Director | Information Technology / Quality Engineering at a performing arts with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Good user interface, easy to implement, and offers good reporting
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to implement and easy to use."
  • "One thing I would note is that it's hard to know what is included or not in the product. Especially when you begin to try and compare it to other solutions. When you go to a site like VersionOne, they tell you Azure DevOps doesn't have this or that, and when you go to Microsoft, it says VersionOne doesn't have this or that. They could do a better job of laying out exactly what is on offer so customers know going in exactly what they'll get."

What is most valuable?

The most valuable aspect of the solution is the complete tool orchestration within the DevOps. It's great for operations, monitoring, and building tests for deployment.

I like the user interface. It's excellent.

The solution is easy to implement and easy to use.

We've been using their documentation seamlessly. It's been great.

I love it because we have Microsoft Exchange Office 365 and we have all those reports already in place (especially if you're using quality reporting). We get that as an add-on. It comes within the package, so everything is very compatible. The analytics on offer are also very good.

The solution offers great plugins and has great integration capabilities. It runs on configuration management tools like Ansible and Puppet. The monitoring they have for plugins is also excellent. 

Whatever you might need, they seem to have it.

What needs improvement?

We're quite happy with the tool right now. We're not really using it too much. We are also just starting on it, to be honest, so what we've needed so far we've found that it offers. There isn't anything missing that I can see. 

One thing I would note is that it's hard to know what is included or not in the product. Especially when you begin to try and compare it to other solutions. When you go to a site like VersionOne, they tell you Azure DevOps doesn't have this or that, and when you go to Microsoft, it says VersionOne doesn't have this or that. They could do a better job of laying out exactly what is on offer so customers know going in exactly what they'll get.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In terms of stability, I would say we have no problem with the solution. We have been using the tool for all of our projects and we have no problems with that aspect. If users use virtual missions when they run the testing, everything is even easier.

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure DevOps
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure DevOps. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability, at least for the time that we have been using the solution, hasn't been a problem. We are able to adjust and expand any time of VMs. Any organization that needs to grow its usage should be able to do so easily.

Currently, 40 people are using the solution for one of the projects we're running. We have whoever you could think of in an agile team on it. Everybody from the business analyst to the product managers, to the testers, to the developers, and even to business end-users are on it.

I'm not sure if our organization plans on expanding its usage in the future.

How are customer service and support?

I've never personally had to contact technical support, and I haven't heard from anyone in my team about any negative results. I'm not sure if I'd be able to evaluate their services at this time.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used Jira, however, we have not switched over completely to Azure DevOps. We now use both.

How was the initial setup?

With manuals, the implementation is much easier. It is quite straightforward.

We are not doing any kind of maintenance on the solution. We don't need to because it's so fast. We are not paying for everything in terms of infrastructure development. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I'm not sure about the pricing. It's not an aspect of the solution I currently deal with.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We're currently looking at VersionOne and CollabNet just to see how they compare to what we currently use, which includes Microsoft Azure DevOps.

I'm new to this company. I've been here only for a year. The previous company, I was using Agile Central, which I really liked because of the user interface. Central was previously called Rally. However, after coming to this company, as they have Jira, I've been using Jira and also, for this one project, Microsoft Azure DevOps. I need to begin considering what I should do at an enterprise level. I'm looking at a variety of options including Microsoft DevOps, VersionOne, CollabNet, and a few more. 

Since we have Microsoft Azure DevOps already in place, I would like something that's similar and competitive. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm not sure which version of the solution we're using at this time.

I personally just love using Microsoft DevOps. I would recommend the solution to anyone. Organizations considering the solution should just go for it and they should get the complete orchestration.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. I don't think that I have explored everything extensively yet. Any product definitely will have its own gaps, and since I'm not in a position to understand it 100%, I want to play it safe on ranking it at eight.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Syed Fahad Anwar - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal System Developer at HHRC
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Streamline development processes, improve collaboration, enable efficient CI/CD pipelines and enhance overall productivity
Pros and Cons
  • "The features that have a significant impact on us include CI/CD, where we have full integration with the source code repository and Azure Pipelines."
  • "At times, our development work encounters issues, particularly when executing numerous CI/CD processes."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for automating our code builds, significantly enhancing collaboration, and accelerating our release cycles. By reducing release times, we're able to ship our product faster, thereby increasing productivity and efficiency.

