By Amber Hickman |
Each year, thousands of people gather at Microsoft Ignite to discover the latest technology trends. Hundreds of these attendees participate in hands-on lab sessions to explore the latest Microsoft product features and, in some cases, become certified in using those new capabilities. Since the early 2000s, Microsoft has partnered with Skillable (formerly Learn on Demand Systems) to deliver immersive hands-on experiences that fully engage customers, partners and employees.
Fast forward 20 years and the technology landscape has evolved, but the value of working inside the technology remains – as does the partnership between Microsoft and Skillable. The two organisations have leveraged interactive experiences to drive tangible business value, making labs a critical component of Ignite and other Microsoft events.
Microsoft events routinely attract thousands of attendees, meaning they require a lab solution that can scale to accommodate thousands of concurrent users without unexpected downtime. The Skillable lab platform enables Microsoft to offer 30- to 60-minute hands-on experiences in live, non-production environments. Attendees can engage with various types of exercises, including step-by-step walkthroughs teaching them how to use a feature and challenge-focused scenarios designed to test their technical abilities.
Microsoft offers in-person Ignite attendees the opportunity to take one Microsoft and one GitHub certification exam on-site for free. Skillable supports these exams and aims to create a smooth and stress-free experience for participants. Behind the scenes, Microsoft psychometricians configure the lab environments to include performance-based testing features that validate candidates’ knowledge retention and accurately measure their technical skill, all while maintaining exam integrity.
Over the years, hands-on labs have consistently remained one of the most popular elements for attendees. At Ignite 2024, Microsoft and Skillable delivered 119 lab sessions covering Microsoft 365, Azure and Copilot, with attendees collectively gaining over 1,100 certifications.
The Skillable team plays a crucial role in building an enjoyable and seamless experience in the lab rooms. Most technical attendees at Ignite 2024 register for an instructor-led lab, so there is at least one Skillable expert in every lab room to monitor lab performance and delivery. These experts work with session leaders to deliver a smooth learning experience by shifting sessions around to accommodate as many attendees as possible and watching behind the scenes to ensure cloud and data centre resources are running efficiently.
“The reason we use Skillable is because of the team,” says Alex O’Donnell, director of experience development at Microsoft. “At times we have pushed them to the bleeding edge when we have new functionality we are sharing with our attendees at the event. Skillable does a superb job dealing with that ambiguity, as well as with working out the instruction requirements and coordinating logistics with our other vendors.”
Both Microsoft and Skillable understand that events are strategic business tools. The money invested in attracting attendees must be recouped in the form of increased product adoption and revenue growth.
“Experiential learning in the form of hands-on labs is becoming popular as a value-add and attention-grabber for user events,” says Katie O’Zey, vice president of professional services at Skillable. “The deep knowledge that Skillable has built over decades and offers to event planners is what makes the difference during live dates.
“The Skillable Events team partners with teams of instructional designers, lab developers, Skillable platform experts and technologists to provide more than a support matrix. There’s a well of expertise in content and learning strategy that lends itself well to the modern event experience.”
Following the event, Skillable continues to work with Microsoft to maintain the new lab content and ensure users can access those features for ongoing training. Outside of events, Skillable is a trusted Microsoft Authorized Hoster, supporting programmes such as Microsoft Learn ILT Courseware training, Azure Lab Services, Microsoft Applied Skills and certification exams.
Learn more about how Skillable can help bring the human touch to your user training or events
Discover insights from these partners and more in the Autumn 2025 issue of Technology Record. Don’t miss out – subscribe for free today and get future issues delivered straight to your inbox.