Introduction

Table of Contents

  1. Purpose
  2. Target Audience
    1. 👔 Sales & Pre-Sales Track
    2. 🔧 Technical Track
  3. Key Technologies
    1. Microsoft Sovereign Cloud
    2. Azure Local
    3. Azure Arc
    4. Microsoft 365 Local
    5. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) on Azure Arc for Edge
  4. Learning Path Overview
    1. 📊 Level Comparison
    2. 🎯 Level 100: Foundational Concepts
    3. 🏗️ Level 200: Intermediate Skills
    4. 🚀 Level 300: Advanced Expertise
  5. Timeline Estimates
    1. Program Duration
    2. Weekly Time Commitment
    3. Total Learning Hours
  6. Success Metrics & Completion Criteria
    1. Level 100 Completion ✅
    2. Level 200 Completion ✅
    3. Level 300 Completion ✅
  7. How to Use This Skilling Plan
    1. 1. Assess Your Starting Point
    2. 2. Follow the Learning Path
    3. 3. Engage with Hands-On Labs
    4. 4. Leverage Microsoft Resources
    5. 5. Validate Your Learning
  8. Additional Resources
    1. Microsoft Official Documentation
    2. Microsoft Learn Training Paths
    3. Community & Support
  9. Next Steps

Purpose

This document outlines the Microsoft Sovereign Cloud Brain Trek – a comprehensive, structured learning path for architects and solutions professionals to develop deep expertise in sovereign cloud technologies, hybrid infrastructure, and edge AI.

The skilling plan provides:

  • Structured learning progression from foundational to advanced concepts
  • Role-specific tracks for sales and technical professionals
  • Hands-on lab experiences for practical skill development
  • Clear success metrics and completion criteria at each level
  • Curated Microsoft Learn resources aligned with learning objectives

Target Audience

👔 Sales & Pre-Sales Track

Roles:

  • Account Executives
  • Solution Specialists
  • Technical Sales Professionals
  • Pre-Sales Consultants

Objectives:

  • Identify and qualify sovereign cloud opportunities
  • Articulate business value and ROI
  • Handle customer objections effectively
  • Structure complex deals
  • Navigate compliance discussions
  • Conduct executive briefings

🔧 Technical Track

Roles:

  • Cloud Architects
  • Field Engineers
  • AI Developers
  • Solution Engineers
  • Systems Administrators

Objectives:

  • Design sovereign cloud architectures
  • Plan and execute deployments
  • Implement security and compliance controls
  • Troubleshoot production issues
  • Optimize performance and costs
  • Manage hybrid environments

Key Technologies

This skilling plan covers the following Microsoft technologies:

Microsoft Sovereign Cloud

Learn More →

Microsoft Sovereign Cloud addresses digital sovereignty requirements through three models:

  • Sovereign Public Cloud: Enhanced Azure regions with additional sovereignty controls
  • Sovereign Private Cloud: Dedicated infrastructure for sovereign workloads
  • National Partner Clouds: Country-specific clouds operated by trusted local partners

Key Capabilities:

  • Data residency and sovereignty
  • Operational sovereignty
  • Regulatory compliance (FedRAMP, ITAR, GDPR, etc.)
  • Enhanced security and isolation

Azure Local

Learn More →

Azure Local (formerly Azure Stack HCI) extends Azure to customer-owned infrastructure for edge computing scenarios.

Operating Modes:

  1. Connected Operations
    • Seamless Azure integration
    • Cloud-managed control plane via Azure Arc
    • Hybrid Azure services (Monitor, Backup, Defender)
    • Continuous updates from Azure
  2. Disconnected Operations
    • Air-gapped environments
    • Local control plane
    • Highest operational sovereignty
    • Manual update delivery

Common Use Cases:

  • Branch office infrastructure
  • Data center modernization
  • Latency-sensitive workloads
  • Data residency requirements
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
  • Kubernetes at the edge

Azure Arc

Learn More →

Azure Arc enables management of resources across hybrid and multi-cloud environments from a unified Azure control plane.

Capabilities:

  • Server management (Windows/Linux)
  • Kubernetes cluster management
  • Data services (SQL, PostgreSQL)
  • Azure services anywhere
  • Unified governance and compliance

Microsoft 365 Local

Learn More →

Microsoft 365 Local brings Microsoft productivity server software into an Azure Local environment that can run entirely in a customer’s own datacenter.

Key Capabilities:

  • Exchange Server and SharePoint Server on Azure Local
  • Full control over security, compliance, and governance
  • Support for both Connected and Disconnected Azure Local modes
  • Simplified deployment with validated reference architecture
  • Complete data sovereignty for productivity workloads

Designed For:

  • Governments requiring highest standards of data residency
  • Critical industries (defense, intelligence)
  • Regulated sectors with strict compliance requirements
  • Organizations needing productivity services in air-gapped environments

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) on Azure Arc for Edge

Learn More →

Edge RAG enables generative AI solutions on on-premises data without moving data to the cloud.

Key Features:

  • Search on-premises data with generative AI
  • Data privacy and sovereignty
  • Low-latency AI inference
  • Custom model support (BYOM)
  • Integration with Azure AI services

Architecture Components:

  • AKS Arc cluster for compute
  • NFS server for data storage
  • Language models (Microsoft-provided or custom)
  • Local portal for management
  • Vector database for embeddings

Learning Path Overview

The skilling plan is divided into three progressive levels, each building upon the previous one.

