AZ-304 is an advanced certification for Azure enterprise architecture design that focuses on “the ability to design architectural solutions for complex business scenarios.”

1. Introduction to the Microsoft Azure Architect Design certification

Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-304) is an advanced architecture certification launched by Microsoft, focusing on verifying the ability of practitioners to design "high availability, high security, scalable, and cost optimized" enterprise level solutions based on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.

It is one of the core exams for the "Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert" certification, which needs to be passed in conjunction with AZ-305. It is aimed at technical personnel with rich practical experience in Azure and aims to cultivate expert level architects who can transform complex business requirements into stable and efficient Azure architecture. It is a key qualification for transitioning from "intermediate technical personnel" to "senior architects."

In the digital transformation of enterprises, architects need to solve the core problem of "how to implement business requirements into Azure technology architecture." It is necessary to balance availability, security, performance, and cost while adapting to the existing IT environment of the enterprise and having long-term scalability. The core positioning of the AZ-304 certification is to cultivate "expert designers of Azure enterprise level solutions" rather than "pure service configurators."

The certificate holder needs to be proficient in the deep characteristics and applicable scenarios of Azure core services, able to design end-to-end architecture solutions for complex business scenarios, solve key challenges in the architecture, ensure technical feasibility, business adaptation, and controllable costs of the solutions.

When designing the core trading system Azure architecture for financial enterprises, AZ-304 certificate holders will adopt a "multi-region + multi availability zone" deployment to ensure high availability, and achieve dedicated line connection between local data centers and Azure through "FHIR" to meet compliance requirements, simultaneously planning "resource labeling + Azure Cost Management" to achieve precise cost control.

2. The Competitive Edge of an AZ-304 Certification

The Azure Solution Architect Expert Certification, consisting of AZ-304 and AZ-305, is one of the highest level architecture certifications in the Microsoft Azure system and is highly recognized in enterprises. When recruiting for Azure architect positions, it is often listed as a "must-have condition," which is the core distinguishing factor between senior technical personnel and architecture experts.

The AZ-304 exam does not focus on "service configuration details," but rather on a large number of complex business scenario questions, forcing candidates to establish a "business technology" transformation thinking and a "multidimensional balancing" thinking. After learning, they can truly possess the ability to independently design enterprise level architecture solutions, rather than simply being "Azure service users."

AZ-304 certificate holders can join the Microsoft Azure Architect exclusive community to obtain official architecture best practice documents and industry solution cases; prioritize participation in Microsoft technology summits and closed door meetings for architects, connect with experts in the same field and opportunities for high-end projects, and lay the foundation for career development.

3. Core Components of the AZ-304 Certification

For professionals committed to becoming enterprise level cloud solution architects, AZ-304 certification is the authoritative standard for measuring their architectural design capabilities. This certification, together with AZ-303, forms the Azure Solution Architecture Expert Certification pathway, focusing on cultivating and validating your ability to design complex, secure, efficient, and cost-effective Azure solutions in enterprise environments.

As the core of architecture, designing computing solutions requires proficiency in making optimal choices among virtual machines, Kubernetes services, application services, and serverless computing options based on different business scenarios. You will learn to design highly available and scalable architectures, such as utilizing virtual machine scale sets and AKS cluster automation, to ensure that computing resources can flexibly respond to business fluctuations while ensuring service continuity.

The internet is the artery that connects everything. You need to master the design of a secure, efficient, and flexible enterprise level network architecture, including planning the layering and isolation of virtual networks, implementing interconnection between hybrid clouds and cross regional networks, and configuring advanced services such as load balancing, firewalls, and DDoS protection to provide reliable, low latency, and secure network environments for applications.

Security is the cornerstone of architecture design. You will delve into designing a modern identity authentication and fine-grained access control system based on Azure Active Directory, and build a defense in depth strategy from identity to data, from network to application. In addition, you need to be able to plan an architecture that complies with industry standards such as GDPR and ISO, and utilize tools such as Azure Security Center to achieve continuous security monitoring and threat response.

Excellent architects are also economists of enterprises. You need to master the optimization of long-term costs through reserved instances, serverless architecture, and other methods, and design a governance framework based on management groups, Azure policies, and blueprints to achieve standardized deployment and compliance control of resources. At the same time, design a complete observability scheme to ensure the healthy operation of the architecture and rapid fault location.

4. What are the requirements to be a Microsoft Azure Architect Design?

(1) Qualification prerequisites:

Before obtaining AZ-304 certification, you need to pass an Azure basic certification. We recommend that you have at least 2 years of practical experience in Azure and be proficient in the deep features of core services such as Azure computing. Having experience in enterprise level IT architecture design and understanding the logic of transforming complex business requirements into technical architecture.

You can prioritize obtaining Azure Intermediate certification to solidify your technical foundation. 

(2) Training and examinations:

AZ-304 has a total of approximately 40-60 questions, including multiple-choice questions and case analysis questions on designing architecture solutions based on complex business scenarios; The exam lasts for 180 minutes; Full score of 1000, pass with 700 points or above; The exam fee is approximately 165 US dollars. 

(3) Qualification maintenance:

If you only pass AZ-304 aloneland do not receive an expert level certificate, you need to pass both AZ-304 and AZ-305 to obtain the "Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert" certificate.

The AZ-304 certificate is valid for 3 years and must be renewed within the validity period by passing the "renewal exam" focused on the latest Azure services and architecture best practices updates or obtaining higher-level certification.

5. Comparable Certifications to Microsoft Azure Architect Design Certification

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
• Google Cloud Certified - Professional Cloud Architect
• Microsoft Azure for SAP Workload Specialty