MS-101 exam

Preparation Guide on MS-101: Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security

Are you looking forward to take MS-101 certification on Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security exam? If it is yes, then this will be the right guide to start up your journey to become Microsoft 365 enterprise administrator. The MS-101 exam helps to master the skills on analyzing, planning, migrating, implementing, and managing Microsoft 365.

In the following guide, we will provide some of the basic information which is relevant to the Microsoft 365 exam and how to prepare for it. We will also provide some of the key insights about who should take the MS-101 exam, the skills required for attending the MS-101 exam, an overview of the MS-101 exam, and provide brief information about relevant study resources.

At last, we will provide some tips on how to prepare for the MS-101 exam.

Let’s dive in!

Latest updates: MS-101 will retire on September 30, 2023. A replacement exam, MS-102: Microsoft 365 Administrator(beta), is available.

All about MS-101: Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security

The MS-101: Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security certification exam is an intermediate-level exam and it is specifically made for the Enterprise admin who engages in planning, evaluation, migration, deployment, and management of Microsoft 365 services. Those admins will be responsible to carry out some of the tasks that are relevant to Microsoft 365 tenant-based management tasks that include security, identities, supporting, and compliance-based technologies.

MS-101 exam will cover the following topics:

  • Planning and deployment of device services
  • Controlling threats and security with the assistance of Microsoft 365 Defender
  • Manage compliance with Microsoft 365

Know About: Microsoft 365 Certification Path

What are the skills you will gain from the MS-101 certification?

Some of the skills that can be acquired after the completion of MS-101 certification such as:

  • Security services of Microsoft 365
  • Security metrics of Microsoft 365 
  • Threat intelligence in Microsoft 365

Thus above skills can be acquired by means of this MS-101 certification on Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security.

Who should take the MS-101 exam on Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security?

This exam is mainly intended for the individual who wants to become Microsoft 365 Enterprise Administrator. It needs you to analyze, plan, implement and migrate services of Microsoft 365. It also requires every individual to carry out tenant management tasks of Microsoft 365 for the enterprise which includes compliance, security, identities, and aiding methods. And MS-101 will be suitable for the following individuals such as:

  • IT Security Specialists
  • IT Professionals
  • IT Administrators
  • Messaging Specialists
  • Data Governance Specialists
  • Device Management Specialists
  • Deployment Specialists

Why to take the MS-101 certification exam on Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security?

In order to advance your career in Microsoft, the MS-101 certification exam will be your right path. It provides brief knowledge on the fundamentals of Microsoft 365 and how to enhance the skills in securing the IT infrastructure with help of Microsoft 365 defender.

By taking this MS-101 certification, you can get in-depth knowledge on various attack vectors and data breaches that act as barriers in business and thus it significantly helps to improvise the security of the infrastructure. Security management is of higher importance in many firms and thus taking this course can bring many opportunities.

What will you learn from the MS-101 certification exam?

MS-101 exam covers a wide range of topics in security management with the usage of Microsoft 365 such as:

  • How to plan, deploy and administer cloud and hybrid enterprise environments
  • How to manage the security with the usage of Microsoft 365 tools and techniques

And you can gain knowledge on device enrolment, compliance management, and deployment by taking this exam. And also you will have in-depth knowledge about the security and threat management of Microsoft 365 and threat intelligence.

Pre-requisites of the MS-101 certification exam

It is necessary to have some prior requirements for this MS101 certification. It will be flexible if you have some prior knowledge about the following topics such as:

  • Must have proficient knowledge of general IT practices
  •  Must have Proficient knowledge of the DNS and some of functional experience with the Microsoft 365 services
  • Must complete role-based admin courses which include security and compliance, teamwork, messaging, and collaboration
  •  Must have hands-on training with IT fundamentals such as DNS, Active directory and Powershell

Exam Format Overview for the MS-101 certification

MS-101 certification

Exam Domain

Domains covered in the MS-101 exam:

Domain Weightage
Planning and deployment of the device services 35-40%
Controlling threats and security with the usage of Microsoft 365 defender 25-30%
Manage compliance of Microsoft 365 30-35%

 

