Preface

Microsoft 365 is the premier collaboration and business productivity platform. It is made of up dozens of integrated Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Microsoft Teams. Microsoft also offers a full range of cloud data center and development products, made available on the Azure platform. Together, the Microsoft 365 and Azure platforms are used by millions of users and businesses every day to enhance communications, build relationships, connect communities, and create new products.

This book, Microsoft 365 Certified Fundamentals: Exam MS-900 Guide – Second Edition, is designed to help you understand key cloud computing concepts and how those concepts are represented across the Microsoft 365 platform.

This book will focus on the following key areas:

• Cloud computing concepts
• Windows 10 services
• Messaging, collaboration, and communication services available in Microsoft 365
• Licensing
• Security, compliance, and governance
• Service-level agreement concepts

The MS-900 exam focuses on the basic concepts and interdependencies between these services. This book will help you understand the basics of identity and authentication in Azure Active Directory as well as ways to secure the identity platform. This book will also help you enumerate the core services of the Microsoft 365 platform and the competitive advantages and features over the on-premises counterparts of these products.

By the end of this book, you'll not only be equipped to pass the exam but also to confidently articulate the features that make the Microsoft 365 platform compelling for business collaboration.

Who this book is for

Microsoft 365 Certified Fundamentals: Exam MS-900 Guide – Second Edition, is targeted at Microsoft 365 service administrators and cloud technologists who want to prove their knowledge by passing the MS-900 certification exam. The qualified exam candidate should be able to demonstrate foundational knowledge of cloud concepts and the Microsoft 365 suite. Mastering the concepts tested in this exam provides a solid stepping stone to other more advanced Microsoft certifications. You can learn more about this exam at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/ms-900.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Introduction to Cloud Computing, begins by explaining the foundational cloud computing concepts and the benefits that customers can expect to take advantage of.

Chapter 2, Cloud Deployment Models and Services, expands the reader's knowledge into areas such as public versus private clouds and the differences between software-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service.

Chapter 3, Core Microsoft 365 Components, explains the basics of what makes up the Microsoft 365 suite.

Chapter 4, Comparing Core Services in Microsoft 365, compares the cloud SaaS components against their on-premises counterparts.

Chapter 5, Understanding the Concepts of Modern Management, provides an introduction to deployment and management options for Windows 10.

Chapter 6, Deploying Microsoft 365 Apps, introduces the Click-to-Run software deployment and servicing method for the Office application suite.

Chapter 7, Understanding Collaboration and Mobility with Microsoft 365, dives into how some of the Office 365 services work together as well as how the Enterprise Mobility + Security suite can be used to protect an organization's assets.

Chapter 8, Microsoft 365 Analytics, discusses analytics and usage reporting across the Microsoft 365 suite, including MyAnalytics, Workplace Analytics, and Viva Insights.

Chapter 9, Understanding Security and Compliance Concepts with Microsoft 365, introduces core security concepts such as users, groups, attributes, permissions, roles, and auditing capabilities inside the Microsoft 365 suite, along with a look at Microsoft Secure Score.

Chapter 10, Understanding Identity Protection and Management, explores key features of the Enterprise Mobility + Security suite and how they can be used to manage and review access to Microsoft 365 resources.

Chapter 11, Endpoint and Security Management, provides an overview of security features that can be used across Active Directory and Azure Active Directory plans, and how they can be used to enable bring-your-own-device scenarios.

Chapter 12, Exploring the Service Trust Portal, Compliance Manager, and the Microsoft 365 Security Center, discusses the tools Microsoft provides for helping customers track and organize compliance activities as well as for gathering supporting documentation.

Chapter 13, Licensing in Microsoft 365, introduces the licensing and acquisition process for Microsoft 365, as well as key selling points of the platform.

Chapter 14, Planning, Predicting, and Comparing Pricing, gives the reader tips on conducting a cost-benefit analysis of Microsoft 365 services versus traditional on-premises services.

Chapter 15, Support Offerings for Microsoft 365 Services, provides guidance on how to obtain support as well as the service-level agreements for Microsoft 365 services.

Chapter 16, Service Life Cycle in Microsoft 365, discusses the various release stages of products in the Microsoft 365 service and how they relate to Microsoft support policies.

Chapter 17, Mock Exam, helps you to gauge the knowledge you've learned throughout the book.

To get the most out of this book

The Microsoft 365 platform is best experienced with either a laptop or desktop computer running a modern operating system, such as Windows 10 or macOS 10.12 or later. Additionally, modern browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge, or a recent version of Chrome, Safari, or Firefox are necessary for the Office 365 portal user interface to render properly. Older versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer may not work correctly.

An Office 365 tenant will also be required to follow along with some of the configuration examples. You can sign up for a trial tenant (no credit card required) at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/compare-more-office-365-for-business-plans. Some configuration options will require an Azure AD Premium subscription, which you can obtain as part of a Microsoft 365 trial or by activating an Azure AD Premium trial within the Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com) once you have obtained a trial Office 365 tenant.

Some examples may require various tools, such as the SharePoint Online Management Shell (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35588), the Microsoft Teams module (https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/MicrosoftTeams/), or the Office Deployment Tool (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=49117).

Download the color images

We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots and diagrams used in this book. You can download it here: https://static.packt-cdn.com/downloads/9781803231167_ColorImages.pdf

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

Code in text: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: "The ImmutableID value in Azure AD is a base64 conversion of an object's on-premises Active Directory object GUID."

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see onscreen. For instance, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in bold. Here is an example: "To export a list of audit log entries, an administrator can open the audited data and click on Export results."

Tips or important notes

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