Software Developer Advisor at NTT DATA Services
Application development becomes streamlined with intuitive features and comprehensive debugging tools while integration needs refinement
What is our primary use case?
Recently, I have been working with the Power Platform, which is a Microsoft product. Currently, I am exploring and doing one project as well. Power Platform is looking promising, and it provides various features. It is very easy to learn Power Platform. Power Platform may only be applicable to small size to mid-size applications, so I think it will not be applicable to enterprise level applications.
What is most valuable?
Power Platform provides workflows and database functionality. The database application is very good. When creating an entity, based on that entity, you can create views and pages automatically based on the table. That is one good feature in Power Platform. It also supports customization features, though it takes some time to understand as there are many steps for customization. If any system exposes functionality using REST API, we can get the URL and environment details such as headers. In Microsoft Visual Studio, if a system exposes services, we can consume those services by getting their proper URL/URI and header information. If they have any authentication mechanism using tokens, we can utilize those in Microsoft Visual Studio to invoke and call the REST APIs provided by external systems.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Visual Studio provides almost all features. When adding classes, if references to class files or namespaces are missing, improvements could be made. Sometimes when missing namespaces and calling functionalities in other classes, Microsoft Visual Studio shows errors. While clicking on the cursor shows which particular namespace is missing, when adding new namespaces, it still shows some errors. Microsoft Visual Studio should avoid these errors.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Visual Studio for almost five years.
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What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
Issues with Microsoft Visual Studio are very rare. Sometimes crashes happen and occasionally there might be hanging issues. We close Microsoft Visual Studio and once opened again, the issue resolves automatically.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Regarding stability issues, the system makes sure it should be up and running throughout the day. In case of any downtime issues, the system will notify us about the timing so we can take appropriate actions beforehand. These informations are automatically provided by the system, so we don't need to manage this ourselves. The system helps keep the server up and running.
How are customer service and support?
In the frontend, we need to download Microsoft Visual Studio, which is available in different versions including community editions and professional editions. You can download any edition of the latest version. Once downloaded, you need to provide login credentials and set up the code. They will provide the link from wherever your code is located, and you have to clone it.
How was the initial setup?
Microsoft Visual Studio provides entity framework which supports both code-based and database-first approaches. Based on these options, we can proceed with implementation. If you choose the database-first approach, all the tables from your SQL database and related components will be created as classes in your C# implementation.
What was our ROI?
The ROI involves a one-time payment. Once you have the license, the return depends upon how many projects you are acquiring and how many clients you have. If you develop three to four projects, you can achieve ROI within four or five months. With more projects, ROI can be covered within six months or one year based on your investment. After that, you will get more benefits. It is purely based on the projects in the pipeline.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Regarding maintenance, if you have the Microsoft Visual Studio license, Microsoft will support your product. If you encounter any downtime, Microsoft will notify you in advance so you can take respective actions. They provide temporary solutions to ensure applications do not go down. A backup system ensures end users are not affected. The maintenance is provided by Microsoft.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
For .NET development, I haven't used any other tools besides Microsoft Visual Studio, but we have used third-party controls to display information, such as Telerik controls. We obtained the license and integrated Telerik controls into Microsoft Visual Studio to create data tables and combo boxes. The main competitors to .NET are OutSystems, low-code technologies, and Java.
What other advice do I have?
Debugging tools are very important. In Microsoft Visual Studio, we can use debugging by placing debug points where we need to execute particular functions or code. When you run the application, Microsoft Visual Studio automatically triggers the debugging point. From there, you can check the particular code in the below window where you can see all values, variables, and written statements. You can track everything. Microsoft Visual Studio provides detailed debugging options to see how the application flows with calling functions and working functions. You can identify exactly where data is not loading and what errors are occurring. This information helps resolve issues quickly. Microsoft Visual Studio provides comprehensive development capabilities. You can create any type of application, including mobile applications, console applications, Windows applications, WPF, ASP.NET MVC, and .NET Core. It provides many benefits and can create reusable components. During coding, it provides intelligence features that automatically identify issues. It is very user-friendly and helps avoid coding errors.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
NA
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
NA
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Last updated: May 10, 2025
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Senior Software Architect at USEReady
Integrated tools and extensions offer straightforward and efficient code development
What is our primary use case?
I use Microsoft Visual Studio occasionally. I prefer writing code directly on Notepad++, but when I need the IDE support, I use Microsoft Visual Studio for faster and better code development. It offers a good experience for individuals who are handy with IDEs.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft Visual Studio is integrated with all tools and offers all necessary extensions, making it very convenient. It offers Git connectivity for all Git repositories. I find all its activities to be straightforward and efficient.
What needs improvement?
Maybe some documentation could be better. They can generate some educational videos online, which would be helpful.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Visual Studio for the last five to six years, but I do not use it frequently.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Visual Studio is stable. I have not encountered any problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I use Microsoft Visual Studio on an individual basis, so I am not familiar with its scalability in terms of adding or deleting users, which may be an IT admin function.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I use Notepad++ more often than Microsoft Visual Studio.
How was the initial setup?
The installation of Microsoft Visual Studio is simple, and one person can manage it.
What was our ROI?
The ROI includes time savings, which are approximately ten to twenty percent.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
As a partner, the cost may be part of an integrated license package. I am not sure about specific pricing details.
What other advice do I have?
Maybe sometimes Microsoft Visual Studio hangs if your computer resources are limited. Rating it, I would give it eight points overall.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Last updated: Apr 16, 2025
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CTO at Open HealthCare
Easy to use, works well in the Microsoft Windows ecosystem, and integrates well with Git
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft Visual Studio is a must-have tool if you work in Windows environments."
