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Azure Lab Services is retiring. CloudLabs is the Microsoft-recommended alternative – Move your labs

Listed in Microsoft's Azure Lab Services retirement guide

Azure Lab Services retires June 28, 2027 Plan your migration

Transition from Azure Lab Services to CloudLabs VM Labs

The Microsoft-recommended partner solution for existing Azure Lab Services users.

Up to $2,000 in Azure credits for qualified ALS migrations.

Microsoft-Recommended Partner Solution Complete Feature Parity with ALS
CloudLabs VM Labs admin dashboard
Our Valued Clients

CloudLabs Redefining Success

Trusted by leading institutions worldwide!

  • Microsoft
  • MIT
  • Seneca Polytechnic
  • Queens University
  • Columbia University
  • Deakin University
  • University of Florida
  • University of Calgary
  • University of Washington
  • Northeastern University
  • BCIT
  • Sault College
  • Toronto Metropolitan University
  • UMass Boston
  • University of Waterloo
  • Carnegie University
  • Austin Community College
  • Willis College
  • Bellevue University
  • Syracuse University
  • ECPI University
  • Simplilearn
  • Trainocate
  • Udacity
RETIRING JUNE 28, 2027 · NEW SIGN-UPS CLOSED

Azure Lab Services Retires Soon! Start Planning Early to Avoid Last-Minute Disruption

Get up to $2,000 in Azure credits. Evaluate CloudLabs VM Labs under guided support before committing to a full plan.

What's included in your pilot

01

Test the platform with real learners

Host controlled lab sessions, run live pilot tests, and collect direct actionable feedback.

02

Get end-to-end managed support

Lab setup, configuration management, automation scripting, and priority issue resolution included.

03

Explore clear migration timelines

Our experts will analyze your present lab setup and share detailed transition timelines.

04

Run LMS compatibility checks

Verify integration between CloudLabs VM Labs and your existing learning ecosystem.

See CloudLabs VM Labs in Action

Azure Lab Services vs CloudLabs VM Labs

Compare Azure Lab Services and CloudLabs VM Labs across critical features that impact scalability, flexibility, and operational efficiency.

Recommended for training teams
Azure Lab Services
Retiring June 2027
CloudLabs VM Labs
The next-generation alternative
Lab creation time
Up to 20 min
Instant
Lab publishing required
Publish required Admins must publish labs before users can access them, a process that can take up to 1 hour.
Instant No publishing step. Labs are live immediately upon creation.
Lab type
Limited Persistent only.
Flexible Persistent and non-persistent labs.
VMs per lab
1 only
Up to 5 Each with unique configurations.
VM SKU flexibility
Restricted Curated list only.
Customizable Custom vCPU, RAM, GPU, and disk.
User identity
Limited Azure AD / Microsoft accounts only.
Any identity Azure AD, Google, LinkedIn, and more.
Instructor monitoring
Not supported
VM Shadow Real-time session overview.
Lab lifecycle tracking
Not supported
Full control Filter by Active, Expired, or Deleted.
Cost reporting
Basic Azure Billing only.
Detailed Power BI reports per user and lab.
2 / 9 supported
9 / 9 supported

Estimated Example Pricing Options

Choose between Bring Your Own Azure Subscription or a fully-managed CloudLabs subscription.

Instance size Bring Your Own CloudLabs Managed
Azure / hr Platform fee Azure / hr Platform fee
Small 2 core(s), 4 GB RAM, 128GB SSD $0.181 $12 per user / month $0.181 $6 per user / month
Medium/Standard Medium 4 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM, 256GB SSD $0.357 $0.357
Large/Standard Large 8 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM, 256GB Standard SSD $0.682 $0.682
Medium - Nested virtualization 4 vCPUs, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD $0.433 $0.433
Large - Nested virtualization 8 vCPUs, 32 GB RAM, 256GB Premium SSD $0.809 $0.809
Small GPU - Compute 6 vCPUs, 56 GB RAM, 256GB SSD $1.151 $1.151
Small GPU - Visualization 8 vCPUs, 28 GB RAM, 256GB SSD $0.865 $0.865
Alternative Small GPU - Visualization 6 vCPUs, 55 GB RAM, 256GB SSD $0.761 $0.761
Medium GPU - Visualization 12 vCPUs, 112 GB RAM, 256GB SSD $1.723 $1.723
Medium GPU - Accelerated Visualization 6 vCPUs, 55 GB RAM, 256GB SSD $0.761 $0.761
Large GPU - Accelerated Visualization 12 vCPUs, 110 GB RAM, 256GB SSD $1.491 $1.491