How has it helped my organization?

We use continuous integration and continuous deployment through Azure DevOps. With CI, we gain the advantage of fully approved code merges, as demonstrated in your demo. This ensures clarity on which releases are destined for production. With continuous delivery, we seamlessly deploy to both our test and production servers.

Azure DevOps supports our agile project management and sprint planning processes. This enables us to release sets of features more efficiently and quickly within the Agile framework. Additionally, DevOps facilitates the approval of features, further streamlining our release process.

When using the Agile template, we have visibility into what tasks are available, in progress, upcoming, and completed. This comprehensive view allows higher management to easily track the current status of tasks, including which ones are being worked on and which are finished.

It significantly enhances the testing phase of our software development lifecycle. Previously, after development, we deployed our software to a common QA environment for testing. However, now with Azure Test Plans, we can create isolated environments for each solution using virtual machines. This isolation helps us identify and address issues specific to our product, without being hindered by environment-related issues. With continuous integration through CI/CD pipelines, once our build is completed and approved, it automatically deploys without manual intervention, streamlining the process further.

Since adopting Azure Pipelines, we have observed significant improvements in our release management process. Previously, the process involved various stages and multiple approval steps, leading to fragmentation. However, with Azure DevOps, the entire process is streamlined, allowing for seamless transitions from board check-in to release approval within the same solution.

Before using Azure DevOps, we couldn't release as swiftly as we can now. With Azure DevOps, our ability to release has significantly improved. This increased efficiency means we can release more versions of our product, leading to higher productivity and the shipment of more artifacts than before.

What is most valuable?

The features that have a significant impact on us include CI/CD, where we have full integration with the source code repository and Azure Pipelines. This enables us to efficiently review and approve source code for deployment and testing. Utilizing Azure Test Plans, we can deploy to virtual machines, facilitating streamlined processes in a dedicated environment.

What needs improvement?

At times, our development work encounters issues, particularly when executing numerous CI/CD processes. Occasionally, these processes may experience delays or errors, often stemming from unavailable features or functionality in the cloud environment. Improvement in this area is necessary for smoother and more reliable operations.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using it for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is stable. However, as mentioned earlier, configuring multiple CI/CD pipelines, with numerous processes running concurrently, can occasionally lead to issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Being cloud-based, this product is highly scalable, offering the flexibility to scale horizontally or vertically as needed. With a relatively small team of ten to twenty users, the scalability of the product aligns well with our requirements. It is widely utilized by both developers and the QA team.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup varies depending on the complexity of the workload. Some cases are intricate and require significant time to develop the end product or work item. Conversely, there are simpler, smaller cases that can be completed quickly.

What about the implementation team?

For deployment, assistance from Microsoft or a system integrator is essential. Customizing templates and processes requires their full support to tailor them to our specific requirements. Since it's a cloud-based solution, the need for managers is minimized as management becomes simpler. A team of two to three individuals is sufficient for configuring it effortlessly.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing for this product is on a monthly basis. It is relatively inexpensive compared to other solutions that necessitate servers and physical hardware.

What other advice do I have?

 Overall It offers a comprehensive array of features with accessibility and support for customizations and performance enhancements. Its extensive feature set covers various aspects, making it highly versatile. I strongly recommend Azure's demo for exploring CI/CD pipelines, boards, and customization options. It will undoubtedly streamline development activities, reducing effort and boosting productivity significantly. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure DevOps
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure DevOps. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Software & Cyber Section Manager at a aerospace/defense firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Integrates will with Git and other Microsoft products and scales well
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft has good integration with its other products, such as Office, Teams, et cetera."
  • "We would like some bidirectional synchronization. It's the requirement if you want to analyze it to software requirements, et cetera. That's something that most of the tools aren't that good at."

