Updated — 16/09/2024 — The exam guide below shows the changes to be implemented starting July 15, 2024. It has been updated to reflect the new objectives and exam topic weights that Microsoft Learning added and removed.
Change is a constant in the world of technology, and the certification landscape is no exception. Microsoft implemented changes that will impact those who seek to validate their expertise in managing Microsoft 365 environments. This study guide will share how to successfully prepare and pass the MS-102 exam — Microsoft 365 Certified Administrator Expert.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Microsoft is evolving its learning programs to help you and your career keep pace with today’s demanding IT environments. The updated role-based certifications will help you meet today’s business requirements. Microsoft Learning is constantly evolving its learning program to offer better what you need to improve, prove your expertise to employers and peers, and get the recognition and opportunities you’ve earned.
On September 30, 2023, Microsoft retired Exam MS-100 and Exam MS-101. Exam MS-102: Microsoft 365 Administrator is a replacement exam available starting September 6, 2023. The Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert certification has been renamed to Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert.
The new Microsoft 365 Certified Administrator Expert certification name more closely aligns with current workplace opportunities. The focus for the role hasn’t changed—you’ll still be proving the same expert-level skills in evaluating, planning, migrating, deploying, and managing Microsoft 365. However, the new name better fits the scope of work opportunities because the role and skills apply to organizations of all sizes. The expert level remains in place, as do the current prerequisite certifications.
Exam Target Audience
The Microsoft 365 Administrator has expert-level skills in evaluating, planning, migrating, deploying, and managing Microsoft 365. They perform Microsoft 365 tenant-level planning, implementation, and administration of cloud and hybrid environments.
The Microsoft 365 Administrator functions as the integrating hub for all Microsoft 365 workloads. This role coordinates multiple Microsoft 365 workloads and advises the architects and workload administrators responsible for endpoints, applications, infrastructure, identity, security, and compliance.
Microsoft 365 Administrators have functional experience with all Microsoft 365 workloads and Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) and have administered at least one of these. They also have a working knowledge of networking, server administration, DNS, and PowerShell.
This exam is designed for people who aspire to the Microsoft 365 Administrator role and have completed one of the Microsoft 365 role-based administrator certification paths.
MS-102 Exam Prerequisites
Before taking the MS-102 exam, it’s recommended that you have:
- Completed a role-based administrator course on Messaging, Teamwork, Security and Compliance, and Collaboration.
- A proficient understanding of DNS and basic functional experience with Microsoft 365 services.
- A proficient understanding of general IT.
See Also: SC-900 Exam Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals.
To become a Microsoft 365 Certified Administrator Expert, you must earn at least one of the following five exams:
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Endpoint Administrator Associate (MD-102)
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Messaging Administrator Associate (MS-203)
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate (MS-700)
- Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate (SC-300)
- Microsoft Certified: Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate (SC-400)
What to Expect in the MS-102 Exam?
When taking the Microsoft 365 Administrator Exam, you will have a total of 150 minutes for the exam, including about 30 minutes for surveys and assessments, which leaves you with roughly 120 minutes for the actual exam. I found it a bit challenging to complete the exam within the given time frame. You can expect around 50-60 questions in the exam.
One of the most interesting features of the recent Microsoft Exam is the “Break” feature. You now have the option to take breaks during the exam if needed. However, it’s important to note that the exam timer does not stop during the break, and when you resume the exam, you cannot go back to attempt the questions you had already seen before the break. Therefore, it’s advisable not to view all the questions at once if you decide to take a break later during the exam.
Additionally, you can browse the Microsoft Learn documentation while taking the MS-102 exam live. So, if you encounter a difficult question, you can click a button on the exam interface to view the Microsoft Learn website content, which includes Microsoft Documentation. You can browse the topic you are interested in and look up the details you need to know. Then return to the question, hopefully with the answer you need. This is like an “open-book exam”; you will see a “Microsoft Learn” button added at the bottom screen of your exam.
