Topic areas and details

This Microsoft test measures one’s ability to accomplish particular technical tasks. You should go through the exam blueprint to understand the components of each topic before you choose your study materials. The domains of Microsoft MS-500 include the following:

• Implement information protection (15-20%):

  The questions from this topic area will include the content about security of data access within Office 365, implementation and management of Microsoft Cloud App Security, and management of sensitivity labels and data loss prevention. Managing apps in Cloud App Security, configuring B2B sharing for the external users, as well as implementing Customer Lockbox and managing it are also very important abilities. Other tasks that a potential applicant should be able to perform include the usage of sensitivity labels with Office apps, OneDrive, Teams, and Sharepoint. They also measure your ability to configure Oauth apps and Cloud App Security connectors as well as respond to Cloud App Security logs, dashboards, reports, and alerts.

• Manage threat protection (20-25%):

  This area includes the students’ knowledge of how to implement device threat protection solutions, manage device, application protection, and Office 365 ATP, as well as monitor Microsoft 365 Security with Azure Sentinel. The management and configuration of Microsoft Defender Application Control and Microsoft Defender Application Guard are the processes that you will need to perform quickly and successfully. The candidates should also be able to configure Azure ATP, Secure Boot, and Office 365 ATP. As a certified specialist, you will have to plan Microsoft Defender ATP solutions and respond to threats in Azure Sentinel as well. Also, you need to have expertise in configuring and managing Windows and non-Windows device encryption.

• Manage governance and compliance features in Microsoft 365 (25-30%):This is another big section of the whole exam content. It covers the areas that include the configuration and analysis of security reporting, management of data privacy regulation compliance, analysis of audit reports and logs, as well as management of the investigation, search, data governance, and retention. An accredited specialist needs to have skills in managing Data Subject Requests, finding and recovering deleted Office 365 data, planning for auditing and reporting, as well as managing eDiscovery cases.
• Implement identity and access (30-35%):

  This is the topic with the highest percentage of the content coverage. In this domain, you will be evaluated on how successfully you can secure identities and Microsoft 365 hybrid environments. Other subtopics include the measurement of skills in implementing conditional access, authentication methods, Azure AD Privileged Identity Management, Azure AD Identity Protection, and role-based access control.

  These tasks cover the abilities to monitor PIM history and alerts, implement user risk policy, plan Azure AD synchronization and authentication options, as well as implement, monitor, and manage MFA. It is also important to be able to manage and configure identity governance and implement Azure AD group membership. Planning, configuring, and auditing roles are also the tasks that are essential for the certified specialists.

Target audience

Microsoft MS-500 is aimed at those candidates who know how to implement, monitor, and manage compliance and security solutions for Microsoft 365 and hybrid business environments. These professionals are the Security Administrators who proactively respond to threats, secure Microsoft 365 enterprise environments, perform investigations, and enforce data governance. They also collaborate with other workload administrators, enterprise administrators, and business stakeholders to plan and implement security strategies. They also ensure that the solutions are in tandem with the regulations and policies of their organizations.

Reference: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-ms-500.aspx

Microsoft MS-500 and Career Benefits

The Microsoft exams and certifications give you a lot of new opportunities that will help you advance your career. When your future or current employer sees such a certificate on your resume, especially if you have a suitable one for your job, they may think about getting you a promotion or a good job. Thus, you will be able to become a Security Administrator, a Personnel Security Case Administrator, an O365 Administrator, or a Network System Administrator. Moreover, you will be able to get an average salary of about $57,000 per year.

Microsoft MS-500 and Important Details

Considering the fact that this is an associate-level certification test, it is not required but optional to have some prior experience working in the Microsoft 365 sector and some background knowledge of Microsoft 365 workloads. To better understand the exam content, you may have some experience with threat, information, and identity protection, as well as the skills in data governance and security management.

Besides knowing how to use the Microsoft 365 and hybrid environments, it is important for a potential candidate to be familiar with compliance and security solutions and the ways of implementing, managing, and monitoring them. All of these details are covered in the exam topics, so you need to be ready that your skills in securing the Microsoft 365 enterprise environments, enforcing data governance, responding to threats, as well as performing investigations will also be evaluated. If there is a need, you can start getting acquainted with the Microsoft 365 track by first taking the MS-900 test.