New 74-324 Exam coming for Small Business Competency to replace 70-323

Here is some very exciting news for our partners out there looking to attain the Small Business Competency in the Microsoft Partner Network. For those of you that have participated in any of the online meetings we have been conducting about the Small Business Competency or who attended Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto with us, you heard us say that we have heard the feedback from partners regarding the 70-323 required Office 365 exam that is currently required for the Small Business Competency. We heard your input about the 70-323 Exam being too focused on Enterprise scenarios of Office 365 that you as Small Business partners often do not encounter. Because of this, we are releasing a new 74-324 Exam: Administering Office 365 for Small Business, which will be based on a training course specifically designed to meet the needs of partners administering O365 for small business customers.

What does this mean for you as a partner seeking to earn the Small Business competency?

  • The new 74-324 Exam will be available as a replacement requirement for the 70-323 Exam requirement for the Small Business competency.
  • You should complete all of the competency requirements except the 70-323 Office 365 exam and wait for the new exam 74-324 to become available.
    • This new 74-324 Exam will be available in the upcoming weeks, so it is just around the corner

As a prep for the new 74-324 Exam, we are working on a 10 hour JumpStart clinic which is designed to help you prepare for the new exam. We are tentatively scheduling this JumpStart clinic for August 28-29th and we will post registration details as soon as they become available. I’ll be posting them here on the blog and the MPN Training team will also be sending them out, so be sure you are also following @MPNTraining on Twitter for the latest updates from them too.

Tomorrow, we will be updating the Small Business competency learning path to reflect these changes.

As I have mentioned numerous times in the past, we truly do value the input and feedback from our partners and hopefully you see the results of your partnership with us reflected in this new exam being brought to the Small Business competency. Please continue to share your thoughts, feedback, and input with us and we will be sure to continue to bring you the latest information and resources to help you be successful in your partnership with Microsoft as we embark on the exciting future ahead of us.

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Eric LigmanFollow me on TWITTER, LinkedIn, and RSS and see “What I’m thinking
Director, Worldwide Partner Experience
Microsoft Corporation
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