*With CloudLabs, you can create custom VM SKUs with different VM size and disk configuration combinations as per your lab requirement and optimize Cloud cost for your needs. Above Example pricing uses the same lab SKUs as used by Azure Lab Services.

Example pricing scenario

  • Duration: 30 days
  • Instance: Small 2 core(s), 4 GB RAM, 128GB SSD
  • VM quota per student: 2 hours per day per student
  • Azure cost per hour: $0.181
Cost Breakdown Bring your own Managed
Azure cost (PAYG) $454.80 $454.80
Platform fees $240.00 $120.00
Total cost $694.80 $574.80

Use cases

How Leading Teams Use CloudLabs VM Labs?

From academic classrooms to enterprise sandboxes — one platform built for every hands-on learning scenario.

Book a Demo
Students and instructors collaborating in a virtual lab environment

Academic Labs & Classroom Learning

Set up virtual lab environments for courses, assignments, and semester-long programs. Give every student access to the tools and resources they need to complete their courses.

Instructor-Led Training & Certification Programs

Prepare virtual machines with the required software and content for workshops, bootcamps, and certification training. Give learners a consistent environment from day one.

Hackathons & Technical Events

Run hands-on events with virtual machines that scale to support hundreds of participants. Provide attendees with immediate access to the environments they need.

Product Demos & Customer Trials

Share invitation-only lab environments with prospects and customers. Let users explore your product through guided, hands-on experiences before deployment.

Partner Enablement Programs

Provide partners with dedicated environments for training, solution validation, and technical readiness. Help them build confidence through practical experience.

Sandbox Environments & Proof of Concepts

Provision Windows or Linux virtual machines for experimentation, testing, and proof-of-concept projects. Explore new ideas without affecting production systems.

Lab features

Why Teams are Switching to CloudLabs VM Labs

  • Customization On-Scale

    Deploy labs with Windows for Windows apps, Linux Operating System customized to your exact requirements.

  • Powered by Microsoft Azure

    Deploy your Lab VMs in the Microsoft Azure region of your choice, taking advantage of Azure's flexibility and performance to deliver an outstanding user experience.

  • Direct Web Connect

    Users can access the virtual machines through web browsers, without the need for any additional software installation.

  • Custom VM SKUs

    Define exact vCPU, RAM, GPU, and disk specs per lab. Not limited to a fixed list of Azure defaults.

  • LMS Integration

    VM Labs offers broader Learning Tools Interoperability support by implementing both LTI 1.1 and LTI 1.3 standards, enabling integration with a wide range of LMS platforms for diverse LMS ecosystems.

  • Dedicated & Shared VMs

    Choose between providing dedicated VMs for your users or share one virtual machine among multiple users with multi-session capabilities.

  • Live instructor monitoring

    VM Labs lets instructors view key user activities in real time: guide, intervene, and track progress.

  • Unique per-user passwords

    Instead of shared reset links, the system generates a unique random password for each learner, distributed directly, eliminating self-service vulnerabilities.

  • On-demand VM deployment

    Labs deploy only when learners request them. No pre-provisioned VM pool sitting idle, direct cost savings from day one.

  • Invite-only Access

    Introduce access to virtual machines for invited users. No need to share your Azure subscription or any portal-level permissions with learners.

  • Reusable Custom Templates

    Quickly provision lab VMs from saved custom templates and reuse them repeatedly across labs, semesters, and cohorts without rebuilding from scratch.

  • Scheduling & Usage Quotas

    Automatically shut down and start virtual machines, set recurring schedules, and configure per-user usage quotas so labs stay within budget.

  • Scale to Hundreds in Minutes

    Quick provisioning and scaling to hundreds of virtual machines while the platform manages all underlying infrastructure automatically.