There’s an important thing to note when browsing the Microsoft Learn documentation during the exam. You’re not getting any extra time on your exam, so you can’t exactly spend all the time you need looking up any question. But this could be a lifesaver for those questions where you “kind of” know the answer and just need to look it up to verify quickly.
See Also: Microsoft Certification Changes in 2023 and beyond.
The structure of the exam can vary and range between:
- Case study with multiple questions, including two choices and drag-and-drop items.
- Single-choice questions may not be skipped or reviewed. You only get to answer these questions ONCE.
- Single-choice questions (True/False or Yes/No).
- Multiple-choice questions.
Given that this is an expert-level exam, it is quite challenging as it covers various topics and best practices. Therefore, we advise you to have at least 1-2 years of hands-on experience with Microsoft 365 Administration and Management before you consider scheduling the exam.
Updated on 16/09/2024 – I got 25 questions without any case study for the renewal assessment. The performance assessment is based on the following topics:
> Manage users, licenses, guests, and contacts in Microsoft 365.
> Configure administrative roles in Microsoft 365.
> Examine Privileged Identity Management in Microsoft Entra ID.
> Implement directory synchronization tools.
> Manage secure user access in Microsoft 365.
> Explore threat intelligence in Microsoft Defender XDR.
> Implement threat protection by using Microsoft Defender for Office 365.
> Implement endpoint protection by using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
> Implement data classification of sensitive information.
> Implement Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention.
Skills measured on the MS-102 exam
This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical topics listed below based on the latest update from Microsoft.
Links to relevant reading from the official Microsoft Learn documentation for each skill tested are listed below to help you prepare for this exam:
Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant (15–20%)
Implement and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant
- Create a tenant
- Implement and manage domains
- Configure org settings, including Security & privacy and Organizational profile
- Identify and respond to service health issues
- Configure notifications in service health
- Configure and review Network connectivity insights
- Monitor adoption and usage
- Configure and manage Microsoft 365 Backup
Manage users and groups
- Create and manage users in Microsoft Entra, including external users and guests
- Create and manage contacts in the Microsoft 365 admin center
- Create and manage groups, including Microsoft 365 groups and shared mailboxes
- Manage and monitor Microsoft 365 licenses, including group-based licensing
- Perform bulk user management, including PowerShell
Manage roles and role groups
- Implement and manage built-in roles in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Entra
- Implement and manage custom roles in the Microsoft Entra admin center
- Manage role groups in Microsoft Defender XDR, Microsoft Purview, and Microsoft 365 workloads
- Manage delegation by using administrative units
- Manage roles in Microsoft Entra privileged identity management
Learning Path
Implement and manage Microsoft Entra identity and access (25–30%)
Implement and manage identity synchronization with Microsoft Entra tenant
- Prepare for identity synchronization by using IdFix
- Implement and manage directory synchronization by using Microsoft Entra Connect cloud sync
- Implement and manage directory synchronization by using Microsoft Entra Connect
- Monitor synchronization by using Microsoft Entra Connect Health
- Troubleshoot synchronization, including Microsoft Entra Connect and Microsoft Entra Connect cloud sync
Implement and manage authentication
- Implement and manage authentication methods
- Implement and manage self-service password reset (SSPR)
- Implement and manage Microsoft Entra Password Protection
- Investigate and resolve authentication issues
Implement and manage secure access
- Plan for identity protection
- Implement and manage Microsoft Entra ID Protection
- Plan Conditional Access policies
- Implement and manage Conditional Access policies
- Implement and manage multi-factor authentication (MFA) by using conditional access policies
Learning Path
- Implement identity synchronization (4 Modules)
- Manage identity and access in Microsoft 365 (7 Modules)
Manage security and threats by using Microsoft Defender XDR (35–40%)
