in using  Microsoft Power Platform skills to help improve your team’s productivity.

 

You might also explore the prerequisite certifications for this one, including Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate and Microsoft Power Platform Developer Associate, noted earlier in this post. These validate your domain expertise and your developer expertise.

 

Even though you have advanced technical skills, it would be a good idea to augment your traditional development background with Microsoft Certified: Microsoft Power Platform App Maker Associate (pass Exam PL-100). By validating that you have a deep understanding of low-code/no-code strategies so that you can identify use cases that meet business and technical objectives, you could broaden your appeal to prospective clients and employers.

 

If your developer experience includes a background as a data analyst who knows Microsoft Power BI, consider earning the Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate certification (pass Exam DA-100).

 

Depending on your experience and interest, you might want to pursue other advanced certifications for solution architects, such as Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Solution Architect Expert (pass a prerequisite exam and Exam MB-700). 

 

How do I get started?

Technical acumen, business expertise, and leadership skills characterize solution architects. You’re driven by solving problems, and you’ve led technical teams to create solutions that focus on the broader business needs of an organization.

 

However, if you don’t feel ready to take the solution architect certification exam just yet, we recommend that you work closely with a Microsoft Power Platform or Power Apps solution architect and take on a project or two to deepen your skills. Focus on passing the prerequisite exam that fits your skill set. Explore training opportunities, or take an instructor-led course. No matter where you are on your journey, we have training that can help you get underway.

 

To get started with this certification, check out our Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect Expert certification journey map. You can also find the journey map in the resources section on the Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect certification and exam pages.

 

 

PP Solution Architect.png

 

 

To map out your journey, follow the sequence on the Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect Expert journey map. Start at the beginning 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 the exam, review the Exam PL-600 skills outline guide on the exam page. Then sign up for the training that fits your learning style and experience:

 

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

 

Where’s my community?

Join other solution architects and developers in a community! Share your career journey with technical leaders who have similar interests in Microsoft Power Platform technologies. Here are some places where you can share and gather information and learn from your peers and others.

 

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.

 

It’s easy to renew your certification

When your Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect Expert certification expires, we’ve got good news. You can 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.

 

Microsoft Power Platform resources

 

Ready to discover your career path?

As a seasoned technology pro, you’re savvy enough to know that there are always new pathways to discover. You’ve seen a lot of changes, and you’ve stayed ahead of the curve through continuous learning. People look to you when they evaluate their Business Applications needs, so you need to be ready to supply the best business and technical solutions for your organization. Certifications that validate your technical acumen and experience signal that you have what it takes to build a new future—for yourself and for your organization.

 

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