Microsoft Azure DevOps Reviews

We use it across various projects, each with a different purpose. Originally known as VSTS, then it transitioned to what was called Team Foundation Server, and now it is Azure DevOps. 

We use it to plan/manage our sprints and Kanban boards, as well as to maintain CI/CD pipelines. It serves as our code repository, too.

We shifted to the cloud environment and started migrating from our data centers about eight or nine years back. It has been a long journey. However, we have been using Azure DevOps for almost five to six years in every project. So, Azure DevOps supported our shift towards DevOps culture.

It has contributed in many different ways:

1. Improved our CI/CD workflows:

It's completely automated. Developers can make check-ins or pull requests, with pull requests facilitating code check-ins or releases. We've also implemented a feature called Feature Flags in Azure DevOps, which is quite recent. 

It allows us to deploy code to production without releasing certain features immediately, enhancing both developer productivity and our automation processes significantly.

2. Manage code across environments

We manage code across multiple environments, namely development, testing, and production. Each environment may have a different version of the code deployed.

3. Team productivity:

It offers a combination of how projects can be done in sprints. The Agile project management capabilities offer resource-leveling. It also has developer functionalities to manage the code version. 

4. Improved version control practices:

Version control practices have been perfect for us. It maintains a detailed history and is integrated with GitHub, which is also a Microsoft product. It is quite a game-changer. This integration enables both development and project management tools to coexist efficiently, allowing for detailed project plans, delivery milestones, bug tracking, and linked code management. It's truly a game changer, integrating various Microsoft products into a cohesive platform.

My company has experienced benefits from using it or from recent updates in Azure Pipelines. For instance, we can manage different code versions from the same repository across different environments. We also use feature flags; the code is deployed, but the feature can be made visible to the end user at a later time. 

Additionally, as part of the deployment, we integrate automated and regression testing, which stops the deployment if testing fails, thus preventing regression bugs. This saves time and increases productivity by reducing the need for manual testing. 

Lastly, it integrates with the project management aspects, allowing us to link code deployments with project milestones.

Azure DevOps supported our shift towards DevOps culture or practices. We shifted to the cloud environment and started migrating from our data centers about eight or nine years back. 

It has been a long journey. However, we have used Azure DevOps for almost five to six years in every project.

We also use automation testing in Azure, so we have an integrated test suite that allows us to perform functional and regression testing effectively via the Azure DevOps system.

It's too technical sometimes because it's meant for network developers. The CI/CD pipelines are not very easy to manage because it requires a lot of input.

So it could be easier to manage.

I have been using it for three years now. 

As for stability, since Azure DevOps is cloud-deployed and uses CI/CD for updates, we sometimes face jitters or some downtimes. Occasionally, features break for various reasons. 

But overall, the stability is on par with how far the product has come.

It's quite scalable in terms of both data nodes and functionality.

It's an enterprise-level application. There are, like, hundreds of teams using it.

We have an enterprise license, and scalability is not a problem. It is easy to scale out. 

The support goes via the service-level agreement that the enterprise has with Microsoft.

Therefore, there are different levels of support available based on what level of license is procured. We have platinum level.  

Positive

It's a very configuration-intensive tool. It's not something you can learn on day one. It requires familiarity and important training, but Microsoft provides quite good documentation on how to use the tool.

Deployment of the tool itself is usually part of an enterprise deployment, but it needs to be configured for each project. It's the same cloud offering available globally, but it must be tailored to meet the specific needs of each project. So, it can be done within a week or so from the start of the project.

For the deployment and maintenance, there's one platform engineer. Based on the size of the project, this could be a full-time person or shared with multiple teams. 

We have one platform engineer who manages the environment, a developer who manages their code check-in and pull requests, and then there are automation clusters who manage that as well.

We are in a large organization, so ROI is there. 

The basic version is free, which is offered by Microsoft. But if you've got a larger team size, you need to pay. We have enterprise agreements. It's not based on the number of users; it's a one-time fee open for the entire enterprise.

Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten.

I would recommend that you should use it to know how effective it is. That's my advice. Because it combines the power of having program management or agile project management tools as well as developer practicality, that's the unique selling point of Azure DevOps. 

