MCSE: Productivity Certification Has Been Retired

This certification has been replaced by Microsoft with new certification(s).

Certification Details

The MCSE: Productivity Solutions Expert will do a lot of good to your career as it confirms your capabilities in ensuring flexibility and minimizing data losses, which is essential for any organization worldwide.

About Certification

This certification will equip you with the relevant knowledge of how to move to the cloud appropriately, will boost the productivity of users, and will offer your organization the necessary data security measures. In particular, it targets IT consultants, telecommunications consultants, and senior administrators.

Prerequisites

Candidates for the aforementioned certificate either hold the MCSA: Windows Server 2016 or the MCSA: Windows Server 2012 certifications. They should then select and pass one test from the four listed for the MCSE: Productivity Solutions Expert. These exams are under the codes 70-333, 70-334, 70-339, and 70-345, which are explored next.

More about Exam 70-333

This test targets professionals such as those in telecommunications or IT consulting who take part in creating, planning, and administering UC solutions. Their experience in executing the tasks should be at least two years.

Topics Covered by Microsoft 70-333

Candidates should seek the comprehension of the following domains to ace this test:

  • Using Enterprise Voice in Laying out and Developing Skype for Business

    This topic projects into developing a voice topology for the enterprise, developing calling routing in addition to PSTN connectivity, designing voice applications, and developing Unified Messaging (UM). The rest areas to be explored are planning for network optimization and readiness, developing enterprise voice network services, modelling and analyzing traffic per site for Skype for Business, analyzing policies and network usage for historical data, and planning as well as analyzing simulation results for traffic & suggesting recommendations.

  • Administering Enterprise Voice

    This objective concerns configuring enterprise voice network services, voice applications, call routing, UM for Skype for Business alongside cloud voicemail, and client features for enterprise voice.

  • Maintenance and Troubleshooting of Enterprise Voice

    In this section, you will learn how to deal with teardown and call setup, configuration for enterprise voice, enterprise voice apps, and UC peripherals alongside devices. It also regards monitoring & managing Skype for Business.

Details for Test 70-334

The test known as Core Solutions of Microsoft Skype for Business 2015 is extended to telecommunications and IT consultants who do tasks like creating, planning, and administering UC solutions. Their experience in doing such tasks should include a minimum of two years.

Domains of 70-334

Exam 70-334 is associated with the following topics and domains:

  • Planning and Creating Skype for Business

    This area involves planning for Skype for Business by utilizing site topology and support infrastructure for servers. It’s also included in the developing solutions for server HA/DR (high availability/disaster recovery), designing conferencing, and designing remote alongside external access with Edge services. Others regard planning for user and client experiences and planning migration as well as upgrade from past versions.

  • Enacting and Configuring Skype for Business

    It targets the configuration and publishing of topology, configuring conferencing, and configuring external & remote access. Also, to cover is the deployment and configuration of clients, migration and upgrade from past versions and Skype for Business Online, configuring HA/DR, and administering services for archiving as well as monitoring.

  • Managing and Troubleshooting Skype for Business

    The domains covered here include managing and troubleshooting the issues like app sharing and conferencing, sign-in, client configuration and presence, remote and federation access, address book, and resiliency together with high availability. Also, identifying items using troubleshooting tools and managing dependent architecture & topology are highlighted within this objective.

Microsoft 70-339 Details

The aim of 70-339 test is to develop individuals to do tasks for managing the Microsoft SharePoint Server 2016. They are IT specialists dealing with the installation and administration of SharePoint 2016 within a data center as well as within the cloud. Their experience in performing the expected tasks ought to start with at least four years.

70-339 Exam Topics

The objectives for exam 70-339 include:

  • Creating SharePoint Architecture

    This part touches on developing the following: information, logical, and physical architecture. Other fields to expose are configuring installations & planning an environment for hybrid cloud.

  • Planning Authentication & Security

    Domains concerned within this scope are planning & configuring verification, authorization, farm as well as platform security, and creating alongside configuring the application for User Profile Service. The next areas to cover are managing site collection & site security, and provisioning in addition to configuring web apps.

  • Planning Workload Optimization

    It goes into the creation and maintenance of site collections as well as planning the solutions for disaster recovery, high availability, and backup alongside restoration. There is also planning & configuring of social workloads and workloads for Web Content Management (WCM).

