Cloud-Ready: Taking Azure Fundamentals to the NSBE Community
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What does it take to move 60 engineers closer to cloud certification in a single afternoon? At the NSBE 2026 Annual Conference in Baltimore, World Wide Technology and Microsoft set out to answer that question—and came back with proof.
In a four-hour, certification-focused workshop, Shanice Brown and Ashley Schrage guided nearly 60 participants through the core concepts of Microsoft Azure, giving them not just knowledge but a tangible next step: a free exam voucher to sit for the AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals certification.
Building a Foundation for the Cloud
The workshop was designed from the ground up to be accessible. No prior cloud experience was required—just curiosity and a willingness to learn. Participants came from across career stages: students, early-career engineers, seasoned professionals, and faculty members all gathered under one roof with a shared goal of understanding what the cloud actually is and why it matters.
Over the course of four hours, the room moved through the full landscape of Azure Fundamentals:
- Cloud concepts & core services: Understanding what the cloud is, how it works, and what Azure brings to the table across compute, storage, and networking.
- Azure architecture & solutions: Exploring the building blocks—regions, availability zones, resource groups—and how they come together to power real-world applications.
- Security, compliance & governance: An honest look at how Microsoft protects data and what organizations need to know to operate responsibly in the cloud.
- Pricing, SLAs & lifecycle: Demystifying the cost structure of Azure so engineers can make informed decisions—not just pass a test.
The session wasn't just a lecture. It was interactive, discussion-driven, and grounded in the kinds of questions real engineers ask on the job.
A One-Stop Platform for What Comes Next
One of the highlights of the session was the introduction of a curated Azure learning platform built specifically for NSBE participants. Designed to be a single destination for everything needed to continue the journey after the conference, the platform brought together the most valuable Azure study resources, practice tools, and certification guidance—without the noise of sifting through the internet alone.
For a community that is often navigating career development with fewer institutional resources, having a clean, organized starting point isn't a small thing. It's the difference between momentum and stalling.
The Credential That Travels With You
Every participant who completed the workshop walked away with a free voucher to sit for the AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals exam. This is Microsoft's foundational cloud certification—recognized across industries and increasingly listed as a preferred qualification in job descriptions for roles in technology, consulting, project management, and beyond.
The voucher removes one of the most common barriers to certification: cost. With exam fees typically running $99, eliminating that friction matters—especially for students and early-career professionals making every dollar count.
Heard From the Community
The feedback started arriving before the conference had even wrapped. Corey Bias, an attendee who completed the session, reached out directly afterward:
— Corey Bias, NSBE 2026 Attendee
That kind of response—direct, immediate, genuine—is what this work is for. Not a survey score. Not a metric on a dashboard. A person who walked in without cloud knowledge and walked out with a foundation, a credential path, and the confidence to keep going.
Why It Matters
Workshops like this one are part of a larger mission that WWT and Microsoft share: closing the gap between where talented engineers are and where they could be with the right tools, the right knowledge, and the right support behind them.
The NSBE community represents some of the most driven and capable technical talent in the country. Bringing cloud education directly into spaces like NSBE isn't charity—it's strategy. When this community is cloud-fluent, innovation follows.
This was one afternoon. The ripple effects will be measured in certifications earned, careers advanced, and leaders developed.
A special thank you to John Evans, VP, Sales—GES Web Sales Management, whose continued support and belief in community-driven programming makes opportunities like this possible. WWT's ability to show up for NSBE—year after year—is a direct reflection of that leadership.