What is our primary use case?

In the first years, we had the solution, we did not use it for all of its models - not for the full life cycle. Now, within the past year or year and a half, we wanted to make the best out of it. We now use all the models and all the development lifecycle.

What is most valuable?

The product has integrated all the relevant models of task management requirements, source control, back management, test management, et cetera. You have a full ALM suite.

The connection to Git, which was bought by Microsoft, is also good. We use Git as a version control tool. 

Microsoft has good integration with its other products, such as Office, Teams, et cetera. 

The solution has proven itself to be very mature and robust. It's quite stable.

The scalability potential is very good. 

What needs improvement?

I'm not sure if "missing" is the right phrase, however, I am interested in, with all of these tools, if the connection to requirements management tools like DCRM, DOORS, et cetera, would be possible. That's a weak spot in most of the vendors.

We would like some bidirectional synchronization. It's the requirement if you want to analyze it to software requirements, et cetera. That's something that most of the tools aren't that good at.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for around three or four years at this point. It's been a while.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is mature and robust and quite stable. I haven't experienced any problems at all with it. It doesn't crash or freeze. It doesn't seem to have bugs or glitches that affect it. We have the support in-house on servers and we haven't had any problems with defining collections for example.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is my understanding that the solution is very stable. As an example, our organization has many teams and many departments and we use it across them all the time with no problem. We started using it originally when we had several teams, and now we have tens of teams, and it scaled up to meet our needs and we haven't had any issue with doing so.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use Jira. I myself do not use Jira, however, it is used by other teams and colleagues within our organization.

How was the initial setup?

I can't speak to the implementation process, as our IT handled it. I was not a part of the initial setup. I can't speak to if it was complex or straightforward, or how long it took to set up.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are currently evaluating both Jira and DevOps against each other. We use both in several development units. Lately, I've been looking for some comparisons and reviews, and material regarding those platforms and the comparison between them. I'm wondering to myself whether it's good for our company to have both, or to choose one of them to be the standard platform of our company. That's the main subject that I'm interested in.

What other advice do I have?

We are customers and end-users. We don't have a business relationship with Microsoft.

I'm a manager, and therefore I don't personally use it on a daily basis anymore, however, I manage teams that work directly with the product.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. If I compare it against other products, it holds its own. It's quite a good solution overall and we've been happy with its capabilities.

I would recommend it to other organizations or companies. I'd advise them, however, to use the source control and to wisely choose which kind of collection they want to set up and configure. It's something very important that will set a company up for success. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
President & CEO at Modern Requirements
Real User
Fully integrated, good testing and can act as a single source of proof, excellent support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is that it's fully integrated, where we have a single place to do everything that we need."
  • "Requirements management is an area that can be improved."

What is our primary use case?

I used Azure DevOps for work item management, sprint planning, source code repository, continuous integration, continuous build, and continuous release. I build whole chains.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is that it's fully integrated, where we have a single place to do everything that we need.

Testing is really good, it has come a long way.

It is the single source of proof or the single system of record that does everything you need, you don't have to put the different pieces together to form the whole chain.

We can do everything in one single platform, which is why it does a good job.

What needs improvement?

Requirements management is an area that can be improved.

Integration with Microsoft teams would be a good idea.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Azure DevOps for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's stable. It's been pretty good, especially in the last two years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There are no issues with scalability. We have approximately 50 people in our organization who are using it.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have contacted technical support and they are excellent. I would rate them a nine out of ten.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I am using a mismatch of tools from HP and Atlassian, but they did not give us an integrated toolchain. Microsoft Azure does it exceptionally well.

How was the initial setup?

It is reasonably straightforward, but it is only as straightforward as the problems that you are trying to solve.