No other tool probably matches the scale. You either have project management tools like Jira or Rally or you have code management tools like GitHub or Slack. It also has a very exhaustive bug management process built in.

It is a quite comprehensive product.

We build CI/CD pipelines. It's the Azure DevOps phase. Everything is in one place, like version control. CI/CD Pipelines, Release Pipelines. Everything is in there. 

So we have everything in one place basically. We use it as a complete end product.

The first thing is that everything is in one place. Azure DevOps integrates Secrets management, release pipelines, and build pipelines. 

The CI/CD pipeline setup is more user-friendly. You can manage various stages, and there are over 400+ plugins available for each stage. It's more user-friendly overall, which simplifies setting up pipelines and managing the workflows.

There is room for improvement on the UI side, especially with merge requests. If we compare Azure DevOps to GitLab when it comes to branches and PRs (pull requests), GitLab has a better interface.

Regarding CI/CD pipelines, Azure DevOps is improving. They're adding new plugins and making overall upgrades. For instance, they used to have only one type of pipeline, but now they have YAML-based release pipelines. Build pipelines are still under development, I believe, but their roadmap is in good shape.

They're also integrating IAM enablement directly into the UI. So, if you want to use the Azure portal to produce roles or make similar changes, you can now do that within Azure DevOps. It's a positive development. Overall, the roadmap for Azure DevOps is very strong.

I have been using it for six years. 

The stability is improving and looks very promising. Moreover, it's free. Initially, a subscription was required, but now Azure DevOps is provided for free if you are using the Microsoft Azure cloud and have that option enabled. 

So, it's a very stable product.

It's agent-based. You must manually configure a pool of agents to run all your pipelines and deployments anytime. There have been some disturbances with the agent pools, but they are improving. 

Initially, there were many issues with agent pool stability, but now, as you increase and update your agent pool, it becomes more robust. There isn't automatic scalability; you must ensure the agent pools are properly configured initially.

Myentire organization uses it because many projects under this organization use Azure DevOps. There are more than a thousand end users. 

The customer service and support are pretty good. There is a bunch of documentation out there. 

It is not to complicated to use. If there is something required, the support is accessible. 

I used Kitlabs, GitLab, GitOps, Jenkins, and Central Station, among others.

We looked at the features, and for one, Azure DevOps integrates all development and operations for continuous deployment in one place, which none of the other products offer in the market.

For Git, we needed repositories. 

The initial setup is of medium complexity compared to others. It's not too complex, nor is it too easy. It's a medium setup, and it includes all the key features. You can create departments, projects, and programs—everything is taken care of with Azure DevOps. 

It's like ServiceNow for continuous improvements and deployments in the DevOps world. Every project and support request I handle for clients has its challenges, but Azure DevOps manages these effectively.

Deploying code to your endpoint is a one-person job. You can configure your system, integrate your CI/CD pipeline, and set up authentication on your own. 

However, at an organizational level, where roles need managing and permissions must be assigned—for example, some can only handle releases while others manage builds—you need a robust access control system. 

In such cases, you would need two to three administrators to handle everything.

People involved in the process would be Azure DevOps admins, who control everything related to permissions and Azure DevOps operations, such as setting up pipelines, running deployments, etcetera. While our application teams handle some tasks, issues like access problems or agent failures are taken care of by the admins.

I would recommend using it.  Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We are using Microsoft Azure DevOps for project management using Azure Boards, CI/CD pipeline, repository, and test plans.

The most valuable feature of the solution is the pipeline. The solution integrates well with other Azure services and third-party tools.

The solution's roadmap and Gantt charts could be improved. We recently started using Azure Test Plans, and we're not seeing a lot of good dashboards in it.

I have been using Microsoft Azure DevOps for five years.

I rate the solution an eight out of ten for stability.

It is easy to scale the solution by increasing the number of agents. Our clients for Microsoft Azure DevOps are enterprise businesses.

I rate the solution a nine out of ten for scalability.

It took a few weeks for us to do the solution's initial setup.

Compared to other tools, Microsoft Azure DevOps is a cheap solution.

Microsoft Azure DevOps gives us an end-to-end solution. We could write the epics feature and user stories. From there, we could create the batches in the repository and create a pipeline to deploy. We can also use test plans to test different application scenarios. We are using Microsoft Azure DevOps as an enterprise-level solution.