Planning and deployment of the device services (35–40%)

Plan and deploy management of the devices with the usage of Microsoft Endpoint Manager
  • Plan co-management in between Intune and endpoint Configuration Manager
  • Plan and deploy configured profiles for clients of MacOS and Windows
  • Plan and deploy configured profiles for clients of iOS and android
  • Inspect and respond to the concerns that are found in Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Planning and deployment of security and compliance of the device with the assistance of Microsoft Endpoint Manager
  • Planning and deploying compliance policies for the devices
  • Planning and deploying reduction policies of attack surface
  • Implementing and controlling the security baselines
  • Planning and configuring the conditional-based access policies for the device-based compliances
Deploying and controlling applications with the usage of Microsoft Endpoint Manager
  • Planning and implementing the deployment of the application
  • Publishing private as well as public applications with the usage of Microsoft Endpoint Manager
  • Planning and deploying policies of application protection
  • Planning and deploying policies of application configuration
  • Inspecting and troubleshooting the deployment of the application 
Planning for implementation and management of windows client
  • Selection of deployment methods of windows clients and tools on the basis of the requirements that may include USMT, Windows deployment services, Windows Autopilot, and Microsoft deployment toolkit
  • Planning for updates of Windows
  • Planning and deployment of some of the additional security features for windows client
Planning and deploying device enrolment
  • Planning and deploying hybrid join as well as device join into Azure AD
  • Planning and deploying registration of the device into Azure AD
  • Planning and deploying automated as well as manual device enrolment into the intune

Controlling threats and security with the usage of Microsoft 365 defender (25– 30%)

Controlling threats and security with the usage of Microsoft 365 defender
  • Inspects and responds to Microsoft 365 Secure Score
  • Inspects and responds to the concerns in the Microsoft defender for office 365
  • Inspects and responds to the concerns that are found in Security and compliance reports in the Microsoft defender 365
Planning, deploying, and managing the email and participation security with the usage of Microsoft Defender for Office 365
  • Planning and deploying rules and policies in the Microsoft Defender for windows office 365
  • Analyze and respond to the concern predicted in the Microsoft Defender for windows office 365 which includes investigations, threats, and campaigns
  • Unblocking the users
Planning, deploying, and managing the protection at the endpoint with the usage of Microsoft Defender for the Endpoint
  • Planning for the application of Microsoft Defender at the endpoint
  • Onboarding the devices to Microsoft Defender at the endpoint
  • Configuring Microsoft based defender for the endpoint-based settings
Planning, deploying, and managing Microsoft Defender for the applications of the cloud
  • Configuring application connector for the Microsoft 365
  • Planning and configuring cloud application policies with usage of Microsoft defender
  • Reviewing and responding to the cloud application alerts with the assistance of Microsoft defender
  • Reviewing and responding to the cloud application alerts with help of Microsoft defender
  • Analyze and responds to the activity log
  • Configure the cloud application discovery
  • Analyze and respond to the concerns that are predicted in the cloud application discovery

Managing compliance with Microsoft 365 (30–35%)

Planning and implementing governance of the information
  • Planning and deploying retention labels and their policies
  • Recovering the erased data in Sharepoint online and exchanging online
  • Deployment of record management
Planning and deploying protection of the data
  •  Planning and deploying classification of the data
  • Planning and deploying sensitivity policies and labels
  • Optimization of usage of the labels with the usage of content explorer, label reports, and activity explorer
Planning and deploying data loss prevention (DLP)
  • Planning and deploying DLP for managing workloads
  • Planning and deploying DLP such as Microsoft 365
  • Analyzing and responding to the alerts, reports, and events of DLP
Controlling search and investigation
  • Configuration of auditing in the Azure AD which includes diagnostic-based setting
  •  Planning and configuring Microsoft 365 audit-based retention policies
  •  Recovering and finding the auditing logs for the workloads
  • Planning and configuring advanced eDiscovery
  • Specification of content search on the basis of requirements 

