Month: October 2018

Note: The MCSA: O365 Certification and exams 70-346 & 70-347 are being retired March 31, 2019. Learn more about what to expect here.

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Having just passed both 70-346 and 70-347, I know how hard it can be to find helpful and relevant resources to help you prepare for the exams. I’ve compiled resources below I used to help me prepare and I hope they help you with your own studying. I’ve included nothing more or less than I used myself. The most important piece for me was the Lynda.com courses – I wouldn’t have passed without them. Good luck!

Required Exams

(check links for most recent requirements)

• 70-346: Managing Office 365 Identities and Requirements
• 70-347: Enabling Office 365 Services

Books

Videos

• 70-346 Prep with Andy Malone
• 70-347 Prep with Andy Malone

Courses

Lynda.com

(free access for card-holders at many libraries, or free trial month for new users)

• Learning Path: Prepare for the MCSA: Office 365 (11 courses, 14 hours of content) includes:
  • Provision Office 365 with Brian Culp
  • Manage Cloud Identities with Brian Culp
  • Troubleshoot Availability and Usage with Brian Culp
  • Manage Identities using Azure AD Connect with Brian Culp
  • Implement Identities for SSO with Sharon Bennett
  • Implement Networking and Security with Brian Culp
  • Manage Clients and End-User Devices with Sharon Bennett
  • Configure Exchange Online and Skype for Business Online for End Users with Sharon Bennett
  • Plan for Exchange Online and Skype for Business Online with Sharon Bennett
  • Provision SharePoint Online Site Collections (2016) with Sharon Bennett
  • Cert Prep: MCSA Office 365 with Brian Culp
• Office 365: Configure Exchange Online and Skype for Business Online for End Users
• Provision SharePoint Online Site Collections
• Microsoft Teams Essential Training
• Microsoft StaffHub Essential Training

edX

Courses are free on edX. Just create an account.

• Provisioning Office 365 Services

Pluralsight

Get a 10-day free trial

• Managing Office 365 Identities and Requirements (70-346)

• Enabling Office 365 Services (70-347)

Prep Tips from Nate

• Get a free trial of O365 Business Premium or a developer tenant to explore and practice with first-hand in a safe environment
• Be willing to learn and memorize some fundamental PowerShell for O365 apps. Both exams require knowing some cmdlets and structure. These are all useful and covered in the exams (from docs.microsoft.com):
  • Getting started with Office 365 PowerShell
  • Manage user accounts and licenses with Office 365 PowerShell
  • Office 365 PowerShell for SharePoint Online
  • Exchange Online PowerShell
  • Use PowerShell for email migration to Office 365
  • Office 365 Security & Compliance Center PowerShell
  • Manage Office 365 with Windows PowerShell for Delegated Access Permissions (DAP) partners
  • Manage Skype for Business Online with Office 365 PowerShell
  • Skype for Business Online cmdlets
• Whenever a user or administrator has options (licenses, migration methods, deactivating certain features, adding different roles/permissions, etc.) learn each of them and when they’re applicable
• There are sometimes multiple correct solutions, but it’s a matter of understanding which have the least amount of administrative overhead or are most appropriate in different environments under different requirements (for example, if you’re not allowed to connect to the internet, how would you migrate exchange to O365?)
• I failed and regretted not buying the “replay” option. I didn’t make that mistake twice. When you schedule your exam, I’d highly recommend doing so with a replay option so you get an included retake at a lower price than two exams individually. You could, alternatively, purchase a practice exam which should also give you a good idea of what to expect.
• Get to know all the admin centers (Skype, Teams, StaffHub, SharePoint, etc.), their settings and how they allow or disallow external access
• Use the exam pages to guide your studying, particularly in areas you’re uncomfortable with:

70-346 Skills Measured	70-347 Skills Measured
These are taken directly from the exam info pages. Clicking a link will take you to the respective section of the page to see specific sub-topics covered under each skill section. I’ve also included the “Preparation resources” provided by Microsoft under each respective section:
Provision Office 365 (15–20%)Plan and implement networking and security in Office 365 (15–20%) Create DNS records for Office 365 when you manage your DNS records Assigning admin roles in Office 365 Manage cloud identities (15–20%) Password policy for Office 365 User account management Manage Azure AD using Windows PowerShell Implement and Manage Identities by Using Azure AD Connect (15–20%) Prepare for directory synchronization Synchronize your directories Implement and manage federated identities for single sign-on (SSO) (15–20%) Plan your AD FS deployment Checklist: Use AD FS to implement and manage single sign-on Administering Office 365 Jump Start (03): DirSync, SSO, and AD FS Monitor and troubleshoot Office 365 availability and usage (15–20%) Reporting features and troubleshooting tools Service health	Manage clients and end-user devices (20–25%) Office 365 deployment guide Configure and deploy Telemetry Dashboard Provision SharePoint Online site collections (20–25%) Manage external sharing for your SharePoint Online environment Create or delete a site collection Configure Exchange Online and Skype for Business Online for end users (20–25%) Manage mail contacts Configure Exchange Online archiving Plan for Exchange Online and Skype for Business Online (20–25%) Configure and secure Office 365 services (20–25%)