Azure Boards have been good at improving our project tracking and agility. We are using the Azure repository, and it's working well for us. Microsoft Azure DevOps is deployed on the cloud, and we are using a Software as a Service (SaaS) version.

I would recommend the solution to other users because of its pricing and because it is an end-to-end platform for everything, including project management.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

Previously, our DevOps operations relied on TFS and Visual Studio systems. However, with the rise of cloud computing, Microsoft introduced Azure DevOps, a comprehensive solution encompassing version control, reporting, requirements management, project management, and automation tools, including testing and release management capabilities. It integrates seamlessly with Azure services, facilitating the development and deployment of applications on the cloud platform. It supports the entire software development lifecycle, from development to deployment. For instance, when developing a project, it assists in the build, test, and release processes, ensuring smooth progression to higher-level environments. 

Additionally, it supports project management activities such as user story management. Its features include repositories for storing code, pipelines for automating processes, and environments for managing deployment configurations. 

The platform has improved our team's productivity in the versioning system within the release management functionality. Each application deployment is assigned its version. When certain features are unavailable or require enhancement in a deployment, Microsoft incorporates these improvements into the subsequent version of the release pipeline. 

They could provide clearer guidance on deployment practices for the product. Currently, two main deployment methods are available: YAML server deployment and release management using pipelines or Terraform. They should offer recommendations on which approach is the best practice for deployment.

We have been using Microsoft Azure DevOps for 5 years.

It is a stable platform. Being a cloud-based solution, it benefits from zone redundancy policies, ensuring continuity even if one server experiences downtime.

We have more than 35 Microsoft Azure DevOps users in our organization.

The initial setup process is easy.

The costs are moderate and justify the value provided. With Azure DevOps, we can easily track your projects, monitor statistics and reports, manage backlogs, and plan deliveries. We can manage larger teams under one platform.

The product documentation contains all the necessary information to get started with the platform and understand its evolving features. Additionally, numerous resources are available on platforms like YouTube, where various vloggers share valuable insights and tutorials on using Azure DevOps effectively.

I rate it an eight.

We use the product end-to-end, from project management to CI/CD. We use the tool to create sprints and iterations, track bugs and issues, close down sprints, and have complete CI/CD pipelines end-to-end for all our branch's build releases.

The solution works smoothly. We have been using the tool for our projects since day one. It's easy to move around in the tool. All our projects are 100% on the cloud. Azure DevOps is an end-to-end solution. From project management to CI/CD, everything is connected. It speeds up our development and tracking.

The CI/CD feature is the most valuable for my team's productivity. All the features are helpful. The tool is helpful even in the test cases. We use Azure DevOps because it gives us everything in one product. Source control is useful. The tool enables us to track the projects end-to-end. We can track everything from the requirements stage to the production stage.

Azure Artifacts must be improved. When we do containerization or imaging, it is not friendly with Docker images. It might be because we are using open-source tools. There is no document that explains how to connect to Azure Artifacts when we're building a Docker container. 

The documentation must be straightforward. If we look online, it is very difficult to find or understand. The only way to connect to Azure Artifacts is to create a personal access token. Something doesn’t feel right with having the personal access token in the NuGet.config of our projects. However, it works fine.

I have been using the solution for 10 years.

The product’s stability is good enough.

The product is scalable. We have more than 40 users in our organization.

The setup is straightforward. Using the task and building the pipeline is not an issue. We spent a week trying to find out how to connect to Azure Artifacts. We need a normal .NET Core API and have the Docker file built. We must use a personal access token and keep it in the config files. It is not smooth enough.

The ROI is good enough. Once the system is set, we can focus on the core products.

We pay yearly licenses. The tool could be cheaper.

Microsoft Azure DevOps is the best choice because it is an end-to-end solution. Everything is integrated and trackable from every point. Right from my operations team to developers, everyone gets a clearer picture of everything. Overall, I rate the product a 9 out of 10.

