Transforming Employee Training through Hands-on Focused Learning with CloudLabs’ Custom Virtual Labs

You are an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) that strives to excel in the competitive world of technology. You understand that your employees are your most valuable asset, and you want to provide them with the best training possible.

But you also realize that the traditional methods of employee training are no longer sufficient to meet the challenges of the modern workplace. You are spending too much time, money, and resources on outdated and ineffective training programs that do not match the needs, preferences, and goals of your business.  

What you are actually looking for is a better way to train your employees- one that is customized to cater efficiently to your employees’ and your product’s, interests, and objectives. You are looking for an employee training solution that is hands-on, interactive, and engaging. You are looking for an employee training solution that enables your employees to apply their learning to real-world scenarios, not just to hypothetical situations. You are looking for a revolution in employee training. Welcome to the era of custom-designed learning solutions. 

But why upskill with hands-on training? What are the benefits of this approach for both employees and employers in an ISV? Upskilling with hands-on training can help employees gain more confidence, competence, and satisfaction from their work, as they can learn new skills and apply them to real-world challenges. Upskilling with hands-on training can also help employers improve their productivity, quality, and innovation, as they can have a more skilled, motivated, and adaptable workforce. Moreover, upskilling with hands-on training can reduce the costs and risks associated with traditional training methods, as it can be more efficient, effective, and engaging.  

Staying Ahead: The Rise of Cloud Technologies 

As an ISV, you know how important cloud technologies are for your business. Cloud technologies allow you to create and deliver innovative and efficient software solutions to your customers. However, cloud technologies also require you to have specific skills and knowledge to use them effectively.  

Cloud platforms are not just an add-on to your tech, but a core part of it. You use cloud providers like Azure, AWS, and GCP, as well as your own clouds, to build and deliver your software solutions. Many of your products as Cloud ISVs run on or integrate with cloud. But cloud platforms are complex and diverse. You need to understand the different types and models of cloud platforms, and how to design, develop, deploy, and manage cloud applications. You also need to follow the best practices and overcome the challenges of cloud computing, such as security, scalability, reliability, and cost. 

To acquire and apply these cloud skills, you may think that online resources and courses are enough. However, online resources and courses may not give you the practical experience and feedback that you need to master the cloud skills. That’s why hands-on employee training is essential for ISVs. Hands-on training can strengthen your cloud knowledge, enhance your cloud performance, and boost your cloud confidence. Hands-on training can also enable you to identify and address the issues and challenges in the cloud environment, such as security, scalability, reliability, and cost. 

CloudLabs: A Cutting-Edge Solution Addressing the Growing Skills Gap 

This is where CloudLabs steps in as a state-of-the-art platform, enabling ISVs to furnish their employees with practical training in both cloud expertise and product technical skills. 

CloudLabs is a platform that helps you train your employees on cloud technologies in a secure and interactive way. You can also customize your own courses and labs for employee training that match your product/business needs and goals.  

Your employees can learn and practice in a realistic and immersive environment, without any installation or configuration. With CloudLabs, you can close the skills gap and enhance your business competitiveness in their ISV segment. 

 Unveiling CloudLabs’ Array of Offerings for Effective Employee Training Programs 

CloudLabs offers a wide range of abilities and features that helps organizations develop and deliver cloud-based training for employee training and skilling. With a strategic focus on hands-on, custom-tailored learning, CloudLabs offers a plethora of features and capabilities designed to transform how employees are trained, providing an in-depth, practical understanding of complex cloud technologies. 

 Building and Delivering and Custom Lab Environments 

One of the most important aspects of any employee training program is building the training program/course itself. The course content and labs should be relevant, engaging, and effective for your learners. It should also reflect the unique needs and goals of your business and your workforce. 

CloudLabs gives you the flexibility and the power to design your own courses for employee training programs that suit your specific requirements. With CloudLabs, you can: 

• Integrate custom course content: You can upload your own course content and integrate them with your labs. You can also create your own guides and tests to instruct and assess your learners. 
• Build custom labs and deliver them at scale: CloudLabs enables you to create your own lab environments with the tools and technologies you need for your employee training programs. You can also customize the lab settings, such as the duration, the number of users, and the security policies. 
• Seamlessly integrate with various clouds: You can choose from different cloud providers and regions to host your labs, such as Azure, AWS, GCP, or even your own cloud for your employee training programs. You can also use the CloudLabs API to connect your labs with your existing learning management system (LMS) or other applications. 

