How long does ALS migration usually take?

For institutions with existing ALS deployments, typical migration is 4-8 weeks: 2 weeks of planning + content audit, 2-4 weeks of lab rebuild + LMS wiring, 1-2 weeks of pilot run before student rollout.

Is CloudLabs really listed in Microsoft's retirement guide?

Yes. Microsoft's official Azure Lab Services retirement guide on learn.microsoft.com lists CloudLabs (by Spektra Systems), Apporto, and Skillable as recommended education-focused successors.

What does CloudLabs cost vs ALS?

CloudLabs publishes pricing — $6/active user/month (managed) or $12/active user/month (BYOS) plus cloud pass-through. Volume-based educational pricing typically lands well below Azure Lab Services list. Use the pricing calculator for your specific scenario.

Does CloudLabs work with our existing LMS?

Yes if you use Canvas, Moodle, Brightspace, Blackboard, or edX. CloudLabs supports LTI 1.1 and 1.3 with auto-grade pass-back. SSO via Entra ID, Google Workspace, Shibboleth, or generic SAML 2.0.

The Microsoft-recommended ALS successor

Migrate from Azure Lab Services to CloudLabs VM Labs.

Listed in Microsoft's official retirement guide. 50+ institutions migrated. From TAFE NSW's 500,000+ students to McMaster, Seneca, and University of Maryland. Free pilot for accredited institutions.

Talk to an EDU specialist Start a free pilot ($150 credit) Plan your migration

★★★★★ on G2
SOC 2 Type II
ISO 27001:2022
Microsoft-recommended ALS successor

lab-tenant-7f3a · Azure · cloud-labs

Provisioning Azure subscription…
Applying budget cap: $50/user · auto-shutdown @ 60min idle
Mounting lab catalog (1,000+ labs)…
Issuing learner credentials · scoped, time-boxed
Lab ready · 4.2s elapsed

Healthy · Region: eastus Latency: 12ms

Azure Lab Services vs CloudLabs VM Labs

Side-by-side on the things that matter when migrating an ALS deployment.

Feature	Azure Lab Services	CloudLabs
Cost predictability	Pay-per-VM-hour, no built-in budget caps; surprise bills are common.	Per-user budget caps + idle-VM detection + auto-shutdown. Predictable monthly invoices.
Multi-cloud support	Azure only.	Azure + AWS + GCP + Oracle — in a single lab.
ISV SaaS integrations	Not supported.	Custom integrations built per ISV — already shipped for Check Point, Databricks, Wiz, Sophos. Per-user metered.
LMS integration	Limited.	Native LTI 1.1 + 1.3 with Canvas, Moodle, Brightspace, Blackboard, edX.
White-label portal	Microsoft-branded portal only.	Branded, white-label end-user portal on your domain.
Pricing transparency	Public list price per VM/hour.	Public $6/$12 per active user/month + cloud pass-through.

Azure Lab Services

CloudLabs

Cost predictability

Pay-per-VM-hour, no built-in budget caps; surprise bills are common.

Per-user budget caps + idle-VM detection + auto-shutdown. Predictable monthly invoices.

Multi-cloud support

Azure only.

Azure + AWS + GCP + Oracle — in a single lab.

ISV SaaS integrations

Not supported.

Custom integrations built per ISV — already shipped for Check Point, Databricks, Wiz, Sophos. Per-user metered.

LMS integration

Limited.

Native LTI 1.1 + 1.3 with Canvas, Moodle, Brightspace, Blackboard, edX.

White-label portal

Microsoft-branded portal only.

Branded, white-label end-user portal on your domain.

Pricing transparency

Public list price per VM/hour.

Public $6/$12 per active user/month + cloud pass-through.

Bringing students from Azure Lab Services to CloudLabs? Walk through the migration step-by-step.

Plan your migration

The migration playbook

From ALS to CloudLabs in 4-8 weeks

Most institutions migrate in 4-8 weeks. We provide a discovery checklist, a content-audit template, and a free pilot with $150 Azure credit. Our migration team handles LMS wiring, SSO, and student rollout.

Read the migration playbook

Client Stories

WeareincrediblypleasedwithourexperienceusingCloudLabsbySpektraSystems.Theirresponsivenessandsupporthavebeennothingshortofoutstanding.Theydemonstratedremarkableflexibilityinaccommodatingouruniqueprocesses,resultinginaseamlessandhighlyproductivecollaboration.ThankstoCloudLabs,wehavesuccessfullydeliveredAzure-relatedcoursestoasubstantialnumberofstudents.