📊 Level Comparison

Level Objective Sales Focus Technical Focus Duration
100 Foundational: Understand the “what” and “why” Articulate value propositions and identify customer scenarios Grasp core architectural concepts and technology components 2-4 weeks (4-12 hours)
200 Intermediate: Design solutions and handle objections Develop proposals, conduct TCO/ROI analysis, position against competitors Plan deployments, understand prerequisites, design solution architectures 4-6 weeks (16-36 hours)
300 Advanced: Lead deployments and provide expert guidance Structure complex deals and navigate deep compliance discussions Execute end-to-end deployments, troubleshoot, and optimize for production 8-12 weeks (48-120 hours)

🎯 Level 100: Foundational Concepts

Start Level 100 →

Goal: Build a solid understanding of core concepts, terminology, and value propositions.

What You’ll Learn:

  • Digital sovereignty principles
  • Sovereign cloud models and use cases
  • Azure Local architecture (connected vs. disconnected)
  • Azure Arc fundamentals
  • Edge RAG concepts

Prerequisites:

  • Basic cloud computing knowledge
  • Familiarity with virtualization
  • Microsoft Learn account (free)

Time Commitment: 2-3 hours per week

🏗️ Level 200: Intermediate Skills

Start Level 200 →

Goal: Develop the ability to design solutions, plan deployments, and address customer-specific requirements.

What You’ll Learn:

  • Sovereign Landing Zone architecture
  • Azure Local deployment planning
  • Edge RAG prerequisites and setup
  • TCO/ROI modeling
  • Competitive positioning

Prerequisites:

  • Completion of Level 100
  • Recommended: AZ-900 certification or equivalent
  • Access to Azure subscription (technical track)

Time Commitment: 4-6 hours per week

🚀 Level 300: Advanced Expertise

Start Level 300 →

Goal: Achieve expert-level proficiency to lead complex deployments, manage production environments, and drive strategic engagements.

What You’ll Learn:

  • Zero Trust security implementation
  • Air-gapped deployment procedures
  • Production Edge RAG optimization
  • Advanced networking architectures
  • MLOps at the edge

Prerequisites:

  • Completion of Level 200
  • Recommended: AZ-104 or AZ-305 certification
  • Production or lab environment access
  • PowerShell and IaC experience

Time Commitment: 6-10 hours per week

Timeline Estimates

Program Duration

Total Program: 14-22 weeks (approximately 3.5-5.5 months)

Level 100: ████ (2-4 weeks)
Level 200: ████████ (4-6 weeks)
Level 300: ████████████████ (8-12 weeks)

Weekly Time Commitment

  • Level 100: 2-3 hours per week
  • Level 200: 4-6 hours per week
  • Level 300: 6-10 hours per week

Total Learning Hours

  • Level 100: 4-12 hours total
  • Level 200: 16-36 hours total
  • Level 300: 48-120 hours total
  • Complete Program: 68-168 hours total

Success Metrics & Completion Criteria

Each level has clear success metrics to validate learning outcomes:

Level 100 Completion ✅

Sales Track:

  • ✓ Successfully articulate sovereign cloud value propositions in customer conversations
  • ✓ Pass knowledge check quizzes
  • ✓ Identify appropriate use cases for each sovereign model

Technical Track:

  • ✓ Demonstrate understanding of architecture differences between connected and disconnected modes
  • ✓ Complete foundational Microsoft Learn modules
  • ✓ Explain key components and their interactions

Level 200 Completion ✅

Sales Track:

  • ✓ Develop and present a complete business case (TCO/ROI) for Azure Local deployment
  • ✓ Handle common customer objections confidently
  • ✓ Position solutions against competitive offerings

Technical Track:

  • ✓ Successfully plan and document a deployment architecture for a test environment
  • ✓ Complete lab exercises for Azure Local deployment planning
  • ✓ Deploy a basic Edge RAG test environment

Level 300 Completion ✅

Sales Track:

  • ✓ Lead a customer engagement from discovery through contract signature
  • ✓ Conduct executive-level briefings on sovereign cloud strategy
  • ✓ Structure complex multi-component deals

Technical Track:

  • ✓ Execute an end-to-end deployment in a production or production-like environment
  • ✓ Troubleshoot and resolve deployment issues independently
  • ✓ Optimize a production Edge RAG solution

How to Use This Skilling Plan

1. Assess Your Starting Point

  • Review the prerequisites for Level 100
  • Determine which professional track (Sales or Technical) aligns with your role
  • Evaluate your current knowledge level

2. Follow the Learning Path

  • Start with Level 100 even if you have some experience
  • Complete each level sequentially
  • Use the provided checklists to track progress
  • Allocate dedicated time each week

3. Engage with Hands-On Labs

  • Technical track: Set up lab environments
  • Complete practical exercises
  • Document your learnings
  • Share experiences with peers

4. Leverage Microsoft Resources

  • Complete recommended Microsoft Learn modules
  • Access official documentation
  • Join Microsoft Tech Community
  • Attend webinars and events

5. Validate Your Learning

  • Complete knowledge checks
  • Meet success criteria for each level
  • Consider pursuing relevant Microsoft certifications
  • Apply skills in real customer scenarios

Additional Resources

Microsoft Official Documentation

Microsoft Learn Training Paths

Community & Support

Next Steps

Ready to begin? Start your learning journey:

  1. Review Level 100 Prerequisites
  2. Begin Level 100: Foundational Concepts
  3. Explore Additional Resources
💡 Tip: Bookmark this page and return regularly to track your progress through the learning path.