Custom Portal for Your Employees 

One of the key advantages of adopting CloudLabs for your employee training is its flexibility and convenience in delivery. With CloudLabs, you can: 

• Create and manage self-paced courses with your own branded portal: With CloudLabs, you can design, deliver, and monitor your employee training programs and labs using CloudLabs’ branded portal. You can customize the portal with your own domain name and logo. The admin portal helps you to create, deliver, track, and manage courses and your employees. The learner portal provides a user-friendly, custom interface for employees to access the courses. You can either integrate your courses with your existing Learning Management System (LMS) or create a new one using CloudLabs. 
• Take advantage of cutting-edge features: You can use CloudLabs’ various features to enhance your course delivery. With features such as lab validation and leaderboard, you can keep track of your employee’ progress and provide timely feedback and support.  
• 24/7 support: CloudLabs offers 24/7 support system to ensure smooth delivery of your courses. 

Grading and Organizational Reporting 

Evaluation and measurement are crucial aspects of any training process. But how do you know if your learners are actually learning? How do you measure their progress and performance? How do you identify the areas where they need more guidance or practice? 

CloudLabs integrates with Power BI to provide you with comprehensive reports on your labs. These reports include: 

• Different lab reports: These show you the details of each lab, such as the total number of labs vs attended labs, deployment status of labs, voucher reports, etc. 
• Validation reports: These show you the results of the validation tests that check if the learners have completed the lab objectives correctly. CloudLabs’ lab validation feature allows both students and instructors to validate learners’ progress in the labs. 
• Leaderboards: These show you the rankings of the learners based on their scores, completion time, or feedback ratings. You can see who the top performers are, who are the most engaged, and more. 

These reports give you a deeper understanding of the status of lab usage, the usage of vouchers, and the learner’s performance. You can use these insights to improve your course content, adjust your teaching methods, and provide personalized feedback to your learners. 

Cost Efficiency and Management 

One of the main challenges that organizations face when it comes to employee training programs is how to manage and optimize the costs. Employee training programs often involve setting up and maintaining complex lab environments that consume a lot of cloud resources and incur high expenses. 

That’s why CloudLabs is the perfect solution for your training needs. CloudLabs offers a wide range of features to ensure cost efficiency and management, such as: 

• Cost budgeting and limits: You can set up and enforce cost budgets and limits for labs, so that your allocated funds are not exceeded. You can also monitor and control the cloud spends of your learners and instructors and prevent any unauthorized or excessive usage. You can also be notified when the allocated budget is exceeded. 
• VM uptime: You can schedule when your labs start and stop, or pause them when they are not in use, to save on cloud resources and costs. You can also configure the VM uptime for each lab, so that the learners can only access the labs for a specified duration. 
• Advanced reporting and charge back: You can get detailed and granular reports on lab usage and cloud spends, and analyze them by various parameters, such as lab, learner, instructor, course, or date. 
• Cloud passes and credits: You can eliminate the hassle of managing multiple cloud accounts, subscriptions, or services for your labs. With CloudLabs, you can purchase cloud passes or credits that cover all your lab costs and use them across different cloud providers and regions.  

Today CloudLabs stands as a transformative solution in the realm of employee training, offering a comprehensive and dynamic platform that not only bridges the skills gap but also nurtures an environment for immersive, hands-on employee learning.

By combining interactive courses, customizable labs, and performance monitoring, it enables businesses to empower their workforce with the essential skills required to thrive in the competitive landscape of cloud technologies. With its user-friendly approach and emphasis on practical learning, CloudLabs emerges as a catalyst for businesses seeking to bolster their proficiency in the ever-expanding domain of cloud technology, ensuring a more skilled and adaptable workforce ready to meet the demands of the future.

Expanding Horizons with CloudLabs’ Custom Learning Solutions 

Having a trusted virtual labs platform is essential for enabling efficient hands-on employee training for businesses that want to leverage the power of cloud technologies. Such a platform offers a comprehensive and dynamic solution that combines interactive courses, customizable labs, and performance monitoring to bridge the skills gap and foster an immersive, hands-on learning environment.  

CloudLabs is the platform of choice for many leading ISVs, such as Palo Alto, Databricks, Sophos, and Wiz, who use it to create and deliver hands-on training in cloud technologies using virtual labs. With CloudLabs, companies can ensure their workforce is not just proficient, but future-ready, prepared to tackle the challenges and demands of the dynamic cloud era. It’s more than an employee training solution; it’s a strategic investment in the adaptability and success of any business venturing into the realm of cloud technologies.  

Visit our page today and take the leap toward empowering your employees for success in the dynamic landscape of technology. 

Amit Malik

Amit Malik is the COO at Spektra Systems, known for his expertise in Microsoft Cloud and digital transformation. He drives strategic planning and operational initiatives, reshaping the cloud landscape to deliver superior business outcomes. He is a recognized thought leader and speaker on Cloud, AI, and IoT, and holds a position among the Leaders Excellence at Harvard Square.