I’m very excited to share some great news with you! Starting today, if you’re a Visual Studio Professional or Enterprise subscriber, you can get free access to Cloud Academy from QA—no trial, and no credit card required. This exclusive benefit is included with your Visual Studio subscription and provides 12 months of free access to Cloud Academy. Act fast—this is a limited-time offer. Just log in to the Visual Studio subscriptions portal at my.visualstudio.com and activate your free plan.

What is Cloud Academy?

Cloud Academy, now part of QA, is a premier learning platform that helps developers and IT pros master cloud technologies. QA acquired Cloud Academy to expand its robust training offerings, bringing even more hands-on, outcome-based learning experiences to users worldwide.

Master Azure with Hands-on Learning

I know how important hands-on experience is when it comes to mastering cloud skills, and this benefit is packed with practical learning opportunities:

• 221 Hands-on Labs
• 330 Lessons
• 111 Exams
• 23 Certification Exam Prep Courses

Learn Your Way

One of my favorite features of this platform is how flexible the learning options are. You can choose the style that fits you best:

• Guided Labs: Follow step-by-step instructions to complete tasks in a live Azure environment.
• Challenge Labs: If you’re confident in your skills, jump right into a challenge without instructions and validate your work by submitting your code.
• Cloud Sandboxes: Want to experiment? Practice freely in a safe, pre-configured Azure environment—no need to worry about using up your own Azure credits!

Smarter Learning with AI-Powered Smart Assessments & Ela: Your Expert Learning Assistant

Another standout feature is Ela, your Expert Learning Assistant, and Smart Assessments—and I think you’re going to love it. Instead of working through lessons you’ve already mastered, these AI-driven assessments baseline your knowledge and adjust your learning path accordingly. That means less time reviewing what you already know and more time building new skills that matter.

Meet Ela: Your AI-Powered Learning Assistant

I’m really excited about this—Cloud Academy now includes Ela, an AI-driven learning assistant designed to enhance your self-paced learning experience. Ela is trained exclusively on QA-authored content, making it a trusted source for guidance whenever you need it.

What makes Ela special? Unlike basic AI chatbots, Ela is built with real-world expertise to provide tutor-style support. Whether you’re looking for quick revision, knowledge checks, explanations of complex topics, or even lab-specific assistance, Ela is available 24/7 to help you along the way.

Here are just a few of Ela’s standout capabilities:

• Summarize: Quickly review key takeaways from course content for faster learning.
• Test: Reinforce your understanding with knowledge checks before moving forward.
• Explain: Get clear, practical explanations that connect theory to application.

Ela isn’t just limited to courses—she also provides hands-on lab support, helping you troubleshoot code, find bugs, and clarify lab tasks.

This is a game-changer for learners who want real-time, expert-level support while mastering Azure.

Get Ready for Certification

If you’ve been thinking about getting Azure certified, this benefit will help you get there faster. With 23 certification prep courses, you’ll go beyond just memorization and apply what you learn through a mix of lessons, hands-on labs, quizzes, and exams.

Activate Your Free Access Today

I can’t wait for you to try this out! Redeem your free Cloud Academy access now by logging into my.visualstudio.com and activating your license. Remember, this is limited time offer so act now before it’s gone.

At Microsoft, we’re passionate about helping developers grow their skills and advance their careers. Everyone learns differently, and we know that access to the right tools and resources makes all the difference. Cloud Academy is another opportunity to expand your Azure expertise and bring valuable cloud solutions to your company—whether that’s improving efficiency, driving innovation, or scaling your applications to meet the demands of the future.

Check out the new Visual Studio Hub

Stay connected with everything Visual Studio in one place! Visit the Visual Studio Hub for the latest release notes, YouTube videos, social updates, and community discussions.

Let me know your thoughts about our VS subscriber benefits—you can reach me on LinkedIn!