  • 4 M+

    Labs Delivered

  • 50 ,000+

    Learners per Month

  • 99.9 %

    Uptime SLA

  • 60 sec

    VM Ready Time

CloudLabs VM Labs transition paths

Start fresh with a new lab program or migrate from your existing Azure Lab Services setup. Both paths are fully supported.

  1. Get started

    Create your CloudLabs account and get started.

  2. Create VM images

    Use the CloudLabs portal to create and test your VM images.

  3. Set up labs

    Configure your labs with new resources and settings.

  4. Go live

    Deploy your newly created labs, ready for immediate use and distribution.

CloudLabs VM Labs Transition Paths
Start fresh Migrate existing labs
  1. Get started

    Create your CloudLabs account to start your migration journey.

  2. Migrate VM images

    Use the CloudLabs migration script to migrate or replicate your VM images.

  3. Migrate labs

    Migrate labs from your existing Lab Account and Lab Plan using the migration tool.

  4. Go live

    Migrated labs are ready for deployment and distribution.

Case Studies

Delivering Measurable Impact

See how organizations across industries use CloudLabs to accelerate adoption, deliver hands-on learning, enable customers and employees, and achieve measurable business outcomes.

Client Stories

"We are incredibly pleased with our experience using CloudLabs by Spektra Systems. Their responsiveness and support have been nothing short of outstanding. They demonstrated remarkable flexibility in accommodating our unique processes, resulting in a seamless and highly productive collaboration. Thanks to CloudLabs, we have successfully delivered Azure-related courses to a substantial number of students."

David Trinh

David Trinh

Academic Program Manager, Seneca Polytechnic

David TrinhTal Ein-HabarNina SuiArmando LacerdaJeff FaticCoree Mahoney
Migration tool

Start Fresh on CloudLabs

New to VM Labs or want a clean slate? Use our guided setup wizard to select your cloud, pick from 100+ lab templates, and spin up your first lab in under 15 minutes — no infrastructure expertise required.

Your subscription

Migrate from Azure Lab Services

Already on Azure Lab Services? Our automated migration tool imports your existing labs, VM images, and rosters in one run — no rebuilding from scratch. Claim your $2,000 Azure-credit pilot and let a dedicated migration engineer guide you through go-live.

Discover CloudLabs on the Microsoft Marketplace

Buy our solutions directly from the Microsoft Marketplace and manage payments through your Azure subscription for a seamless experience. Enjoy the convenience, security, and exclusive offers available on the platform.

Support tier options

Enhance your support experience by selecting from a range of customizable tier options tailored to your business requirements.

Standard support is available to all customers at no additional cost.

  • Standard Edition

    Included for all customers

    Contact methods
    Email
    Initial response time
    4 hours
    Availability
    24 / 7
  • Popular

    Premium Edition

    Standard Edition Support+

    Contact methods
    Email, Live Chat
    Initial response time
    15 minutes
    Availability
    24 / 7
  • Enterprise

    Enterprise Edition

    Premium Edition Support+

    Contact methods
    Custom contact
    Initial response time
    Custom SLAs
    Availability
    24 / 7
24×7 Globally

Global Support Options

Select your preferred data-residency region with CloudLabs, ensuring compliance and control over the location of your VMs. Access support and localization services available in a variety of languages, for a truly inclusive and seamless global experience.

English Español Français Deutsch Italiano 日本語 한국어

North America

US and Canada delivery hubs

EMEA

Europe, Middle East and Africa coverage

APAC

Asia-Pacific and Australia delivery

FAQ's

VM Labs FAQ

VM Labs free trial

Start your free trial

Set up CloudLabs VM Labs and run your first labs before Azure Lab Services retires.

  • Access enabled within 24 hours

    Your trial is set up for you: create up to 5 labs with 3 deployments per lab.

  • Up to $2,000 in Azure credits

    Available for qualified Azure Lab Services migrations.

  • Migration tooling and expert guidance

    Move your lab plans, lab accounts, and VM images with help from our team.

  • LMS compatibility checks

    Verify integration between CloudLabs VM Labs and your existing learning ecosystem.

Request your trial

Submit the form and your access will be enabled within 24 hours.

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