If you are trying to set up the whole chain, then the problem is complex, and the solution has to be as equally complex.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is reasonable, but of course, you can find others that are cheaper such as Atlassian. But, if you look at the more serious products like Polarion, it's very competitive. 

If you have good Microsoft programs, it's nearly free.

What other advice do I have?

I would certainly recommend this product.

There are a lot of parts to the toolchain for DevOps, so take each area at a time. My advice is to take one step at a time, don't overdo it, and over time build out all of the capacity difficulties. Automation is also one of the biggest things.

Overall, it seems like a really good solution.

I would rate it a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Product Owner at Day Insurance
Real User
The software covers the whole development cycle, from requirements analysis to deployment
Pros and Cons
  • "Azure DevOps is complete and meets all of your expectations. You can develop your own plugins to customize it however you want, so it's highly flexible. We develop personalized plugins or use ones that other programmers create for the Azure Marketplace."
  • "Microsoft could focus on refining the reporting and dashboard elements of Azure DevOps to improve it."

What is our primary use case?

We use Azure DevOps for the entire lifecycle of software development, starting with requirements analysis. After that, we use it to continue the process of development and deployment.

What is most valuable?

Azure DevOps is user-friendly. The UI and the UX are perfect. Their software covers the whole development cycle, from requirements analysis to deployment. In particular, it's helpful in the requirements analysis phase. You can apply your methodology or Agile framework from the beginning. After choosing the framework, like Agile or Scrum, Azure DevOps provides many features, like user stories, tasks, managing boards, and those kinds of things.

Azure DevOps is complete and meets all of your expectations. You can develop your own plugins to customize it however you want, so it's highly flexible. We develop personalized plugins or use ones that other programmers create for the Azure Marketplace. 

This makes up for any possible deficiency in Azure DevOps features. If you want some capability that Azure DevOps doesn't provide, you can develop your plugin or customize any part of it. The options for customization make it worthwhile for any software development.

What needs improvement?

Microsoft could focus on refining the reporting and dashboard elements of Azure DevOps to improve it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with DevOps for about five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

DevOps is totally stable. And if there are any problems, Microsoft patches them as soon as possible.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

When you enter into Microsoft ecosystem, you can scale any part of the product in this ecosystem. For example, you can connect Azure DevOps to Microsoft SharePoint for knowledge or document management. You can connect Azure DevOps to OneDrive for storage. You can connect it with Skype for chatting or Outlook. 

How are customer service and support?

We don't use support from Microsoft. We mostly solve problems by searching for solutions on sites like GitHub and that kind of thing. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've used Atlassian products like Jira, Confluence, and HipChat, but I prefer Azure DevOps and the Microsoft ecosystem.

How was the initial setup?

It is effortless to set up DevOps. All Microsoft products are user-friendly and easy to install. If you run into any obstacles, you can use Microsoft library or MSDN for any further help that you need. Microsoft provides a lot of wizards that you can use to solve your problem.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Associate Software Development Engineer at Publicis Sapient
Real User
Good for collaboration and has useful application insights
Pros and Cons
  • "Some of the most valuable features are the ease of use and the ability to monitor a lot of things. It has a lot of applications and facilities that meet all the developers' requirements. For example, we can use application insights to get an idea of our application's performance. Since it's cloud-based, it's really good for collaboration and working as a team."
  • "I can't think of anything I would like to improve, since I don't have complete knowledge of the platform yet. I'm sure that as I gain more experience, I will understand it better. The price could maybe be cheaper, but I'm sure I'll have more ideas as to improvements and additional features once I've used it more."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case of Azure is to host our web application. We used Azure SQL databases for our project and found it useful to host our web application and make use of all Azure's facilities, such as function apps, API management services, etc. This solution is cloud deployed. 

What is most valuable?

Some of the most valuable features are the ease of use and the ability to monitor a lot of things. It has a lot of applications and facilities that meet all the developers' requirements. For example, we can use application insights to get an idea of our application's performance. Since it's cloud-based, it's really good for collaboration and working as a team. 

