Microsoft offers access to its various online resources to help users advance their skills with Microsoft products. Microsoft Virtual Academy is one such initiative. It lets you load your digital library with free eBooks from Microsoft Press Store. Most friendly feature about this is all Microsoft eBooks are available in PDF, EPUB, and Mobi for Kindle formats. The eBooks are available for on Windows, Office, Azure, Xamarin, SharePoint, Power BI, System Center, etc.
Free eBooks from Microsoft Press
Below is the list of free e-books that you can download to add depth to your knowledge of Microsoft products. All of them represent a highly curated version of essential Windows secrets.
Microsoft Azure Essentials: Fundamentals of Azure (The second edition)
This free e-book book covers the fundamentals of Azure technology. It is Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, offering a wide range of services you can use without purchasing and provisioning your own hardware. The book outlines important features of the Azure platform that you are most likely to need to know rather than on every feature and service available on the platform. It also discusses common tools useful in creating and managing Azure-based solutions.
Introducing Microsoft Power BI
The 189 pages long book introduces you to Microsoft Power BI basics. It gives a comprehensive overview of the capabilities and tools available in Power BI.
Windows IT Pro Essentials Support Secrets
The eBook serves as a reference material for those individuals whose job is training people to use Windows. The book has been compiled from the author’s own experience.
Configuring Microsoft SharePoint Hybrid Capabilities
This eBook brings together, in one place, the SharePoint Server, Office 365 hybrid workloads and user experiences, thereby offering a rock-solid guidance to meet business needs and achieve productivity goals in the cloud-enabled workplace.
Microsoft Platform and Tools for Mobile App Development
In any organization, decision-making process over creating a mobile app development strategy requires a high-level overview and advice. This book can assist you in this regard. It helps you select the right technologies and tools for a Mobile Application Development Platform (MADP) and Rapid Mobile Application Development (RMAD). The only prerequisite for this book is that you should have at least a minimal development background as well as Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) insights.
Microsoft Azure Essentials Migrating SQL Server Databases to Azure
The book walks you through the steps of getting started with SQL Server on an Azure virtual machine and with Azure SQL Database. Diagrammatic representation in the form of numerous screenshots can aid the learning. It’s just 161 pages long so you can finish it in quick time.
Windows IT Pro Essentials: Top 10 Tools
The title of the book is self-explanatory. The author of the book, believes that there’s a tool for nearly every task but completing the task productively requires the ability to find the appropriate tool when you need it. Years of experience has helped Edd develop expertise in Windows that can help you replace old habits with faster and smarter ways. All of them are shared in the book.
Planning and Preparing for Microsoft SharePoint Hybrid
The guide is a one-stop solution for finding ways to connect SharePoint on-premises to Microsoft’s cloud services. It covers foundational topics with which you can learn more about Office 365, Microsoft Azure and others.
Introducing Windows Server
Every chapter in this book has been written by either field experts or members of the product group, who have taken sincere efforts to provide you with the latest information on every improvement or new feature that has been accommodated in Windows Server.
Creating Mobile Apps with Xamarin.Forms
This book is for C# programmers who want to write applications using a single code base that targets the three popular platforms iOS, Android, and Windows.
Deploying Windows: Automating deployment by using System Center Configuration Manager
The guide offers valuable insights and tips on why and how to implement Windows and its deployment using System Center Configuration Manager.
Introducing Windows for IT Professionals, Technical Overview
The goal of this book is to help you sort out what’s new in Windows, with a special emphasis on features that are different from the Windows versions you and most organizations are acquainted with today. In short, it focuses on things that are new, with a special emphasis on topics of interest to IT pros.
Enterprise Cloud Strategy
It provides guidance for enterprises looking for methods to migrate their application portfolio to the cloud.
Microsoft System Center Data Protection for the Hybrid Cloud
It’s highlight is the single – Chapter 6 (VMware Private Cloud Protection) which focuses solely on how Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) provides protection for Virtual Machines (VMs) running on the VMware platform.
Microsoft Azure Essentials: Azure Web Apps for Developers
This series helps you advance your technical skills with Microsoft Azure.
Microsoft System Center Operations Manager Field Experience
This book is for the individuals responsible for designing, configuring, implementing, or managing a Microsoft System Center Operations Manager environment. It offers an opportunity to better understand the inner workings of Microsoft System Center Operations Manager environment.
Apart from the above, there are as many as 25 free eBooks on a broad range of topics and discussions. You can download them all from Microsoft Virtual Academy.
