CloudLabs VM Labs

CloudLabs VM Labs gives educators and trainers a classroom of Windows or Linux virtual machines in minutes. Each student gets their own machine – or shares one – in the browser, from any device, with the software your course needs already installed. You set the hours, the schedule and the budget; CloudLabs runs the machines on Azure – and on other cloud platforms for a multi-cloud strategy – and passes compute through at cost.

Microsoft recommended Azure Lab Services alternative: If you are on Azure Lab Services, which retires on June 28, 2027, VM Labs is the Microsoft-recommended way to keep your labs running.

Platform fee of $6 per active user per month with a CloudLabs-managed Azure subscription (compute passed through at actual rates, no markup) or $12 per active user per month with your own; annual plans are $60 or $120 per active user per year. For campus-wide agreements we recommend a private offer, billed against your Azure consumption commitment. Rate card: help.cloudlabs.ai/docs/pricing. Request a free Azure Lab Services migration assessment at cloudlabs.ai/azure-lab-services.

Why institutions choose VM Labs

• No lab room to maintain – Replace physical computer labs and desktop imaging with machines students reach from home, the library or a laptop. Nothing to install on their side.
• Faculty stay in control – Instructors set per-student hour caps, class schedules and idle shutdown themselves, watch or take over a student's screen with Shadow VM, and reset a machine in one click.
• Costs you can budget for – A flat platform fee per active user, plus Azure compute at actual cost with no markup. Auto-shutdown and hour caps stop the bill from running when nobody is working. Cost reports by course and department.
• Ready in minutes, for one course or a whole campus – Labs are created instantly, images import from your existing library, and the same console scales from a single class to institution-wide use.
• A clear path off Azure Lab Services – Migrate within a day with no downtime, CloudLabs provides a free one-week assessment, a migration runbook, faculty training and Compute Gallery image import.

Capabilities

• Windows and Linux VMs on your terms – Any size – CPU, RAM, GPU and disk – single or multiple VMs per learner, created in minutes.

• Your images – Import from Azure Compute Gallery or start from CloudLabs templates; keep your course images and software licenses.

• Shared VMs – Multi-session machines shared by several students to reduce cost for light workloads.

• Browser access – Students connect through the browser with no client software and no cloud account; invite by email or redeemable code.

• Shadow VM – Instructors see and assist a student's machine in real time.

• Integrated lab manual – Step-by-step guides open alongside the machine.

• Cost controls – Per-student hour caps, schedules, idle auto-shutdown, usage limits, real-time cost tracking and Power BI cost reports.

• Campus integration – LTI 1.1/1.3 for Canvas, Moodle and Blackboard; single sign-on with Entra ID, Google or LinkedIn; REST APIs and PowerShell for automation.

Why you can trust CloudLabs

CloudLabs is recommended by Microsoft in its official Azure Lab Services retirement guide. Institutions running labs on CloudLabs include MIT, Columbia University, University of Florida, Syracuse University, Seneca Polytechnic, James Cook University, Deakin University and ADvTECH, alongside 500 organizations and more than 1 million learners on the CloudLabs platform. FERPA, COPPA, GDPR and CCPA compliant; SOC 2 Type I and Type II; ISO 27001:2022; 24×7 support for educators and students.

How to buy

Platform fee of $6 per active user per month with a CloudLabs-managed Azure subscription (compute passed through at actual rates, no markup) or $12 per active user per month with your own; annual plans are $60 or $120 per active user per year. For campus-wide agreements we recommend a private offer, billed against your Azure consumption commitment.

Rate card: https://help.cloudlabs.ai/docs/pricing

Request a free Azure Lab Services migration assessment at https://cloudlabs.ai/azure-lab-services.