Aiming to Boost Its Azure Cloud Platform, Microsoft Offers Free Training

Microsoft has offered two free training programs for IT professionals willing to learn cloud computing. One of the programs offers to help people sharpen their skills in Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform.
The announcement comes after a survey by Morgan Stanley Chase found an increasing number of CIOs favoring Microsoft’s Azure over Amazon’s Web Service (AWS).
“There is a significant opportunity for IT professionals to adopt the cloud,” writes Mike Neil, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise division, in a blog. Citing a study by IDC, Neil has stated there will be tremendous demand for IT professionals with skills in cloud computing. By 2020, according to IDC, more than one-third of IT positions will be cloud related.
Known as ‘Microsoft IT Pro Cloud Essentials,’ the program provides credits, infrastructure support as well as certificates for candidates who undergo training.
The offer, according to Neil, includes $100 of free Azure credits per month for the first three months to try cloud systems for backup, disaster recovery, security and dev/test. Additional perks to this package include free Pluralsight subscription for online training, free priority support in the TechNet forums, a free certification exam voucher, and extended trials of the Enterprise Mobility Suite and Office 365.
They also get test guidance in three areas such as infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), enterprise mobility and security. Briefly, the training program is designed make IT professionals rapidly familiarize themselves with Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.
Revenue from Azure platform is growing more than 100%, according to Microsoft’s recent fiscal report.