What is included
- Foundations. Understand → Apply → Connect → Challenge: the concepts and working habits behind systems, networking, identity and telemetry. Free permanently, beta or not.
- Build and Operate. Connected operational practice: short drills, browser terminal work and guided incidents. Free during the beta; priced afterwards.
- Design and Improve. Whatever opens during the beta is included. Most of it is still in development.
- Browser-based incident simulations. Investigate a failing system, make the calls yourself, and find out afterwards what the evidence actually supported.
- The primer articles. The written explanations behind the drills, for when you want the idea rather than the reps.
- CLIVE, the AI guide. Five responses per rolling 24 hours, each freeing up 24 hours after use, so it stays a study partner rather than an answer machine.
- Your progress, saved. Everything you do during the beta stays on your profile afterwards.
The dates, plainly
The beta opened on Monday 31 August and ends on 1 November 2026. It is open now. Create your profile and verify your email whenever you like; the beta content is there for every verified profile.
- Now. Sign in and everything open is available. Access is decided on our server, so it does not depend on your device clock or on you clicking anything.
- 1 November 2026. The beta ends. Your saved progress is untouched and Foundations stays free with no automatic charge or conversion.
- Monday 2 November 2026. Full public release. Build and Operate and Design and Improve become part of Core Pro membership.
How to join
There is no application, no invitation, no waiting list and no country restriction. Two steps:
- Create a free CloudCaive profile in the learning home. You need to be 18 or over.
- Verify your email address. That is the only gate on the beta. It is how we know an account belongs to a person, and it is where anything we ever need to tell you goes.
That is the whole process. If you already have a verified CloudCaive profile, you are already in.
What happens after the beta
When the beta ends on 1 November, the free membership continues unchanged: all of Foundations, the 90-day roadmap, the newsletter, and CLIVE with its rolling limit. Build and Operate and Design and Improve become part of Core Pro, which will be £49 a month or £350 a year. Checkout is not open yet.
Nothing is charged during the beta and no card is collected, so no beta member is enrolled in anything and there is nothing to cancel when it ends. If you decide Core Pro is for you, that will be a fresh, deliberate choice. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee on the first month, which you can take yourself from your profile console and still keep access for the full 30 days. The details are in the Terms of Service.
The honest boundary
These are browser-based simulations. They are not real or production systems, and CloudCaive is not a certification, a job guarantee or an employer-recognised credential. Progress reflects learning activity; verified capability evidence is not yet issued.
“Beta” means the scenario library and the product polish are still growing, and that we would rather have you in it while that is true than wait for a version that never quite feels finished. It does not mean a weaker promise: the material you practise on is the material we stand behind.
Complete FAQ
What does the free beta cost?
Nothing. From 31 August to 1 November 2026 the beta is free for everyone. There is no payment, no card and nothing to cancel.
Who can join?
Anyone with a free CloudCaive profile and a verified email address, who is 18 or over. No application, no invitation, no waiting list, no country restriction.
Is it open now?
Yes. It opened on Monday 31 August 2026 for everyone at once. Create and verify your profile whenever you like and the beta content is there.
Do I need to do anything to switch it on?
No. Sign in as usual and the beta content is there. Access is decided on our server, so it does not depend on your device clock or on you clicking anything.
Are these real systems?
No. The incidents are simulations in your browser. That removes setup and cloud cost and gives everyone controlled conditions, but it is not a production environment.
Is this a certification?
No. It is not a certification, a job guarantee or an employer-recognised credential.
Why not just use an AI assistant?
AI can explain commands and suggest causes, and CLIVE does that on request. CloudCaive also controls the incident, records the decisions you make before you see an answer, and brings the same objectives back later under different conditions so you can see what actually changed.
What happens to my progress when the beta ends?
Nothing happens to it. Your saved progress stays on your profile exactly as it is, and Foundations stays open to you permanently.
Will I be charged when the beta ends?
No. No card is collected during the beta, so there is nothing that could be charged and nothing to cancel.
I am new to all of this. Where should I start?
Start in Foundations. It assumes no prior experience, builds the concepts first, and is free permanently, beta or not. If you already have relevant experience, the route check moves your starting point nearer useful practice.