Discover Microsoft Certified: Customer Data Platform Specialty

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Are you a functional consultant, data engineer, or data analyst who specializes in implementing solutions that provide insight into customer profiles? Do you have experience designing solutions that track engagement activities to help improve customer experiences and increase customer retention? If so, take a close look at the Microsoft Certified: Customer Data Platform Specialty certification (pass Exam MB-260). It could help to give your career a boost. This Microsoft Certification validates to the world that you have Dynamics 365 Customer Insights skills—whether you’re just starting out and growing your career, looking to use your skills to advance, or wanting to change to a new, in-demand consulting role. In this article, we also point out other certifications that could be a fit for you, depending on your career path.

If you’re hoping that certification can help you advance your career, you’re not alone. And, according to Nigel Frank’s Careers and Hiring Guide: Business Applications Edition 2022, 68 percent of respondents believe that certifications help you stand out in a competitive job market. In addition to providing evidence of your mastery of technical skills and potentially boosting your worth, a specialty certification can help increase your confidence by highlighting your enthusiasm for using the latest technologies. Add your certifications to your résumé and LinkedIn page to alert colleagues, managers, and employers to your expertise.

The Customer Data Platform Specialty certification

You fit the profile for this certification if you’re a data analyst, data engineer, or functional consultant who has firsthand experience with Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, Power Query, Microsoft Dataverse, Common Data Model, Microsoft Power Platform, and one or more additional Dynamics 365 apps. You should also have direct experience with practices related to privacy, compliance, consent, security, responsible AI, and data retention policy.

Does this sound like you? As a customer data platform specialist, you need experience with processes related to KPIs, data retention, validation, visualization, preparation, matching, fragmentation, segmentation, and enhancement. Plus, you should have a general understanding of Azure Machine Learning, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Azure Data Factory.

Benefits of certification

Specialists who have experience with processes dealing with Customer Insights can help boost sales, service, and marketing strategies for their organizations by using AI to predict and improve relationships with their customers. They are at the cutting edge of the revolution in digital technology, which has made new sources of information accessible, consumable, and meaningful to organizations of all sizes. This Microsoft Certification validates your abilities, including your Dynamics 365 Customer Insights skills, to help you stand out in a world where organizations are eager to accelerate time to insight and to understand their customers like never before.

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, certifications can demonstrate that you’re technically agile. Customer data platform specialists are adept at a number of technical skills. An IDC white paper, Benefits of Role-Based Certifications, reports that in addition to highlighting your specific technical skills, certifications indicate a willingness to stay current with new features as services are added to the solution area. As organizations build tech-intensive teams, they need people who not only have the skills they are looking for but also have a willingness to embrace a culture of learning.

A Global Knowledge survey notes that 87 percent of IT professionals have at least one certification, and nearly 40 percent are going after their next one. To remain competitive and prove to employers that your skills are up to date, certification makes a lot of sense.

Other certifications for you

There’s more than one path to the Customer Data Platform Specialty certification. You might be a data engineer, a data analyst, or a functional consultant. Depending on your career journey, you could consider earning several different Microsoft Certifications, as many IT professionals have done, indicating a breadth of knowledge.

If you’re new to this career path, get started with a fundamentals certification, such as the Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (CRM) certification (pass Exam MB-910). It can highlight your customer skills and enhance your career journey. If you’re a functional consultant but you don’t yet have the certification for that role, you might want to earn a Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate certification (pass Exam PL-200).

To learn more about how to use the customer data platform across multiple solutions, consider exploring these Dynamics 365 associate certifications:

To further your career, when you’re ready, you might want to pursue an advanced solutions architect certification: Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert (complete a prerequisite and pass Exam PL-600).

How do I get started?

Customer data specialists love using Dynamics 365 Customer Insights and other Microsoft technologies, including Azure and Microsoft Power Platform, to create customer solutions that enable their organizations to get a holistic view of customers and to discover actionable insights that drive growth. As we’ve noted, there could be more than one path to this role. However, if you aren’t quite ready for certification, there are several things you can do to prepare. Here are some suggestions:

If you’re ready to get started on your path to certification, check out our Customer Data Platform Specialty certification journey map. You can also find it in the resources section on the associated certification and exam pages.

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Follow the sequence on the Customer Data Platform Specialty journey map. Start by deciding whether this certification is a good fit for you.

Next, choose the training you need to be prepared. To understand what you’re measured on when you take the exam, review the Exam-MB-260 skills outline guide. Then sign up for the training that fits your learning style and experience:

After you pass the exam and earn your certification, you can continue to broaden your technical expertise by taking one of the other certifications described in this blog post or by exploring other certification offerings. Consider our intermediate and advanced certifications when you achieve the next milestones on your career journey. Map out the possibilities with Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform certifications.

Where’s my community?

Join a community to network with other customer data platform specialists, share ideas, and ask questions. You can also find news about Microsoft events and learning opportunities.

Celebrate with the world: Post your badge on LinkedIn

When you earn a certification or learn a new skill, celebrate your accomplishment with your network. It often takes less than a minute to update your LinkedIn profile and share your achievements, highlight your skills, and help boost your career potential.

It’s easy to renew your certification

When your Customer Data Platform Specialty certification expires, you can renew your certification by passing a free renewal assessment on Microsoft Learn—anytime within six months before your certification expires. For more details, read Stay current with in-demand skills through free certification renewals.

Ready to discover your career path?

Your analytical capabilities and customer data skills can help provide businesses with the platform they need to understand their customers better. Are you ready to explore where Microsoft Certification can take you on your career path? A Customer Data Platform Specialty certification can help you stand out by validating your ability to optimize the customer journey.

Related posts and resources

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-learn-blog/discover-microsoft-certified-customer-data-platform-specialty/ba-p/3250815 https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-learn-blog/discover-microsoft-certified-customer-data-platform-specialty/ba-p/3250815 2022-05-19 15:00:00Z