Azure Fundamentals in São Paulo
Microsoft's entry-level Azure certification covering cloud concepts, core Azure services, security, privacy, and pricing.
What is Azure Fundamentals?
The Azure Fundamentals certification (AZ-900) is Microsoft's entry-level cloud credential, designed to validate your understanding of core cloud concepts, Azure services, pricing, and governance. No technical background is required, making it the ideal first step for IT professionals, business analysts, and career changers alike. In São Paulo — Brazil's largest tech hub and home to regional headquarters of companies like Microsoft, IBM, and dozens of cloud-native startups — cloud literacy is no longer optional. Employers across Paulista Avenue and the Faria Lima corridor are actively prioritizing Azure-familiar candidates. AZ-900 signals to those employers that you speak the language of modern cloud infrastructure, even at the foundational level.
At an exam cost of $165 USD and no prerequisites required, AZ-900 is one of the most accessible ROI plays in the São Paulo IT market. The average IT salary in the city sits around $35,000/yr, and certified professionals report an average uplift of $6,000/yr — that's roughly a 17% salary increase from a single beginner-level credential. The cert renews every two years, meaning your investment stays current without constant re-examination costs. As multinational corporations continue expanding cloud operations across LATAM and using São Paulo as their regional anchor, demand for Azure-literate professionals is outpacing supply. Getting certified now positions you ahead of the curve while the talent gap still works in your favor.
Exam details
Prerequisites: None required
12-week study plan
Exam tips
Memorize the Azure shared responsibility matrix cold — the exam regularly tests which security tasks belong to the customer versus Microsoft across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS environments.
Don't confuse Azure services with similar-sounding ones: know the difference between Azure Firewall and Network Security Groups, and between Azure Monitor and Azure Advisor.
The pricing and cost management section catches many candidates off guard — study the Azure Pricing Calculator, TCO Calculator, and Cost Management tool as distinct tools with distinct purposes.
Read each question twice and watch for absolutes like 'always' or 'never' — AZ-900 questions sometimes include plausible-sounding distractors that are only partially correct.
Use the official Microsoft Learn AZ-900 sandbox environments rather than just reading — even basic hands-on exposure to the Azure portal makes conceptual questions significantly easier to answer correctly.