diff --git a/terraform/locals.tf b/terraform/locals.tf
index 7f3cf9d..767099c 100644
--- a/terraform/locals.tf
+++ b/terraform/locals.tf
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 locals {
-  resource_suffix           = [lower(var.environment), substr(lower(var.location), 0, 2), substr(lower(var.application), 0, 3), lower(var.owner), random_id.resource_group_name_suffix.hex, var.resource_group_name_suffix]
+  generated_suffix          = coalesce(var.cohort_suffix, random_id.resource_group_name_suffix.hex)
+  resource_suffix           = [lower(var.environment), substr(lower(var.location), 0, 2), substr(lower(var.application), 0, 3), lower(var.owner), local.generated_suffix, var.resource_group_name_suffix]
   resource_suffix_kebabcase = join("-", local.resource_suffix)
   resource_suffix_lowercase = join("", local.resource_suffix)
 
@@ -15,6 +16,7 @@ locals {
         "Scm"             = var.scm,
         "Application"     = var.application
         "Resource Suffix" = var.resource_group_name_suffix
+        "Cohort Suffix"   = local.generated_suffix
       }
     )
   )
diff --git a/terraform/providers.tf b/terraform/providers.tf
index 36f8f14..9dc629e 100644
--- a/terraform/providers.tf
+++ b/terraform/providers.tf
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ terraform {
     }
   }
 
-  backend "local" {}
-  # backend "azurerm" {}
+  # backend "local" {}
+  backend "azurerm" {}
 }
 
 provider "azurerm" {
diff --git a/terraform/variables.tf b/terraform/variables.tf
index 3b42e8c..4de2670 100644
--- a/terraform/variables.tf
+++ b/terraform/variables.tf
@@ -72,4 +72,10 @@ variable "user_id" {
   description = "The user id to assign the Contributor role to the resource group"
   type        = string
   default     = ""
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+
+variable "cohort_suffix" {
+  description = "[Optional] A cohort suffix for a specific lab to be edited. Helps with keeping track of labs' cohorts in the same subscription"
+  type        = string
+  default     = ""
+}