Dear Microsoft 365 Friends,
My goal is to become Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert! To achieve this goal two exams are necessary. The MS-100 and MS-101 exam. In addition, just one of the following prerequisite exams is required to ultimately earn the certification:
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Modern Desktop Administrator Associate
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Security Administrator Associate
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Messaging Administrator Associate
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate
(IMPORTANT: You must have completed only one of the above exams.)
But now to the MS-100 exam. After carefully reading the "Skills measured" one thing was immediately clear to me! Here you have to study really intensively and always stay focused. This exam is a real challenge, because you have to work on many different topics. I don't know about you, I love such challenges!
Now let's go through my checklist:
1. First of all, I looked at the Exam Topics to get a first impression of the scope of topics. These are really very extensive.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/ms-100
2. So that I can prepare for an exam I need a test environment (this is indispensable for me). You can sign up for a free trial here.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/compare-all-microsoft-365-business-products
I chose the "Microsoft 365 Business Premium" plan for my testing.
3. Now it goes to the Microsoft Learn content. These learn paths (as you can see below) I have worked through completely and "mapped"/reconfigured as much as possible in my test environment.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/manage-identity-and-access/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/m365-getmodern/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/m365-stay-current/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/manage-enterprise-deployment-m365/
4. Register for the exam early. This creates some pressure and you stay motivated
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/ms-100
5. This link describes the skills assessed on the MS-100 exam.
https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE3VJVE
6. Further I can only recommend to read as many Microsoft Docs articles as possible.
These have helped me extremely in preparing for the exam. Like for example:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/?view=o365-worldwide
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/solutions/deploy-voice?view=o365-worldwide
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/solutions/collaborate-with-people-outside-your-organi...
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/office-365-security/microsoft-365-policies-c...
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/search-the-audit-log-in-security-and-compl...
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/office-deployment-tool-configuration-options#updates-e...
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/overview-update-channels#current-channel-overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/mailbox-migration/what-to-know-about-a-staged-migration
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointmigration/spmt-settings
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/protect-documents-that-have-fci-or-other-p...
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/msonline/get-msolaccountsku?view=azureadps-1.0
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/hybrid/how-to-connect-health-agent-install#r...
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/permissions-exo/permissions-exo
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/roles/delegate-by-task#password-reset
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/add-users/about-admin-roles?view=o365-worldwide
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/hybrid/how-to-connect-sso-quick-start
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/hybrid/how-to-connect-install-express
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-app-security/anomaly-detection-policy
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/enterprise-users/licensing-groups-assign
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/enterprise-users/licensing-group-advanced
I know you've probably read and heard this many times: read the exam questions slowly and accurately. Well, that was the key to success for me. It's the details that make the difference between success and failure. For example, the following hybrid situation: The user must be able to log in to Microsoft 365 with his on-premises account even if Active Directory is not available. Then only password hash synchronization can be considered as a solution. Please take a close look at the details!
One final tip: When you have learned something new, try to explain what you have learned to another person (whether or not they know your subject). If you can explain it in your own words, you understand the subject. That is exactly how I do it, except that I do not explain it to another person, but record a video for YouTube!
I hope this information helps you and that you successfully pass the exam. I wish you success!
Kind regards, Tom Wechsler
