Workshop Requirements

Attendee Prerequisites

This document outlines the recommended knowledge, skills, and certifications that attendees should have before participating in the “Designing an End-to-End Azure AI Solution” workshop for Innovate Financial Services (IFS).

Microsoft Partner Specialization Alignment

This workshop is aligned with the AI Platform on Microsoft Azure specialization for Microsoft partners. This specialization validates a partner’s deep knowledge, extensive experience, and proven success in planning and deploying Azure AI solutions involving conversational AI, natural language processing, knowledge mining, and custom AI solutions.

About the AI Platform on Microsoft Azure Specialization

The AI Platform on Microsoft Azure specialization is designed for partners who demonstrate deep knowledge in deploying and maintaining secure, performant, and reliable Azure AI solutions. Partners who achieve this specialization have verified capabilities in:

  • Designing AI solutions that follow Microsoft’s Well-Architected Framework and Cloud Adoption Framework
  • Implementing Azure AI services with appropriate security controls and governance
  • Building end-to-end AI solutions that address real business challenges
  • Operating and maintaining AI workloads with attention to performance, scalability, and reliability

This workshop provides practical experience and knowledge that directly supports the skills required for this specialization, helping organizations prepare for the associated assessments and validations.

Specialization Benefits

Organizations pursuing this specialization will develop capabilities to:

  • Design secure and scalable Azure AI foundations for enterprise customers
  • Implement advanced Azure AI services including Azure OpenAI Service
  • Build modern AI applications using best practices and proven architectural patterns
  • Ensure proper security, governance, and compliance for enterprise AI solutions

For more information about this specialization, visit the Microsoft Partner Center.

Required Knowledge

Azure Fundamentals

  • Azure subscription and resource management concepts
  • Basic understanding of Azure Resource Manager (ARM) and resource organization
  • Familiarity with Azure portal navigation and basic operations
  • Knowledge of core Azure services (Compute, Storage, Networking)

Cloud Architecture Concepts

  • Understanding of common cloud architecture patterns
  • Familiarity with High Availability and Disaster Recovery concepts
  • Basic understanding of security principles (least privilege, defense-in-depth)
  • Experience with multi-tier application architectures

AI/ML Concepts

  • Foundational understanding of artificial intelligence and machine learning concepts
  • Basic knowledge of Large Language Models (LLMs) and their capabilities
  • Familiarity with data processing concepts for AI/ML workloads
  • Understanding of prompt engineering concepts (helpful but not required)

Development & Operations

  • Basic understanding of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles
  • Familiarity with DevOps practices for deployment and operations
  • Understanding of API design and integration patterns
  • Knowledge of monitoring and observability concepts

Technical Skills

  • Diagramming Skills: Ability to create and interpret architecture diagrams
  • Problem-Solving Skills: Capacity to analyze requirements and design appropriate solutions
  • Collaboration Skills: Experience working in cross-functional technical teams
  • Communication Skills: Ability to articulate technical concepts and design decisions

While not mandatory, the following Microsoft certifications provide a solid foundation for this workshop:

Core Certifications

Architecture Certifications

AI/ML Certifications

Workshop Preparation

To get the most out of this workshop, we recommend the following preparation:

Self-Study Resources

  1. Azure Landing Zones
  2. Azure AI Services
  3. Security & Governance

Hands-on Experience

The workshop will be more valuable if you have hands-on experience with:

  • Creating and configuring Azure resources through the portal and IaC
  • Working with Azure Virtual Networks and subnets
  • Deploying PaaS services with private networking
  • Basic experience with Azure OpenAI and AI Search
  • Using Azure Key Vault for secrets management

Technical Requirements

  • Laptop with reliable internet connectivity
  • Modern web browser (Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox)
  • Microsoft account with access to Azure portal
  • Optional: Visual Studio Code with Azure extensions installed

Questions?

If you have questions about the prerequisites or need clarification, please reach out to the workshop organizers at workshop@contoso.com before the event.

Note: This workshop is designed to accommodate various skill levels. While the above prerequisites are recommended for maximum benefit, facilitators will provide necessary context and guidance throughout the sessions.