Update (16th April 2020 BST: 1800)

Microsoft Worldwide Learning have announced the return of Azure Passes with effect from 17th April 2020.  They also stressed that this is not a long-term solution.

They also stated that [sic] “Azure passes do not come with an SLA and access may be limited and that Learning Partners should evaluate for themselves if they want to rely on Azure passes or something more reliable such as solutions provided by the ALH’s.”

This, coupled with the statement “access to Azure resources (for subscriptions created from Azure passes) may be affected in some regions.  While we can’t specify which regions will have issues or are available” makes this a challenging choice for customers.

Our Cloud Sharing platform gives certainty and an SLA where Azure Passes do not.  We understand that our customers may wish to now resume Azure Pass usage and we fully support this.  To that end, customers will be able to purchase:

1. Labs that require Azure Passes.
2. Labs that include our Cloud Sharing platform.

Please do not hesitate to contact our team if you have any questions or require clarity.

Previous statement

We understand the recent Microsoft Worldwide Learning announcement caused a significant impact on classes and training events throughout the world.

Given the recent announcement we accelerated the deployment of our Cloud Sharing feature and are pleased to announce this is now live.

We are in the process of updating all Microsoft labs that require Azure Access to labs that use our new Cloud Sharing feature.  Essentially, labs are allocated either a subscription or access to the resources required to carry out the same exercise they would with Azure Passes.

Over the past two years we have “enhanced” a significant number of labs and added additional real-world scenario labs or simply re-written MOC labs that did not function as expected.  We continue to be committed to this.  These are not “challenges” but yet are detailed step by step guides to ensure students have a rich immersive experience throughout the exercises.

If you have any questions about our new features please do not hesitate to contact the team at support@godeploy.it

Things to note:

• Lab costs will increase given the consumption costs incurred by go deploy .
• Students will continue to have 180 days access, however, labs will only be able to be launched 5 times.  Instructors will NOT be limited to this*
• Labs cannot be saved.  The lab must be carried out at the time of launch.

Release Schedule (Updated 17 April 2020):

* Our AI and Machine Learning systems continually monitors usage.  Suspected misuse will revoke account access where necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I continue to purchase labs purchased through the Avarto Courseware Marketplace?

Yes.  When ordering go deploy labs students will be provided with Azure Credentials when they launch labs.  You will notice that the Student Pass option is no longer available.

How do I get an Azure Subscription for my students?

All labs that require Azure access will be provided with credentials when the launch the lab.  Learning Partners don’t need to do anything else.  The Azure subscription we provide is included in the price of the labs.  You will also notice that Microsoft Worldwide Learning have reduced the price of courseware $0 to assist with offseting this cost.

Will my students be able to access the labs after the course is finished?

Absolutely.  We remain committed to student’s personal development.  Students will have 180 days access to all labs.  Students will however be restricted to launching each lab 5 times.  We can of course extend this in exceptional circumstances where there is a legitimate requirement.

Is this the end of Azure Passes?

We can’t speak directly for Microsoft Worldwide learning but we feel this direction has been coming for some time.  Azure Passes have increasingly caused issues in classes and the new solution eases the burden on instructors and students.  It also makes the classroom setup much quicker and enables class to get started straight away.

Can we run a custom course using this platform?

Yes of course.  This will require you to design the solution to limit access to resources and SKU (sizes) of resources as the consumption cost will have to be incorporated into the total cost of the lab.  Please reach out to our Support channel for more details on this.

Do we lose functionality by using Cloud Sharing?

In 99.9% of cases no.  However, there are some small tasks which cannot be completed.  Where this is the case, we have substituted the tasks with an alternative offering.

Will we run into capacity issues?

Obviously with the removal of Azure Passes due to capacity constraints during the COVID pandemic and this is something we have looked into carefully.  We have multiple subscription types and distribute resources globally in Azure to ensure we do not target one specific region and hit limits.  Our subscriptions are not subject to these restrictions due to them being a commercial offering and we have worked closely with the Azure Product Groups to extend capacity and limits where necessary.