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IBM Rational Synergy [EOL] vs Microsoft Azure DevOps Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Rational Synergy [EOL]
Average Rating
3.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure DevOps Server
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Software Configuration Management (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

OA
Software Methodology Engineer at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Users must go through a lot of steps to properly manipulate this solution, which can interrupt workflows and cause unnecessary downtime
We are required to use this tool by DO-178 guidance. We have to use a configuration management tool and this is the one we have been using. People see this tool more like a constraint than a benefit. Users really have to know how to use this tool and how to set the baseline functionalities for their case. The user must go through a lot of steps to properly manipulate this solution, which can interrupt workflows and cause unnecessary downtime. Synergy requires user training and development. It's not user-friendly. You have to perform a lot of manipulations; it's a bit archaic. Some people are reluctant to use this tool because they are familiar with and proficient in using Windows Explorer to navigate through directories and use WinZip to archive data. It is not a very good tool for document management. I would rate this solution a three out of ten because it's an old tool. It was a good tool 15 years ago. To get a ten out of ten I would need to see a more integrated user-friendly tool and it should be competitively priced as it is it's too expensive. I don't recommend using it because it's obsolete.
SachinJain - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Specialist at Intuitive Technology Partners
Have faced challenges in getting timely responses but have managed to streamline workflows and reduce infrastructure costs
My current company was not using any products apart from AMQ. I suggested it to them, which is why they started using it. I also suggested it to the customer. The feedback for Red Hat AMQ has been good. Based on this, we suggest it to our customers, and they are happy using that product. Our big customer, FedEx, which is one of the best and biggest giants in logistics and courier, started using it and they are happy with that. The base operating system, RHEL 8 and 9, is being used across the infrastructure. The server and critical applications and data are running on Red Hat 8 and 9. We are performing proper maintenance of the OS and it is working fantastically. We have not received any issues or complaints. Our domains include Human Gateway, pharmaceuticals, and automobile clients. The critical application is running on Microsoft Azure DevOps Server. When developers send code to us, we create the CI/CD pipeline and schedule jobs. The solution provides time savings and infrastructure savings. Multiple virtual machines are not required when installing applications in containerization, which saves infrastructure costs. We receive notifications about CPU, memory, and disk space utilization from time to time.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Managing source code, tracking modifications, and being able to analyze evolutions of source code are the most valuable features."
"Microsoft makes great products. They are quite robust."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...Every month there is an increase in the number of users. It is a scalable solution."
"IntelliSense and CodeLens are helpful because they can show you details about your function, such as how many times it is called from other places within the code."
"The most valuable feature is the code management, where there is sharing of code for developers and it is distributed within the organization."
"I am not familiar with any issues with respect to stability, and I have never seen Team System crash."
"Visual Studio Team System is the most powerful IDE available in the market."
"The solution is pretty stable."
"The solution is very stable."
 

Cons

"I'd like to see more integration with respect to requirement management, though this is not possible with this Synergy solution. I know that PTC enables this feature as well as Polarion. We need to have full trustworthiness and accountability in knowing that the tool will track every modification from specification through to the source code, with Synergy this isn't possible. The solution requires additional tools like rectify, desktop system solutions, to enable trustability between requirements, from one specification to another."
"The product should be priced better."
"When you go into the front-end, the web portal, if, for example, you pick up an issue, it would be ideal if the branch was automatically created in the repository. Right now, this isn't the case."
"The stability of the product could be better."
"I have seen customizations with Team System that allowed it to integrate into other ticketing systems like Jira, which would be a really nice feature to see."
"The product must improve its stability."
"The tool's subscriptions are expensive for medium and small businesses. It works fine on Windows. However, it is not stable on other platforms."
"The user experience for the task assignment functionality, and more generally the software lifecycle development, needs to be improved."
"Accessibility switches available on the desktop should also be available on mobile devices for coding or developing on the go."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The price could be better."
"It is an open-source product from Microsoft."
"You can choose pricing from a variety of options. I would rate the product's pricing a six out of ten."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
"There is no fee for the solution's community version."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Marketing Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
14%
Performing Arts
7%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

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What needs improvement with Visual Studio Team System?
Currently, I don't see any areas for improvement or anything that could be better about Microsoft Azure DevOps Server. Perhaps some small things could be changed or some features could be added, bu...
What is your primary use case for Visual Studio Team System?
I am using Microsoft Azure DevOps Server for our developmental process. I simply use it for task creation and all, focused on daily activities. I have integrated Microsoft Azure DevOps Server with ...
What advice do you have for others considering Visual Studio Team System?
From the developers on my team, I don't hear any positive feedback about these available integrations or concerns. Everything is all right. I would give eight to nine points in general to Microsoft...
 

Also Known As

IBM Synergy, Rational Synergy
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Bluegarden A/S, Tracasa, Rabobank Group, Borusan Otomotiv, Arelik, Alfa Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC, Microsoft, Broadcom and others in Software Configuration Management. Updated: January 2026.
881,515 professionals have used our research since 2012.