Review and respond to security reports and alerts generated by Microsoft Defender XDR
- Review and take actions to improve the Microsoft Secure Score
- Review and respond to security incidents and alerts
- Review and respond to issues identified in security and compliance reports
- Review and respond to threats identified in threat analytics
Implement and manage email and collaboration protection by using Microsoft Defender for Office 365
- Implement policies and rules in Defender for Office 365
- Review and respond to threats identified in Defender for Office 365, including threats and investigations
- Create and run campaigns, such as attack simulation
- Unblock users
Implement and manage endpoint protection by using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
- Onboard devices to Defender for Endpoint
- Configure endpoint settings
- Review and respond to endpoint vulnerabilities
- Review and respond to risks identified in the Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management dashboard
Implement and manage Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
- Configure the app connector for Microsoft 365
- Configure Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps policies
- Review and respond to Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps alerts
- Interpret activity log
- Configure Cloud App Discovery
- Review and respond to issues identified in Cloud App Discovery
Learning Path
- Manage your security services in Microsoft Defender XDR (4 Modules)
- Implement threat protection by using Microsoft Defender XDR (4 Modules)
Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview (15–20%)
Implement Microsoft Purview information protection and data lifecycle management
- Implement and manage sensitive information types by using keywords, keyword lists, or regular expressions
- Implement retention labels, retention label policies, and retention policies
- Implement sensitivity labels and sensitivity label policies
- Monitor label usage by using Content Explorer, Activity Explorer, and label reports
Implement Microsoft Purview data loss prevention (DLP)
- Configure DLP policies for Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams
- Configure Endpoint DLP
- Review and respond to DLP alerts, events, and reports
Learning Path
- Explore data governance in Microsoft 365 (3 Modules)
- Implement compliance in Microsoft 365 (5 Modules)
- Manage compliance in Microsoft 365 (3 Modules)
MS-102 Hands-On Lab
These hands-on lab exercises support the official Microsoft course MS-102T00-A: Microsoft 365 Administrator and the equivalent self-paced modules on Microsoft Learn. These exercises are designed to accompany the learning materials and enable you to practice using the described technologies.
You’ll need a Microsoft 365 Tenant and Microsoft Defender XDR to complete the following exercises. You can set up a Microsoft Defender XDR trial on the following page.
- Lab 1 – Exercise 1 – Initialize your Microsoft 365 Tenant
- Lab 1 – Exercise 2 – Manage Users and Groups
- Lab 1 – Exercise 3 – Add a Custom Domain
- Lab 2 – Exercise 1 – Manage roles and role groups
- Lab 2 – Exercise 2 – Monitor and Troubleshoot Microsoft 365
- Lab 2 – Exercise 3 – Manage a Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise installation
- Lab 3 – Exercise 1 – Prepare for Identity Synchronization
- Lab 3 – Exercise 2 – Implement Identity Synchronization
- Lab 4 – Exercise 1 – Manage secure user access
- Lab 4 – Exercise 2 – PIM Administrator approval
- Lab 4 – Exercise 3 – PIM Self-Approval
- Lab 4 – Exercise 4 – PIM Teammate Approval Request
- Lab 5 – Exercise 1 – Implement a Safe Attachments Policy
- Lab 5 – Exercise 2 – Implement a Safe Links Policy
- Lab 6 – Exercise 1 – Prepare for Alert Policies
- Lab 6 – Exercise 2 – Implement a Mailbox Permission Alert
- Lab 6 – Exercise 3 – Implement a SharePoint Permission Alert
- Lab 6 – Exercise 4 – Test the Default eDiscovery Alert
- Lab 6 – Exercise 5 – Conduct a Spear Phishing attack using Attack Simulation training
- Lab 6 – Exercise 6 – Conduct a Drive-by URL attack using Attack Simulation training
- Lab 6 – Exercise 7 – Validate alert notifications and simulated attacks
MS-102 Video Training
If you are interested in preparing for this exam using video training, then I highly recommend checking the following resources:
> Pluralsight: If you have access to a Pluralsight Learning platform, I highly recommend going through the following exam preparation learning path: Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert (Microsoft 365 Administrator MS-102) – 4 hours. If you don’t have a Pluralsight account, you can start a 10-day free trial with full access.