Study materials to refer for the MS-101 certification exam

Microsoft provides a lot of study guides, online videos, and practice tests for the completion of the MS-101 exam in a successful way. There are some paid trainer programs and learning materials to explore more about the MS-101 exam. The access to the Microsoft learning paths will be in paid as well as free versions. In order to get begin with the learning paths of the MS-101 exam and study guides, there are some of the few points that need to be covered such as:

  •   Managing security services in the Microsoft 365 Defender
  •   Manage compliance in Microsoft 365
  •   Controls content search and investigates in Microsoft 365
  •   Prepare for management of devices in Microsoft 365
  •   Planning deployment strategy for the windows devices
  •   Deploying mobile-based device management in Microsoft 365

Also Read: 25+ Free Questions on MS-101: Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security

Followed by instructor-led video training by top-rated professionals which can assist you to get the deep concepts about Microsoft 365. You can also get to know three fundamental elements of Microsoft 365 enterprise administration such as security management, compliance management, and device management. It is a five-day-long video that clearly details the key components of security and compliance management.

Third will be exam preparation videos and it provides some tips and methods to get prepared for MS-101. You can also have some detailed concepts about the management of security and it might aid in the enhancement of security.

In addition, you can utilize the Github-based hands-on labs for enhancing practical exposure in the chosen domain and it will be the right platform to imply your theoretical knowledge to know more about challenges that persist in the real world. You can also go through the official website of Microsoft, where you can get connected with the experts and clarify doubts that arise.

By the utilization of the above-mentioned resources, you can be well-versed in the chosen domain and ace the challenges faced in this exam.

Best preparation tips for the MS-101 certification exam

Some of the essential tips to break the challenges in passing the MS-101 exam are listed below:

  1.  First, download MS-101: Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security certification guide to know more about the objective and domain of the exam
  2.  Prepare the achievable calendar and ensure to allocate accurate timing to complete each sub-topic. Do not skip any headings and subheadings and treat all kinds of concepts in an equal manner
  3. The exam highly demands hands-on training experience in some of the Microsoft 365 services. If you do not have such hands-on, then ensure to get all kinds of hands-on training before appearing for the exam.
  4.  While coming to the theoretical part, in addition to online training and classroom sessions, you can see some videos such as Microsoft 365 services and its concepts.
  5. Once you are done with the things mentioned above, it is the right time to put the theory into practice. Go through some of the sample papers given, practice tests, and exam dumps. After this, you can be able to determine the preparation level and you need to take an effort to fill in the weakness found and try to reattempt the tests in a repeated way.

Once you get well versed and if you gain confidence in succeeding in the exam, then register for MS 101 exam, break it and attain a milestone to add up credentials.

FAQs

What is the cost of the MS-101 exam?

For the US people, the amount paid for this exam will be $165 and for Indian people, it will be around 4800 including taxes.

Can I take this exam in some other languages other than English?

Yes, the exam was available in multilingual and it is available in Japanese also.

Is there any retirement date for the MS-101 exam?

No, there is no retirement date for this exam. Anyone can attend this exam on the basis of their convenience.

What is the duration of the MS-101 exam?

You need to finish the exam within a time period of 100 minutes.

How many questions will be asked in the MS-101 exam?

It will be around 40 to 60 questions

What is the validation period for this certification?

Once candidates pass the exam, the digital badge will be provided and it is valid only for one year and later on, recertification occurs. The updating of certification is also made on the basis of performance level.

Summary

I think this blog will assist you to understand the MS-101: Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security exam and helps to enrich your career as Microsoft 365 enterprise administrator. In order to shine in this kind of certification, it is essential to get updated as well as organized resources.

Whizlabs also provides you with a complete training materials with hands-on labs & Azure sandbox for real time experiments & hands-on learning to improvise your preparation level. You can find unique MS-101 practice questions plus video lectures prepared by the subject matter experts to gain more knowledge about the MS-101 exam.

If you need any further queries or clarification about the MS-101 exam, please feel free to comment!

 

About Abilesh Premkumar

Abilesh holds a Master's degree in Information technology and Master of Philosophy Degree in Computer Science and did his Research on Information security via Collaborative Inference Detection. Also, received an Honorary Doctorate from UNO recognized organization. He contributes to Cloud research and supports building cloud computing tools.

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