Azure hybrid and multicloudservices overview
The current post presents an Azure hybrid and multicloud services overview, as of mid February 2023. Given the dynamic nature of public clouds, this list will most likely change soon in the near future but nevertheless acts as a general point of reference when discussing Azure hybrid and multicloud services. You find an overview of all Azure service categories at https://stefanos.cloud/blog/azure-service-categories/.
Hybrid and multicloud services
Azure offers the following hybrid and multicloud services to allow infrastructure engineers, architects and developers to configure and manage hybrid and multicloud architectures.
Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)
Synchronize on-premises directories and enable single sign-on
Azure Arc
Secure, develop, and operate infrastructure, apps, and Azure services anywhere
Azure Database for PostgreSQL
Fully managed, intelligent, and scalable PostgreSQL
Azure DevOps
Services for teams to share code, track work, and ship software
Azure ExpressRoute
Experience a fast, reliable, and private connection to Azure
Azure IoT Edge
Extend cloud intelligence and analytics to edge devices
Microsoft Sentinel
Cloud-native SIEM and intelligent security analytics
Azure SQL Database
Build apps that scale with managed and intelligent SQL database in the cloud
Azure SQL Edge
Consume Services privately on Azure Platform
Azure Stack
Build and run innovative hybrid apps across cloud boundaries
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Extend threat protection to any infrastructure
Azure Stack HCI
Run your production workloads and cloud-native apps anywhere
Azure Stack Hub
Azure Stack Hub is sold as an integrated hardware system, with software pre-installed on validated hardware
Azure Stack Edge
An Azure managed device that brings the compute, storage, and intelligence of Azure to the edge
Azure Modular Datacenter
A complete, rugged datacenter solution
Becoming Azure-certified hybrid and multicloud services engineer
As per the Microsoft official certification poster (https://aka.ms/TrainCertPoster), the following certifications are available in the fields of hybrid and multicloud Azure services.
- Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate (AZ-800 and AZ-801). Candidates for the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate certification should have subject matter expertise in configuring and managing Windows Server on-premises, hybrid, and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) platform workloads. Responsibilities for this role include integrating Windows Server environments with Azure services and managing Windows Server in on-premises networks. This role manages and maintains Windows Server IaaS workloads in Azure, in addition to migrating and deploying workloads to Azure. This role typically collaborates with Azure administrators, enterprise architects, Microsoft 365 administrators, and network engineers. Candidates for this certification administer core and advanced Windows Server workloads and services using on-premises, hybrid, and cloud technologies. These professionals should have expertise in implementing and managing on-premises and hybrid solutions, such as identity, management, compute, networking, and storage. They are also experts at performing tasks related to security, migration, monitoring, high availability, troubleshooting, and disaster recovery. These professionals use administrative tools and technologies, including Windows Admin Center, PowerShell, Azure Arc, and IaaS virtual machine administration. They also work with Azure Automation Update Management, Microsoft Defender for Identity, Azure Security Center, Azure Migrate, and Azure Monitor. A candidate for this certification should have extensive experience working with Windows Server operating systems.
- Azure Stack Hub Operator Associate (AZ-600). Candidates for the Azure Stack Hub Operator Associate certification have subject matter expertise in providing infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) offering to end users or customers from within their own datacenter using Azure Stack Hub. Their responsibilities are to plan, deploy, update, and maintain the Azure Stack Hub infrastructure. They also configure resources, manage infrastructure capacity, and optimize the services that run in Azure Stack Hub. Professionals in this role work with teams that support datacenter infrastructure, teams that manage identity, and teams that consume Azure Stack Hub resources, including developers, DevOps engineers, and virtual infrastructure administrators. Candidates for this certification should have significant experience managing and operating Azure Stack Hub environments and are proficient at managing Azure Stack Hub by using PowerShell. They should have a strong understanding of Azure, in addition to knowledge of virtualization, networking, and identity management.
- Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305). Candidates for this exam should have subject matter expertise in designing cloud and hybrid solutions that run on Microsoft Azure, including compute, network, storage, monitoring, and security. Responsibilities for this role include advising stakeholders and translating business requirements into designs for secure, scalable, and reliable Azure solutions. An Azure solutions architect partners with developers, administrators, and other roles responsible for implementing solutions on Azure. A candidate for this exam should have advanced experience and knowledge of IT operations, including networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data platforms, and governance. A professional in this role should manage how decisions in each area affect an overall solution. In addition, they should have experience in Azure administration, Azure development, and DevOps processes.