As a software development team, we use Microsoft Azure DevOps extensively across various functions. We rely on its capabilities for source control, enabling us to efficiently manage our codebase and facilitate collaboration. Additionally, we leverage Azure DevOps for test management, including the creation and execution of test cases and test plans. Furthermore, we utilize its features for project planning, tracking work items, and generating weekly documents to ensure smooth progress tracking.

Azure DevOps has been instrumental in facilitating agile project management and collaboration within our team. We extensively utilize all the features offered by Azure DevOps, enabling us to seamlessly handle tasks such as test management, project management, software defect resolution, and source code management throughout the software development cycle.

We are leveraging the capabilities of Azure Repos for our source code management needs, finding them highly advantageous for our workflow.

Azure Pipelines have significantly improved our deployment process by enhancing automation. We utilize Azure Pipelines to standardize our build process, ensuring consistency in our artifacts and maintaining high-quality outputs. Additionally, it has enabled us to enhance our testing procedures, leading to more efficient issue detection and resolution.

Azure Test Plans have significantly influenced the quality of our releases. Acting as our test engine, they have played a crucial role in ensuring the quality of our software. Post-release, all identified defects are thoroughly addressed, and developers are requested to provide corresponding test cases to prevent recurrence of issues.

Azure Port is considered the most valuable feature.

When comparing with Jira, I find that the task management capabilities in Azure DevOps are not yet fully comprehensive and should be enhanced.

We have been using it for three years.

It provides good stability. I would rate it eight out of ten.

I would rate its scalability capabilities seven out of ten. Currently, approximately ten individuals utilize the platform. However, we plan to expand its usage in the future.

The initial setup was fairly complex and time-consuming. I would rate it four out of ten. During the initial setup, we encountered the most difficulty with Microsoft's documentation. It proved to be quite lengthy and lacked clear guidance, which made the setup process challenging. Consequently, we had to explore various additional resources to ensure a smoother setup of Azure DevOps.

For our initial deployment, we allocated one DevOps engineer who dedicated approximately one and a half months to complete the setup.

The cost is quite affordable.

The initialization process may pose some challenges, but I find that the investigation aspect is handled quite effectively. Overall, I believe it's well-suited for both general and specialized DevOps use cases. I would rate it seven out of ten.

It's part of my new role as a DevOps engineer and the cloud engineer. We're migrating our on-premises applications to the cloud-based M365 platform, built on Microsoft Azure. That's the primary use case.

Azure DevOps supported our agile project's sprint planning and management. It introduced automation, which is still a little bit immature. But our previously manual tasks are now automated, and we've transitioned from deploying ITFAX applications to containerized deployments using images. These are just a few examples.

Moreover, Azure DevOps facilitated our team collaboration and tracking of work items in our projects. We've got the backlog, the boards, the item backlog items, you know, you can see what's approved by the product owner, what's on hold, what's in progress, what's developed and deployed to whichever environment, nine product or product and stuff like that. 

So, it's been visible for all to see, from my manager to product owners, technical product owners, developers, and testers; every stakeholder has visibility.

Ever since we adopted Azure pipelines, we saw faster releases. Something that would take us two or three weeks to deploy; we can do it in a couple of hours now. So, the primary benefit is definitely faster development and deployment cycles.

It boils down to - increased customer satisfaction. Quicker releases to testing and production environments - that's the benefit, that's the impact.

After each commit, the code automatically goes to Azure DevOps. We can then manually trigger the pipeline if needed. Once the pipeline successfully passes all tests, it deploys the new container image to production, replacing the previous one.

While I'm just gonna stick to Docker, it has really helped developers to confidently commit whenever they feel the analytics are okay to work. On their machines, it records any environment, unlike the old way where we had to click on our machines and then involve the operational team, which sometimes didn't work. With containerization, we already know all the application dependencies needed on the image. It's just one, OS or environment independent.

Moreover, we've experienced the general benefits of Azure Test Plans. One major improvement is the automation of tests. Once automated tests pass, the code progresses to the next stage, minimizing human error inherent in manual testing. This automation extends to reporting as well, providing clear and readily available results. In terms of reducing human error and streamlining reporting, I'd rate Azure Test Plans a ten out of ten. 

Additionally, detailed logs allow us to pinpoint the exact cause of any issues, making troubleshooting efficient and accurate. So, for both error reduction and insightful reporting, I highly recommend Microsoft Azure DevOps.

