An Azure Administrator manages Microsoft's cloud — identity, compute, networking and governance — for organisations running on Azure and Microsoft 365.
Role overview
Azure Administrators manage Entra ID, virtual networks, VMs, storage and governance, and connect on-premises Active Directory to the cloud. It's a natural step from Windows/systems administration.
Typical responsibilities
- Manage Entra ID identities, groups and access.
- Provision and maintain Azure compute, networking and storage.
- Implement governance, policy and cost controls.
- Support hybrid identity and connectivity.
Required technical skills
- Microsoft Entra ID & hybrid identity
- Azure networking & virtual machines
- PowerShell & the Azure CLI
- Windows Server & Active Directory
- Governance & monitoring
Required soft skills
- Methodical change management
- Cost consciousness
- Clear documentation
- Collaboration across teams
- Continuous learning
Recommended learning paths (vendor-neutral)
Understand a core concept
Microsoft Entra ID
Cloud identity (formerly Azure AD) behind Microsoft 365 and Azure.
Tap or hover a part to learn more.
Formerly Azure AD.
Microsoft Entra ID (previously Azure Active Directory) is Microsoft's cloud identity and access service behind Microsoft 365 and Azure. It is NOT a cloud-hosted domain controller — it's a modern, internet-facing identity platform using OAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect/SAML rather than Kerberos/LDAP.
Check your understanding
1. Microsoft Entra ID is best described as…
2. What evaluates signals like device, location and risk to allow or block sign-in?
Keep learning
Concepts to master — your readiness map
Work through these interactive Academy guides, marking each complete to build your Job Readiness Score for this role:
Recommended certifications
- CompTIA Security+
- Microsoft AZ-900 → AZ-104 — on the Academy roadmap
Technical interview preparation
- How does Microsoft Entra ID differ from on-premises Active Directory?
- How would you connect on-prem AD to Azure?
- How do you control Azure costs?
Behavioural interview preparation
- Describe a cloud change you rolled out safely.
- Tell me about improving account security for a team.
Career progression
Azure Administrator → Azure Engineer / Solutions Architect → Cloud Architect, adding AZ-104, AZ-305 and security specialisations.
Typical UK salary
Typically £35,000–£50,000 in the UK, rising to £60,000–£80,000+ for engineers and architects.
Prepare with Missiora
- AI Interview™ — run a scored mock interview for this exact role.
- Career Coach™ — get a personalised path from where you are to this role.
- Career Passport™ — evidence your skills and earn shareable achievements as your readiness grows.