Virtual IT labs provide access to development environments and virtualized resources for training and sandboxed tests. The environment delivers the actual resources one would use to perform real-world development projects, but contains them within a controlled environment. Companies use these tools to help educate employees on new development practices and train them to use new tools or projects. They are well-suited for training and testing because the solutions provide real-world resources without impacting live applications, websites, or networks. Some online course providers offer virtualized IT labs as their training platform in addition to their range of courses, but many true virtual IT labs are used for internal purposes within a company or classroom.
To qualify for inclusion in the Virtual IT Labs category, a product must:
Utilize virtualization technology to mimic real-world practices
Provide controlled and contained environments
Supply virtualized development tools