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Microsoft Azure DevOps vs Rally Software comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Azure DevOps enhances productivity and efficiency while offering significant ROI, especially with Microsoft integration, despite integration challenges.
Sentiment score
7.5
Users find Rally Software essential for cost-effectiveness, time-saving, 15X ROI, despite access challenges and customer journey imperfections.
On a scale of one to ten, where ten is the best, I would say ROI is an eight.
Associate Director at Grant Thornton (US)
There has been a measurable improvement in productivity of around 40 to 50% after implementing Microsoft Azure DevOps, which has allowed more time to be spent on other things.
Senior Automation Engineer at Zellis
Microsoft Azure DevOps definitely saves a lot of time and resources as well as money for any company, including mine.
AI Solutions & Digital Transformation Lead at UnifyCloud
The ROI is visible, as that's why we are investing in these tools and running our projects successfully through them, despite a few challenges such as role-based access being somewhat difficult.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Azure DevOps' support receives mixed reviews, with praise for resources but criticism for phone support and response times.
Sentiment score
6.8
Users appreciate Rally Software's responsive customer service and effective technical support, despite some slow or non-intuitive processes.
When requirements arise, they are raised and often get fixed within one or two days.
Senior Automation Engineer at Zellis
Resolving issues took time since understanding our unique problems was not always straightforward for support teams.
Project Executive at synergyc
Whenever I raised a ticket or needed help, I received great support.
Manager at a consultancy with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Azure DevOps is scalable and flexible, supporting growth across teams and regions with few performance issues despite customization challenges.
Sentiment score
7.2
Rally Software is scalable and adaptable, supporting diverse organizations globally, though reporting and peak performance could be improved.
The scalability has left me pleased, not just for our teams in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, but as we expanded into North America, Africa, and even Australia.
Project Executive at synergyc
From a scalability point of view, it is really helpful.
AI Solutions & Digital Transformation Lead at UnifyCloud
Microsoft Azure DevOps is scalable, with multiple options available to scale up the product as needed, given its Microsoft backing.
Senior Automation Engineer at Zellis
If you have a huge database, it becomes difficult to process the data.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Azure DevOps is a highly stable platform with minimal issues and is rated highly by developers for reliability.
Sentiment score
7.4
Rally Software is stable but occasionally slow, with intermittent outages; users note improvements and call for enhanced performance.
Its stability might be attributed to its legacy as an on-premise solution that has been in development for more than 25 years.
Software Architect at RedesCDM
There was just one time when there was some infrastructure issue from Microsoft's side, so we faced some glitches for a few minutes only, not for hours or a day.
DevOps Engineer at ENTERPRISE SYSTEM SOLUTIONS LIMITED
Microsoft Azure DevOps is definitely stable, as it is available most of the time, with very few downtimes.
Senior Automation Engineer at Zellis
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Azure DevOps needs enhancements in task management, integration, customization, security, pricing flexibility, and user-friendly features.
Rally Software needs improved customization, performance, reporting, integration, Kanban features, UI, mobile friendliness, dependency management, and analytics.
Those processes are a bit difficult for some customers who may not have technical knowledge and don't go through the entire documentation.
Associate Director at Grant Thornton (US)
Out of the box, the solution is effective, yet with advancements in AI, it has the potential to be more intuitive.
Project Executive at synergyc
Instead of customers having to try many options themselves, they benefit from practitioner recommendations.
Founder & CEO at DevTools
At the time of my use, there was not an inbuilt capability to migrate applications from other third-party solutions to Rally Software.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
One area for improvement might be the rigidity in role and access configurations, which require many process changes to fit the tool.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Azure DevOps offers competitive pricing with free initial users, though some find its structure complex but justified.
Rally Software offers valuable features for scaling agile, but its pricing is high compared to alternatives like JIRA.
They don't even provide a POC where you can have a sandbox or stuff that you can go through and see how exactly it's costing.
Associate Director at Grant Thornton (US)
I find it to be expensive.
Project Executive at synergyc
Azure charges only the parking cost, not for unnecessary or unwanted cost.
DevOps Engineer at ENTERPRISE SYSTEM SOLUTIONS LIMITED
The setup cost is expensive.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
Rally Software is affordable because our customers also prefer it.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Azure DevOps offers integrated lifecycle management, CI/CD pipelines, and extensive customization, enhancing productivity, collaboration, and agile project management.
Rally Software streamlines project management with features like resource scheduling, user stories, dashboards, and third-party integration for agile teams.
Whenever something is created or deployed, it automatically triggers the automated scripts, generates reports, and updates the test cases, providing a seamless end-to-end activity.
Senior Automation Engineer at Zellis
Microsoft Azure DevOps helps any organization move ideas from development to production faster with greater automation, improved collaboration, quality governance, and a secure environment.
AI Solutions & Digital Transformation Lead at UnifyCloud
I can't approve my own request and move the code around without a review.
Associate Director at Grant Thornton (US)
Rally Software provides real-time dashboards for different kinds of stakeholders and governance, giving clear insights into project progress, team velocity, and potential risks.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
I can view configuration item details, such as what is being changed, and I can see any change requests attached to items or configuration items being moved to other locations.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Azure DevOps
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
2nd
Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
139
Ranking in other categories
Release Automation (1st)
Rally Software
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
7th
Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
121
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure DevOps is 9.7%, down from 11.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rally Software is 4.9%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure DevOps9.7%
Rally Software4.9%
Other85.4%
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
 

