The new year is upon us and so is the beginning of a new decade. The buzz has been growing around the world of Microsoft Azure, from consumers to developers, and everyone seems to want to know more. We are a gold-certified Microsoft partner and we just happen to be specialized in Azure. So for those of you who have caught the fever, we have created a list of resources, tips, and tricks for learning Azure. One more thing: All these resources are free!
- Microsoft Azure Documentation – This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource you’ll find about Azure services. It the go-to place for anything Azure but it can also be pedantic and overwhelming.
- Azure Tips and Tricks – This is the best resource for Azure services. It has an easier interface to navigate around features, updates, and keywords. It features a new tip and video every week to help you boost your productivity on the platform. One thing that we like about it is that all the tips are based on practical, real-world scenarios.
- Microsoft Azure Training – Microsoft recently launched their revamped learning website. It includes classes and certification courses for all levels in any topic related to Microsoft Azure. The classes are broken down into Learning Paths. There are many options, including hands-on labs or even instructor-led training.
- Developer Guide to Azure – This comprehensive eBook from Microsoft is basically a free guide for developers to start building in Azure with existing knowledge and code. It is very detailed and useful. This eBook can be downloaded as PDF, Mobi, or Epub; including an option to sign up for a subscription to receive future updates.
- Azure Friday – Here is a video web series that releases content every week. It covers everything from engineer insights to demos and answers to developers' questions about Azure. It is a well-produced series with interesting subjects and cited materials for those who want to know more from each video. Also, that "BeyonCSS" shirt!
- Podcasts – I am an avid podcast consumer, it’s a great way to learn on-the-go or stay current with everything and anything people can make a podcast about. If you can think it, there's a podcast for it. Here are some Azure-related podcasts that might be worth your time.
- Edx – Edx is a huge source of online classes founded by Harvard and MIT with over 20 million online students. They have over 60 online classes on Azure. Seriously.
- Pluralsight - In partnership with Microsoft, Pluralsight hosts a long list of free, video-based Azure courses. They are also listed on the Microsoft learning site that we mentioned above. Most of their videos include Azure certification content. Each course will show which certification exams apply.
Finally, There's no better way to learn about Azure than to work with it directly. Microsoft offers a free Azure account, which comes with 12 months of select, free services (more than 25 services are always free) and a $200 credit toward the Azure service of your choice for 30 days. To create a free Microsoft Azure account, all you need a phone number, credit card, and a Microsoft or GitHub account username. Of course, if all else fails, you are welcome to reach out to us any time for your Azure managed services needs from our friendly experts:
