Microsoft AuthorisedAssociate · Developer2026 ObjectivesTop-3 Azure Hire
AZ-204 Azure Developer Associate
Build cloud-native applications on Azure. Compute, storage, identity, messaging, monitoring — the full developer toolkit, mapped to the Microsoft AZ-204 exam objectives.
⏱Duration: 5 days / 40 hrs
💻Format: Instructor-Led + Azure Sandbox
🌐Delivery: On-site · Virtual · Hybrid
✅Pass rate: 94%
📅Next intake: 12 May 2026
☁️
Compute mastery
App Service, Functions, Container Apps, AKS — know when to pick which
🔑
Identity-first dev
Microsoft Entra ID, Managed Identity, MSAL.NET in real applications
📡
Messaging & integration
Service Bus, Event Grid, Event Hubs and Storage Queues with code
📊
Observability built-in
Application Insights, telemetry, distributed tracing across services
What this course is
Where Azure stops being a portal.
AZ-204 is the certification that proves you can build production-grade applications on Azure. Not a checklist of services — a working understanding of how compute, storage, identity, messaging and monitoring fit together to deliver a real workload.
At Nexperts, every learner gets a personal Azure subscription with a credit and walks away having shipped six working applications: a containerised microservice, a Function-based event pipeline, a secure-by-default web app, a Cosmos DB analytics workload, an integrated identity flow, and a fully instrumented release.
Microsoft doesn't test you on what Azure App Service is. They test you on whether you can pick App Service over Container Apps, justify it, and ship it secure.
The 2026 AZ-204 objectives sharpened the focus on Container Apps, Microsoft Entra ID workload identities, and OpenTelemetry-based observability. We cover all three with hands-on builds, not slide reviews.
Who should take this course
👨💻
.NET / Java / Node developers
Building or migrating apps to Azure. AZ-204 formalises and validates what you already do, with the gaps closed.
🌐
Full-stack developers
Comfortable shipping web apps but new to Azure-native services like Functions, Service Bus and Cosmos DB.
⚙️
DevOps engineers
Building and maintaining release pipelines that target Azure. AZ-204 sharpens the build side of the pipeline.
💼
Solutions architects
Already designing in Azure, but the AZ-204 grounding keeps you honest in technical reviews and code conversations.
🎓
CS final-year students
Fresh out of university, AZ-204 is the most respected entry-level cert that hiring managers in Bangsar South screen for.
🔄
Career switchers
Coming from on-prem .NET or Java? AZ-204 is the bridge to a cloud-developer role with a clear hiring market.
Prerequisites
✓ 1–2 years of professional development experience in any modern language
✓ Comfortable with REST APIs, JSON and HTTP fundamentals
✓ Basic familiarity with Azure portal navigation (AZ-900 helpful)
✓ Git, command line and a working IDE (VS Code or Visual Studio)
→ No Azure experience? AZ-900 is recommended but not required — ask about our AZ-900 → AZ-204 bundle.
Course Curriculum
Five domains. One developer toolkit.
AZ-204 is structured into Compute Solutions, Azure Storage, Security, Monitoring & Optimisation, and Connect to Azure & Third-Party Services. We deliver in build-first order — you ship code in module 1.
Hands-On Lab Stack
9 builds. Real Azure subscription.
Every learner receives an Azure pass with a Microsoft Learn credit. You don't simulate Azure — you provision, deploy, debug and tear it down on a real subscription.
01
Container App with KEDA Scaling
Containerise a Python service. Deploy to Container Apps. Watch it scale to zero and back under load.
Compute
02
Durable Function Saga
Build a 4-step order saga with Durable Functions including compensation actions on partial failure.
Functions
03
Cosmos DB Change Feed
Stream Cosmos DB changes to an Azure Function and project a denormalised analytics table.
Data
04
Managed Identity Migration
Take a legacy app full of connection strings. Replace every secret with Managed Identity in 90 minutes.
Security
05
Service Bus Order Pipeline
Build a Service Bus pipeline with topics, dead-letter handling and idempotent consumers.
Messaging
06
Event Grid Custom Topic
Publish custom events to Event Grid. Implement a filter-based subscriber and a webhook subscriber.
Eventing
07
API Management Faade
Front three microservices with API Management. Apply rate limiting, JWT validation and caching policies.