  • Planning Solutions for Productivity

    This tested area scrutinizes the evaluation of content alongside customizations, planning a process for an upgrade, and developing & configuring the app management, productivity services, and BCS (Business Connectivity Service) as well as Secure Store app. It also talks about managing solutions and apps for SharePoint.

  • Managing Search Capabilities

    Under this topic, exam-takers discover the creation and configuration of enterprise search, the execution of an application for MMS (Managed Metadata Services), managing search, maintaining taxonomy, and planning as well as configuring search workloads.

  • Planning and Configuring Cloud Services

    This portion concerns the planning & configuration of BI architectures, the creation with the configuration of work management, and planning in addition to the configuration of federated hybrid & cloud search.

  • Monitoring and Optimizing Environment for SharePoint

    This final objective for test 70-339 is about monitoring, tuning, optimizing, and troubleshooting an environment for SharePoint.

About Microsoft 70-345

This test refers to the development and deployment of the Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 and targets senior admins and IT consultants who lead a technical team including administrators. The experience level that they should have is usually from three years and above.

Topics Covered for Exam 70-345

Below are the concerned sections for this 70-345 test:

  • Planning, Deploying, Managing, and Troubleshooting Mailbox Databases

    The targeted domains include planning, deploying, and managing mailbox databases, high availability solutions targeting mailbox databases, a site-resilient DAG, and recovery & backup solutions also targeting mailbox databases. Besides, monitoring and troubleshooting mailbox databases are covered within this tested area.

  • Executing, Configuring, Monitoring, and Solving Issues with Access Services for Client

    This topic concerns configuring, deploying, and controlling services for client access, mobility solutions, load balancing, and a solution that is site-resilient and that is used for accessing client services. It’s also covering monitoring & troubleshooting issues with client connectivity.

  • Implementing & Troubleshooting Transport Services

    For such a segment, candidates will experience putting into operation, deploying, and troubleshooting transport services, message hygiene, and those unique transport services that are site-resilient. Finally, applicants will also get experienced in the troubleshooting and surveillance of transport services.

  • Managing Exchange Architecture, Security, & Recipients

    It covers administering AD Domain Services targeting Exchange as well as organizational settings, creating & configuring objects that are mail-enabled, and managing object permissions that are also mail-enabled. Other parts included here are about administering & troubleshooting RBAC, planning the right strategy for security, and administering as well as troubleshooting IRM using Azure RMS or AD RMS.

  • Performing Compliance, Auditing, eDiscovery, and Archiving

    This portion highlights planning as well as configuring solutions for preventing data loss, administering archiving & management of message records, and planning, configuring & performing eDiscovery. Other areas are focused on administering solutions for compliance and planning, managing, and using mailbox alongside administrative auditing.

  • Effecting and Managing Coexistence, Migration, Federation, and Hybrid Scenarios

    This is where one performs the planning, deployment, and troubleshooting that concerns coexisting together with Office 365 (Exchange Online), Exchange federation, and on-premises existing together with Exchange past supported versions. Also, migration from Exchange past supported versions is thoroughly explored in this part.

Peculiarities of These Four MCSE Tests

All of these MCSE certification exams endure for 2.5 hours and carry 40-60 challenges in designs such as best answer, active screen, short answer, case studies, multiple choices, and others. The enrolling cost is $165 for each exam and one ought to get at least 700 points to receive the endorsement of the MCSE: Productivity Solutions Expert certificate.

Career Opportunities, Job Positions, and Salary

Possessing the MCSE: Productivity Solutions Expert certification confirms your abilities in varied skills that relate to the Microsoft leading products such as Exchange Server, Skype for Business, and SharePoint. It means that companies will employ you to assist them in administering the solutions they need in conducting business. Ideally, the job positions available with such a certificate include IT consultants, senior systems administrators, systems engineers, systems analysts, systems administrators, and infrastructure service engineers. Pursuant to a PayScale.com salary report, professionals with the MCSE are likely to draw about $96k per year.

Which Is Next Certification to Earn?

The MCSE: Productivity Solutions Expert certification can assist you in enrolling for the role-based Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert certification, where this MCSE is listed among the prerequisites. This reinforces your role, thus giving you a formidable way to develop your career.