What needs improvement?

I can't think of anything I would like to improve, since I don't have complete knowledge of the platform yet. I'm sure that as I gain more experience, I will understand it better. The price could maybe be cheaper, but I'm sure I'll have more ideas as to improvements and additional features once I've used it more. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for about two months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is stable. From what I have used it for, it has been pretty efficient. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is scalable. Most of my team uses Azure DevOps and other Azure facilities, so there are quite a lot of users. 

How are customer service and support?

I haven't felt the need to contact support. I'm not sure if any of my friends or colleagues have, but one thing about Microsoft is the documentation is extremely good. So we barely falter anywhere because if we thoroughly follow the documentation, it's pretty easy to follow the process through. 

How was the initial setup?

The installation is straightforward since it's cloud-based. You can do it yourself. For deployment, we were a team of about 20 people. 

What about the implementation team?

We implemented through an in-house team. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This product could maybe be cheaper. My organization handled licensing, so I'm not aware of which subscription they have. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate this product an eight-and-a-half or nine out of ten. I have partial knowledge about it, since I haven't really explored everything in proper elaborate detail, but I would definitely recommend Microsoft Azure DevOps to others considering implementation. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
CT DDS ENC at SGRE
Real User
Top 20
Has many valuable features including dashboards, sprints, queries, pipelines, artifacts, and the cover repository
Pros and Cons
  • "If someone is considering developing and deploying the infrastructure in this solution, then using this tool is perfect because it's fully integrated with the pipelines and with a server core repository."
  • "I would like to see improvement in the metrics and the dependencies."

What is most valuable?

There are many valuable features including dashboards, sprints, queries, pipelines, artifacts, and the cover repository.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see improvement in the metrics and the dependencies. I would also like to see the option to define the dependencies within all teams in the same project. We have a team level, a program level, and a portfolio level. For the metrics portion, I would like to see some drag-and-drop features for the dashboards that would make it possible to aggregate data from the different teams.

The plugin for the iteration walls can also use improvement as it does not work well.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable. Whenever there has been an issue the solution slowed down but there was never any data loss.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution appears to be scalable.

How was the initial setup?

I am not familiar with the initial setup.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was done in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost is reasonable. For the basic license, it is around five euros per month. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the solution nine out of ten.

If someone is considering developing and deploying the infrastructure in this solution, then using this tool is perfect because it's fully integrated with the pipelines and with a server core repository. When you are building infrastructure, then you are able to use the same tool to deploy the server, deploy infrastructure, and all within a few minutes. This gives you access to the same tool, task management, dashboards, pipelines, and the server core repository. So everything you need to develop a server is integrated into the same tool.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Agile Coach at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Good visualization, and transparency, but the price could be reduced
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of this solution is that it saves time."
  • "Being more technology-agnostic through ease of integration would be beneficial."

What is our primary use case?

We use Microsoft Azure DevOps for CICD, and to organize it in order to visualize the ongoing work.

What is most valuable?

It allows you to save time while also providing a governance visualization of ongoing activities and transparency.

The most valuable feature of this solution is that it saves time.

What needs improvement?

The price could be reduced. It is expensive, especially when it comes to infrastructure.

The integration could be better. Being more technology-agnostic through ease of integration would be beneficial. Once you start working for Microsoft, you are frequently tied to Microsoft.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Azure DevOps for the last ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Azure DevOps is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Microsoft Azure DevOps is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

I would say the technical support is fine, but I have not had any trouble with the solution.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have some experience using Jira.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is very expensive in comparison to others.

As the cost structure is per user, I would recommend paying the cost structure based on the amount of data you use rather than the number of users.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have recently researched Jira, Microsoft DevOps, TFS, and Micro Focus.

What other advice do I have?

Mostly, because of the pricing, I would rate Microsoft Azure DevOps a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Azure DevOps Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Azure DevOps Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.