Microsoft Credentials roundup: In-demand news for in-demand skills May 2025 edition
Welcome to the May 2025 edition of our Microsoft Credentials roundup, where we highlight the latest Microsoft Credentials portfolio news and updates to inspire and support your training and credential journey. In this article What’s new with Microsoft Applied Skills? Exciting updates to the Applied Skills user interface Explore Applied Skills portfolio updates What’s new with Microsoft Certifications? Retiring Certifications Get the chance to win a free Certification exam voucher Have you taken a Microsoft Fundamentals Certification exam? Share your feedback! What’s new with Microsoft Applied Skills? Microsoft Applied Skills are credentials that you can earn by completing practical, interactive assessments which demonstrate real-world proficiency in specific tasks. Exciting updates to the Applied Skills user interface Based on your feedback, we’ve made some key updates to improve the lab experience, including: Full-screen lab view. Maximize the lab environment as a full-screen workspace so you have more space to work. Dark mode. Switch to dark mode to match your visual preferences. Improved time display. Check out your lab progress, with the remaining time more prominently displayed. Explore Applied Skills portfolio updates We keep Applied Skills aligned with the latest product updates and trends. Our commitment to helping you build relevant, in-demand skills means that we periodically update or retire older assessments as we introduce new ones. Assessments now available We’re pleased to announce that the scheduled maintenance for the following assessments has been successfully completed with refreshed labs: Build a natural language processing solution with Azure AI Language Configure secure access to your workloads using Azure networking Create an intelligent document processing solution with Azure AI Document Intelligence Deploy and configure Azure Monitor Develop an ASP.NET Core web app that consumes an API Implement security through a pipeline using Azure DevOps Secure Azure services and workloads with Microsoft Defender for Cloud regulatory compliance controls Secure storage for Azure Files and Azure Blob Storage We’ve scheduled more assessments for maintenance, and they’ll be available for you in the coming months. Browse Applied Skills. Retiring Applied Skills On April 30, 2025, we retired the following Applied Skills: Build distributed apps with .NET Aspire Configure SIEM security operations using Microsoft Sentinel Train and manage a machine learning model with Azure Machine Learning And on May 15, 2025, we’re retiring the following Applied Skill: Deploy and administer Linux virtual machines on Microsoft Azure Watch for new credentials in these areas. To continue building your skills, explore other Applied Skills. What’s new with Microsoft Certifications? Retiring Certifications As a reminder, the following Certifications are now retired or are being retired soon. To plan your learning journey, get more details at these links: Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate Certification (Exam DP-203) was retired on March 31, 2025. Get more information, including a Q&A, in Prove your in-demand data engineering skills and champion AI innovation. Microsoft Certified: Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate Certification (Exam SC-400) will be retired on May 31, 2025. Get more information, including a Q&A, in Validate critical information security skills with our new Certification. Track updates to our Certifications portfolio on our Certifications poster. Get the chance to win a free Certification exam voucher Join us for Microsoft AI Skills Fest, a 50-day AI skill-building adventure, which runs through May 28, 2025! Technical professionals can win one of 50,000 free Certification exams as part of the Microsoft AI Skills Fest Challenge by entering the Microsoft AI Skills Fest Challenge Sweepstakes. Be sure to join an AI Skills Fest Challenge! For all the details, check out the Microsoft AI Skills Fest Challenge and sweepstakes official rules. Have you taken a Microsoft Fundamentals Certification exam? Share your feedback! Whether you passed the exam or didn't quite make it, we want to hear from you. Your insights are incredibly valuable and can help shape the future of Microsoft credentialing experiences. 🕒 Just five minutes of your time!🕒 📅 Deadline: May 9, 2025📅 Share your feedback on the Microsoft Fundamentals Certification exam experience. Previous editions of the Microsoft Credentials roundup October 2024 June 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024Validate critical information security skills with our new Certification
The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving, and organizations of all sizes must stay ahead of the curve to protect their networks and keep their data, systems, and digital assets safe. With the growth of AI and cloud computing, defenders and cyberattackers alike can change this landscape. As a result, business leaders are reassessing their digital defenses, especially around data governance. And while the technology is critical, it’s even more important to have a workforce with the skills and experience to maximize its potential, protect against cyberthreats, and detect and respond to any security incidents. In short, security skills in the era of AI are crucial. To support these needs, we regularly review and update our training and credentials portfolio to make sure that it encompasses the latest technologies and in-demand, real-world skills. As these skills are becoming more defined for specific roles, we’re making some changes to our Security offerings. Introducing a new Certification for information security Created specifically for those in the data security and information protection profession, we’re glad to introduce the new Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Certification that will be available in April 2025. You can earn this new Certification by passing Exam SC-401: Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365,available in beta on February 11, 2025. This new Certification validates the skills needed to plan and implement information security for sensitive data by using Microsoft Purview and related services. It also validates the skills needed to mitigate risks from internal and external threats by protecting data inside collaboration environments that are managed by Microsoft 365. Plus, it verifies subject matter expertise needed to participate in information security incident responses. As an information security administrator who earns this Certification, you demonstrate your expertise in: Implementing information protection. Implementing data loss prevention and retention. Managing risks, alerts, and activities. Get ready to take Exam SC-401 and earn the new Certification: Check out the Exam SC-401 study guide, and explore potential exam topics. Stay tuned for Exam SC-401 self-paced training. We’re retiring the Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate Certification In addition to introducing the new Certification, we’re announcing the upcoming retirement of the Microsoft Certified: Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate Certification and its related Exam SC-400: Administering Information Protection and Compliance in Microsoft 365. The Certification, related exam, and renewal assessments will all be retired on May 31, 2025. We’ve received consistent feedback regarding the fact that this Certification includes two separate roles—data security/information protection professionals and compliance professionals—and that each role should have its own validation solution. Although we aren’t creating a new Certification for compliance-related roles, we offer Microsoft Applied Skills that can validate these skills. Find more details in the next section. The following questions and answers can help you determine how these retirements could impact your learning goals: Q: What if I’m studying for Exam SC-400? A: If you’re currently preparing for Exam SC-400, you should take and pass the exam before May 31, 2025. If you’re just starting your preparation process, we recommend that you explore the new Information Security Administrator Certification and its related Exam SC-401: Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365. Q: I’ve already earned the Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate Certification. What happens now? A: If you’ve already earned the Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate Certification, it will stay on the transcript in your profile on Microsoft Learn. If you’re eligible to renew your Certification before May 31, 2025, we recommend that you consider doing so, because it won’t be possible to renew the Certification after this date. Validate your compliance administrator skills with Microsoft Applied Skills Microsoft Applied Skills help you demonstrate your capabilities in specific scenarios or workloads, complementing the broader job role competencies validated by Microsoft Certifications. By combining these credentials, you validate a comprehensive skill set across projects and roles. To prove your skills in security and compliance, consider earning the following Applied Skills: Implement retention, eDiscovery, and Communication Compliance in Microsoft Purview. Validate your ability to: create, configure, and apply retention labels; create and manage retention policies; create and configure eDiscovery (Premium) cases; implement Communication Compliance; and monitor and investigate data and activities by using Content search. Implement information protection and data loss prevention by using Microsoft Purview. Validate your ability to: create a custom sensitive information type; create and publish a sensitivity label; create and assign an auto-labeling policy; and create a data loss prevention (DLP) policy. Be part of the cybersecurity solution Your validated, in-demand skills can help make a positive impact in your organization and in your career. As business leaders aim to modernize systems, integrate new technologies, and fortify their cybersecurity in the era of AI, this new Certification is a great opportunity for you to become part of the solution—now and in the future.
