Azure Administrator (AZ-104) or AWS: Which Cloud Certification Should You Start With?

Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services are the two biggest cloud platforms. Both offer strong certifications, so where should you start? The best answer depends on your goals and on the companies you want to work for.

Choose Azure (AZ-104) if…

• You already work with Windows Server, Active Directory or Microsoft 365.
• Companies in your area run mostly on Microsoft technology.
• You enjoy administration: managing users, storage, networks and virtual machines.

Choose AWS if…

• You want to work with startups or product companies, where AWS is very common.
• You are more interested in architecture and design.

What AZ-104 covers

1. Managing Azure identities and governance
2. Implementing and managing storage
3. Deploying and managing compute resources
4. Implementing and managing virtual networking
5. Monitoring and maintaining Azure resources

Our advice

Look at real job posts in your city. Pick the platform that appears most often and get certified there first. The cloud concepts you learn (virtual networks, identity, storage, high availability) transfer between platforms, so your second certification will be much easier.

After AZ-104, you can grow into Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305) or DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400).