Integration
08
Distributed Tracing Hunt
Receive a slow checkout flow. Use Application Insights and OpenTelemetry to find the bottleneck across 4 services.
Observability
09
End-to-End Release
Tie it all together: Bicep template, deploy via GitHub Actions, run smoke tests, validate telemetry.
Delivery
+ 12 micro-tasks across Bicep, ARM templates and az CLI scripting. All lab code lives on your GitHub.
Exam Information
One scenario-heavy exam. Heavy code reading.
AZ-204 has 40–60 questions delivered in 120 minutes. Roughly half are scenario-driven and 5–7 are code-completion or YAML/JSON snippet review. Most candidates fail on time pressure, not knowledge.
Microsoft AZ-204 Exam
Questions40 – 60 (scenario, code review, MCQ)
Duration120 minutes (140 with reading time)
Passing score700 / 1000
FormatPearson VUE / Online proctored
Validity1 year (Microsoft renewal)
Industry avg pass rate~67% first attempt
Nexperts pass rate94% first attempt
Code-Completion Question Coaching
Item count5–7 code-completion items
LanguagesC#, Python, Bicep, ARM JSON
Common gotchasAsync patterns, retry policies
CoachingDedicated 4-hour code-review workshop
StrategyRead code from the bottom up
OutcomeCode-question score uplift +22%
WalkthroughPast code-completion archive provided
Our 3-Mock Programme
01
Diagnostic Mock
End of day 2. MCQ-only. Maps weak service areas. Average score: 58%.
02
Code-Heavy Mock
Mid-course. 50% scenarios, 50% code review. Average score: 72%.
03
Final Clearance
Full timed simulation under exam conditions. 80%+ before we book the exam. Average score: 84%.
0%
Pass Rate
94% of our AZ-204 developers pass on first attempt.
The Microsoft global first-attempt rate for AZ-204 sits around 67%. We hit 94% by spending 40% of class time in code, running a dedicated code-completion workshop, and gating booking on an 80%+ clearance mock.
Real Azure sandboxCode-completion workshop94% first attemptFree retake voucherBicep → GitHub Actions track
Why our pass rate is 94%
Industry average: ~67%
Most candidates over-revise services and under-practise code questions. They walk in with strong recall and walk out frustrated by snippets they could have written in 90 seconds at their desk.
Nexperts: 94%
We treat AZ-204 as a developer exam, not a reading test. You write code on the whiteboard. You read JSON / YAML under timer. You earn the booking by clearing the simulation.
Your Microsoft Path
AZ-204 unlocks architecture and DevOps.
With AZ-204 in hand, the natural next moves are AZ-305 (Solutions Architect) for architectural depth or AZ-400 (DevOps) for delivery automation. Many of our graduates pursue both within 12 months.
Before this
AZ-900 Fundamentals
Recommended starting point if you have no Azure experience. Covers core concepts and pricing.
Expected salary range after AZ-204: RM 8,500 – RM 14,000/month for cloud developer roles in the Klang Valley and Penang.
Student Reviews
What our AZ-204 developers say.
4.8
★★★★★
148 reviews
5★
84%
4★
13%
3★
3%
★★★★★
"Best Azure course I've sat through. The Container Apps and Managed Identity drills made me sharper than half the seniors at my previous shop. Booked the exam in week 6 and cleared it."
FY
Faisal Yusoff
Senior Developer · Astro Digital
✓ Passed first attempt · 824/1000
★★★★★
"I came in as a Java dev with zero Azure. The trainer didn't waste a slide on portal screenshots — we wrote code from day one. The code-completion workshop is what got me over the line."
SK
Sangeetha Krishnan
Cloud Engineer · Maybank
✓ Passed first attempt · 798/1000
★★★★
"Distributed tracing lab was the highlight. I never properly understood Application Insights until I had to debug a real slow flow under timer. That stuck with me back at work."
TY
Terence Yap
Backend Engineer · Carsome
✓ Passed first attempt
★★★★★
"The mock-3 simulation was harder than the actual exam, which is exactly what you want. Walking into Pearson VUE I felt almost relaxed. Got my AZ-305 next — same place."
RA
Ridhwan Aziz
Cloud Solutions Dev · PETRONAS Digital
✓ Passed first attempt · 854/1000
Copy page link
Share this course page with your team or save the URL for later.
