Behind the Scenes of Immersive One: How Lab Builder is a Game-Changer for Cyber Readiness

“The best customer feedback we got was, we don’t need you to do everything for us.” 

Rebecca:
Wait, seriously? 

Matt:
Never more so. We built Lab Builder, a powerful Immersive One platform feature, for a reason: Organizations need a way to create, maintain, and publish their own labs—fast. Historically, our cyber team built every lab in Lab Forge. That worked for us, but it locked out partners and customers who wanted to address their unique needs—tools, environments, policies, and threats. They asked, “Can we do more by ourselves?” Lab Builder answers that.

Rebecca:
Absolutely. Since its debut last fall, Lab Builder has evolved so much. What are the biggest benefits for users today?

Matt:
There are two big ones. The first is the ability to curate content relevant to your organization, its threats, and its technologies—quickly. Second, realism. Teams can safely train with real-world code, internal apps, or even live malware—all in a secure, disposable environment. It’s as close to production as it gets, giving them an authentic experience with the exact tools and systems they use every day. The result? Faster upskilling, stronger readiness, and measurable gains in resilience. 

| “With Lab Builder, your organization can turn any piece of code or policy into hands-on training—instantly.”

Rebecca:
That almost sounds too easy—until you see the demo in action for yourself!

Matt:
Yes! The team is super proud of how streamlined it is. The core workflow is just five steps. Create a new lab. Then configure it, adding basics like the lab title, intro, learning outcomes, and gamification aspects like points users will get for completing the lab. From there, the focus is on building the briefing and tasks—drag-and-drop questions, code-review challenges, “find the flaw”, there’s lots to choose from. Then you’re ready to publish. Just assign your SME as Lab Creator, and they’re live on the same Immersive One platform they use every day.

Rebecca:
To me, the genius of that kind of design is in its accessibility. You’ve also invested heavily in the learner experience. 

Matt:
Definitely. Engagement is a top priority, so we’re always building for the learners who need to know cyber—not only to support their organization’s cyber resilience strategy, but to grow professionally. We aim to remove every barrier to learning we can. 

Rebecca:
I know you’re not one to boast, but how has the team modernized the UI?

Matt:
We’ve done a lot of work here, starting with completely rebuilding the theory labs interface, giving it a clean, responsive design that works seamlessly across desktop, tablet, or phone. 

We’ve been building toward that for our practical labs experience too. There are now intuitive panels, seamless task navigation, and instant feedback to guide learners every step of the way.

We also turned Lab Builder into a true WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) editor so Lab Creators see exactly what their teams will experience. We also baked in full WCAG compliance, with keyboard navigation and screen-reader support on every screen. 

Ultimately, we hope to bring every Immersive-built and custom lab into a single, unified front end in Immersive One—so no matter where you are, one clear interface delivers the same training experience.

Rebecca:
It’s this kind of due diligence that really makes a difference! Let’s talk about VMs. How do they fit in?

Matt:
Theory can only take you so far, so we released practical labs in the spring. Organizations spin up their own virtual machines in AWS (Amazon Web Services), share the AMI with our account, and import it straight into Lab Builder. 

Why does that matter? Because learners train in their exact production environments—internal tools, real vulnerable code, compliance setups. 

We support typical instance sizes—enough CPUs and RAM for most use cases. While we may roll out more environments in the future, AWS supports 99% of our existing customer base. That means the process feels native for Immersive One users; they can truly learn by doing.

| “Build your VM. Import it. Assign it. All without leaving Immersive One.”

Rebecca:
Initially, only Org Admins could build custom labs. How did you expand access so that more team members could create labs, without being given full admin rights?

Matt:
We introduced the Lab Creator role this summer. Now you pick who builds labs—no full admin rights required.

Rebecca:
So smart. Now, in-house experts can build content without getting the keys to the kingdom. 

Matt:
100%. The team is laser-focused on leveling up Immersive One with every Lab Builder release because it’s so instrumental to the customer experience. In June, we added video support right in the briefing panels because some individuals learn best through short, engaging clips. 

We also rolled out a Machine Library stocked with pre-configured VMs—basically templates, from Kali Linux to reverse-engineering rigs—so you can drop assets in and start training immediately with zero VM building. You just need t

And internal publishing functionality lets Lab Creators bundle custom labs into collections and share them across Organizations—think a self-service marketplace for specialized, high-value content.

Rebecca:
Honestly, Matt, what you’ve done with Lab Builder functionality is incredible. And I know you’re not done yet. 

Matt:
Yeah, right—not at all. The team is already heads-down on an AI agent, but I won’t spoil it!

Rebecca:
Love that! Well, thanks again for meeting with me today, Matt. Maybe next time we can discuss ways customers or partners are already using Lab Builder to meet their unique needs—you know, deep-dive into specific use cases.

Matt:
Oh, absolutely—happy to share what customers are using Lab Builder for. Maybe we even host a webinar for that one? Would be fun to entertain some Q&A.

Rebecca:
Nice, let’s plan on it!

Final Thought
Lab Builder not only powers a customer-first UI and UX, it can help you transform every new threat, policy change, or internal tool into an interactive lab—on your timeline, with your exact requirements. 

Want to explore the possibilities? Contact your Account Manager for a personalized introduction to this powerful feature. In the meantime, preview how easy it is to customize learning by watching this quick demo: Meet Lab Builder