Featured Reviews

Anil Tiwari - PeerSpot reviewer
AI Solutions & Digital Transformation Lead at UnifyCloud
Task management has become transparent and reporting now tracks team productivity in detail
I reduced my rating from a perfect score because of one concern. Microsoft Azure DevOps is very easy to use. If any person is new to the platform while creating user stories or repositories, it is a very efficient way for people to work. The platform does not require in-depth training. If someone provides a one to two hour description, people with some technical knowledge would understand it greatly. The platform is interesting for both fully technical and non-technical persons. People can use it easily and it is understandable. Anyone can create a user story or Microsoft Azure Board, generate reports using SQL queries while adding conditions, or monitor tasks. Any person with admin rights can see graphs showing which resources have spent how many hours on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Based on that information, we can measure resource performance, which would be really helpful for management or HR departments when increasing employee salaries, offering appreciation, or providing bonus activities in an organization. Regarding governance and security within Microsoft Azure DevOps, there is strong security because Microsoft provides a secure and productive environment that follows all compliances. Everyone can trust Microsoft because it is a reputable brand in the market. People can rely on and trust any Microsoft product. I am not talking about Microsoft Azure DevOps only, but also CRM, Windows, security, and Entra ID. With any Microsoft product, there is no need to worry about security or compliance concerns. From a security and governance point of view, Microsoft Azure DevOps provides very strong capabilities.
Amit Anand - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
Drilling into change lifecycles has given me clear end to end traceability for every item
Reporting is my main area of concern. Additionally, the migration activity and portability are important areas for improvement. If I needed to move from Jira to Rally Software, having built-in portability or migration utilities would be beneficial. At the time of my use, there was not an inbuilt capability to migrate applications from other third-party solutions to Rally Software. Currently, I am not using Rally Software.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Outsourcing Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Outsourcing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise70
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise113
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Jira or Microsoft Azure DevOps?
Jira is a great centralized tool for just about everything, from local team management to keeping track of products and work logs. It is easy to implement and navigate, and it is stable and scalabl...
Which is better - TFS or Azure DevOps?
TFS and Azure DevOps are different in many ways. TFS was designed for admins, and only offers incremental improvements. In addition, TFS seems complicated to use and I don’t think it has a very fri...
Microsoft Azure DevOps: what is your experience regarding pricing and costs ?
I am not much involved in the pricing, licensing, or costing aspects. However, one of my colleagues is involved in the licensing and pricing part, and it is very efficient. We are Microsoft Gold Pa...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rally Software?
The setup cost is expensive. I was not responsible for the license part, but it was on a yearly basis.
What needs improvement with Rally Software?
Reporting is my main area of concern. Additionally, the migration activity and portability are important areas for improvement. If I needed to move from Jira to Rally Software, having built-in port...
What is your primary use case for Rally Software?
I served as both an end user and administrator. The end-to-end lifecycle traceability is adequate, but the reporting functionality needs to be updated. From a single window, I can drill down and mo...
 

Also Known As

Azure DevOps, VSTS, Visual Studio Team Services, MS Azure DevOps
CA Agile Central, Rally Enterprise, CA Agile Training, CA Agile Coaching, CA Agile Academy, CA Agile Management , CA ALM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Alaska Airlines, Iberia Airlines, Columbia, Skype
Physicians Mutual, Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare, Editora Abril, Tata Communications, Level 3 Communications, Seagate, TomTom, Philips, Hiscox, Physicians Mutual, MYOB
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure DevOps vs. Rally Software and other solutions. Updated: October 2026.
921,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.