Creating a Microsoft 365 trial subscription
If you are new to Microsoft 365 and Azure, getting hands-on experience is important not just for exam preparation, but also for professional development. If you are getting certified to open doors to new job opportunities, you must understand the administration portals and how to work within them. This book will provide some exercises that will get you familiar with how to work within Microsoft 365 and Azure AD. In order to follow along with the steps, it is recommended that you have a subscription to Microsoft 365 and Azure AD Premium. The steps to create these in a 30-day trial are provided in the next sections.
Office 365 or Microsoft 365 trial subscription
Many of the features and capabilities discussed within the exam objectives require an enterprise-level license within Microsoft 365. The enterprise licenses are the E3 and E5 licenses. Microsoft offers 30-day trial licenses of these, so as you prepare for the exam, you can create a trial subscription and will then be able to follow along with the exercises.
To get started, navigate to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/compare-office-365-plans and select Try for free under the Office 365 E5 plan, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.9 – Office 365 trial subscription sign-up
Follow the steps to create an account, as shown in the following screenshot. If you have already created an account previously, you may need to use a different email address to obtain a free trial:
Figure 1.10 – Office 365 E5 subscription sign-up form
After completing the form and creating your Microsoft 365 tenant, you will have access to Microsoft 365 services and the administration panel. The next section will guide you through signing up for an additional add-on service that will be required to follow along with the exercises within this book and to provide full hands-on preparation for your exam.
Azure AD Premium subscription
In addition to the Office 365 E5 trial subscription, you will need access to an Azure AD Premium license for many of the advanced identity and access features that are discussed within the exam objectives. The best way to obtain these features is through an Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) E5 license. Microsoft also offers this as a 30-day free trial. Follow these steps to set this up:
- To get started, navigate to this link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise-mobility-security/compare-plans-and-pricing.
- Then, select Try now under the Enterprise Mobility + Security E5 plan, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.11 – EMS E5 trial subscription sign-up
This is an add-on license to Microsoft 365, so you should enter the same email address that you used to sign up for the Office 365 E5 subscription in the box shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.12 – EMS E5 subscription sign-up form
You should now have everything you need for your hands-on exam preparation and to follow along with the exercises within this book. The next section will provide an overview of the objectives that are covered in the exam and throughout this book.