MS-102 Practice Test
If you wish to validate your skills before taking the real exam, I highly encourage you to purchase the following practice test:
MS-102: Microsoft 365 Administrator Certification Practice Test. The MeasureUp MS-102: Microsoft 365 Administrator Certification Practice Test from Mind Hub is designed to help you prepare for and pass the Microsoft MS-102 exam. This exam is aimed at candidates who want to validate their skills.
The MS-102 certification offers the perfect opportunity to validate your expert-level knowledge and experience in performing Microsoft 365 tenant-level implementation and administration of cloud and hybrid environments. Bypassing the MS-102 exam, you will obtain the Microsoft 365 Certified Administrator Expert certification, demonstrating your functional experience of all Microsoft 365 workloads and Microsoft Entra ID to current and future employers.
The MS-102 practice test includes two different modes: Certification and Practice. Certification mode allows you to assess your knowledge and discover your weak areas, while practice mode allows you to focus on the areas that need development.
This MS-102 practice test contains 119 questions and covers the following exam objectives:
- Deploy and manage a Microsoft 365 tenant (33 questions).
- Implement and manage identity and access in Microsoft Entra ID (33 questions).
- Manage security and threats by using Microsoft Defender XDR (31 questions).
- Manage compliance by using Microsoft Purview (22 questions).
MS-102 Free Practice Assessment
Are you preparing for the MS-102 certification exam? Microsoft just announced Practice Assessments on Microsoft Learn, the newest free exam preparation resource that allows you to assess your knowledge and fill gaps to better prepare you for the exam.
The following assessment provides an overview of the style, wording, and difficulty of the questions you’re likely to experience on the exam. Through this assessment, you can assess your readiness, determine where additional preparation is needed, and fill knowledge gaps, bringing you one step closer to the likelihood of passing your MS-102 exam.
> Take now the Exam MS-102: Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert Practice Assessment (50 questions).
Prepare for your certification exam by assessing your knowledge through Practice Assessments. These free assessments can be attempted multiple times. The same team that develops the official certification exams creates and regularly updates these assessments.
You can access practice assessments on Microsoft Learn by signing in or creating an account. The score report for each question includes the answer, rationale, and links to additional information. To be better prepared for the MS-102 exam, aim to score 80% or higher on multiple attempts.
Conclusion
In an ever-evolving IT landscape, staying up-to-date with the latest certifications is crucial for career growth. By preparing for and passing the MS-102 exam, you validate your expertise in Microsoft 365 administration and position yourself as a key player in managing modern cloud and hybrid environments. With the right resources and dedication, achieving the Microsoft 365 Certified Administrator Expert certification can open doors to new opportunities and professional success.
If you work regularly with Microsoft 365, we highly recommend learning for and taking the exams to get the Microsoft 365 Certified Administrator Expert certification. If I can do it, you can, too!
Other Microsoft Azure Exam Study Guides
Are you interested in another Azure certification exam? I highly encourage you to check out the following Azure exam study guides:
- Exam AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals Exam Study Guide
- Exam AI-102: Designing and Implementing a Microsoft Azure AI Solution Study Guide
- Exam AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-140: Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions Study Guide
- Exam AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-700: Microsoft Azure Network Engineer Associate Study Guide
- Exam SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Exam Study Guide
- Exam SC-200: Microsoft Security Operations Analyst Exam Study Guide
- Exam SC-300: Microsoft Identity and Access Administrator Exam Study Guide
- Exam SC-400: Microsoft Information Protection Administrator Exam Study Guide
- Exam SC-100: Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect Exam Study Guide
- Exam AZ-800: Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure Study Guide
- Exam AZ-801: Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services Study Guide
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