There is only one key area of improvement for me. The new imaging thing is that there is DevOps, where security is important because it is always lasting. So, to integrate security in our DevOps, that would be nice.

I have been using it for more than a year.

It is a stable solution. However, there is always room for improvement. I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.

It is a scalable solution. There are over a hundred end users in my company. Every IT hub uses it. 

The customer service and support were quick to support. Usually, we don't need the support. We google our query and easily find the solution on official Microsoft page. So, we hardly need any support. 

In my previous jobs, yes, we did use different tools. We had a separate team for DevOps team. There was even a "deployment specialist" who dictated deployment times and windows, which could be quite restrictive. So, switching to Azure DevOps has been a massive improvement.

The initial setup is easy. Once the code is committed and the developers sign off, we just go to Azure DevOps, click on "Pipelines," and run the pipeline. That's all, pretty straightforward.

The deployment can be done in-house. However, I was not involved in the deployment process. I'm utilizing it, and so far, it's easy for me.

The pipeline itself can be managed by one person. But when it comes to the entire Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), from data requirements gathered by the business analyst, system analysts, solution architects, and so on. That part is still manual, it's not automated, and you can't just throw technology at it and expect a one-person team to handle it. 

However, for running the pipeline end-to-end, from CI to CD, Azure DevOps allows a single person to manage it. However, developing the application from concept to reality still involves a lot of stakeholders across Azure.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. I would strongly recommend using this solution. 

As an architect, I use Azure DevOps for our projects, primarily focusing on setting up CI/CD workflows. We track tasks and maintain timesheets on Azure DevOps. I collaborate with project managers to define deployment pipelines and ensure smooth deployment processes. While Azure DevOps serves as our project management tool, my main role involves architecting deployment strategies and working closely with the project management team to implement them effectively.

Switching to Azure DevOps initially posed challenges, but as our team became familiar with it, we found it greatly improved our daily operations and productivity. Its streamlined processes made our development workflow more efficient.

What I like most about Azure DevOps is how easy it is to manage projects and control deployments. Once configured, team members can manage deployments if they have permissions. Additionally, the reports feature helps generate itemized invoices for the services provided to clients, which is valuable for billing purposes.

One potential enhancement in Azure DevOps could be integrating more customizable reporting features, particularly for Power BI integration, to provide better insights into project data.

I have been working with Azure DevOps for five years.

Azure DevOps is quite stable.

Azure DevOps is scalable and can be used in distributed environments and for different tenants.

Before Azure DevOps, we used various tools like Jira. We decided to switch to Azure DevOps to have all services unified in one place, simplifying management. The main advantage is having everything centralized.

The initial setup process for Azure DevOps was somewhat complex, requiring documentation and technical support. Migration from previous tools and configuring project guidelines were involved. The deployment strategy involved creating directories, and repositories, setting up environments, and assigning access rights, following a predefined plan. Initially, deployment took about three to four hours, but now, for regular deployments, it typically takes 30 minutes to an hour, depending on project stability. 

For the initial deployment of Azure DevOps, gathering information from various resources is essential, but typically, only one person is needed to handle deployment through the web interface. Maintenance involves regular tasks like backups and occasional updates, requiring minimal effort.

The pricing for Azure DevOps may be higher compared to other tools, but overall, I find it reasonable.

In my experience, integrating reporting and analytics into Azure DevOps enhances project visibility and decision-making processes. We can easily generate reports online to track project status and task progress. Additionally, I have integrated Azure DevOps with other tools like SQL Server, enabling us to gather data for generating Power BI reports.

The most beneficial integrations with Azure DevOps are integration with other project management tools for seamless collaboration and APIs for importing data into applications. Additionally, integrating with personal models allows for enhanced analytics and reporting on resource performance and other project metrics.

The source control management features of Azure DevOps, particularly Azure Repos, are highly effective. We can easily track and manage code changes, commit updates, and maintain a complete history of changes for our applications.

I would recommend Azure DevOps to others. Before choosing Azure DevOps, I would advise considering the need for better project management, consolidation of management tools, and streamlining deployment processes.

Overall, I would rate Azure DevOps as an eight out of ten.