- "Long installation or upgrade times are sometimes a problem."
What is our primary use case?
My first use case was to develop Microsoft Windows tools in .Net Framework (formerly from 3.5). Later I developed web platforms in ASP .NET and lately, I have developed APIs in both .NET Framework and NET Core, the latest in NET 6.
The platforms that I develop in Windows environments and do not have CI/CD systems I deploy them directly from Visual Studio. The entire Windows ecosystem is well managed by Visual Studio.
When I program in Microsoft Windows I usually use Visual Studio.
How has it helped my organization?
Microsoft Visual Studio is a must-have tool if you work in Windows environments.
Organizations working on a large number of workstations or organizations that are just starting out have a complete tool for use in several versions, most popularly free. So starting or developing a project under these conditions is extremely affordable.
But back to the main feature, with Microsoft Visual Studio you have a Swiss army knife of software development (integration, development, debugging, and deployment) complete and free in its most popular version.
What is most valuable?
The features I found most valuable are those related to the Microsoft Windows ecosystem. The famous umbrella that Microsoft extends over its products.
Working with Azure or SQL Server (connect, implement, deploy, etc.) is extremely easy, a common feature in all Microsoft products.
Deploying to Azure or Windows Server with IIS is also extremely easy and enjoyable.
Finally, integration with Git has improved a lot in the latest versions, as well as integration with GitHub and Copilot.
What needs improvement?
Efficiency is the main focus. Since Visual Studio's inception, it has been a race of constant improvements and attempts to improve the efficiency of the tool in every release. However, crashes and freezes are common when you work with the tool for a long time. The problems get worse when you have more than one project under development and then you need a very powerful computer to be able to perform complex developments. Even having a very powerful computer, as in my case, does not prevent you from having freezes from time to time.
Long installation or upgrade times are sometimes a problem.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for more than ten years.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I had previously tried other environments such as Atom or Sublime Text, but none offered the capabilities of Microsoft Visual Studio.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The most popular version of Microsoft is the Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition. Making it free gives it a boost in all types of organizations.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I had previously tried other environments such as Atom or Sublime Text. Lately, Visual Studio Code has become very popular and I used it eventually.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Last updated: Mar 10, 2025
Flag as inappropriateStudent at a media company with 501-1,000 employees
Robust debugging and plugin support improve coding productivity
What is most valuable?
Microsoft Visual Studio is an IDE, or integrated development environment, which enables users to set up their own dev environment to code and build websites and then host them. Through Microsoft Visual Studio, users can host to cloud services with one button or one fly server. It's essentially an environment for coding; it's an IDE.
Microsoft Visual Studio is a robust Microsoft product. It is a very secure device and tool. It has numerous extensions and plugins available, and it's a cross-platform development tool, meaning development is possible for any other devices. It supports everything, provided you have the specific graphics for processing and a CPU with an intensive workload, a clock speed-based device.
IntelliSense in Microsoft Visual Studio can sense automatically. It can identify syntax errors and declarations if there are mistakes. It's extremely helpful during coding. With IntelliSense, issues can be rectified on the fly, either before or after compiling.
Microsoft Visual Studio's debugging tools are excellent and straightforward. Users can utilize a line-by-line debugging feature.
The built-in Git integration for source control in Microsoft Visual Studio has a simple setup process. Users just need to provide the repo link and grant access. The integration is seamless and helpful, allowing for easy code pushing and pulling.
Some of the most impactful plugins include static code analysis tools and GitHub Copilot. There are also JSON viewers, JSON parsers, and numerous third-party plugins available.
The performance profiling tools in Microsoft Visual Studio are effective. Once an application is ready, it can be tested with performance profiling. Users can perform performance upgrades, check function calling processes, identify redundant elements, and determine if code-level changes are needed for better processing.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Visual Studio is performing well currently. One potential improvement would be integration with solutions such as Codespaces, where users can have their own virtual dev environment setup. A hybrid setup would be beneficial, particularly for users with low-performance PCs. A hybrid collaboration with Microsoft Visual Studio system where some processing occurs in the cloud would be more effective.
How are customer service and support?
The support and community forums for Microsoft Visual Studio are strong, deserving a solid eight out of ten rating.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
What other advice do I have?
I have leveraged the plugin ecosystem to tailor my IDE experience. The overall rating for Microsoft Visual Studio is 8 out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Last updated: Jul 16, 2025
Flag as inappropriateSenior technical project manager at net solutions
Allows for easy integration with other tools such as MS Teams
Pros and Cons
- "The code analysis tool is particularly valuable as it eliminates the need for manual code reviews."
- "Sometimes, the deprecation of packages can be a challenge."
What is our primary use case?
We use Visual Studio for website development and related tasks. It's been quite helpful for us.
What is most valuable?
From a professional perspective, I've been using Visual Studio since childhood, so I find it very useful. The code analysis tool is particularly valuable as it eliminates the need for manual code reviews.
Many essential features are built-in, making it a great tool. Additionally, it allows for easy integration with other tools like MS Teams, which enhances its usefulness.
What needs improvement?
Sometimes, the deprecation of packages can be a challenge. Although Visual Studio provides suggestions when we compile and encounter deprecated packages, it can still be confusing. Even after multiple attempts, we may struggle to fix these deprecated packages and related issues. So, it is one of the areas of improvement in Visual Studio.
I have been working on a website that I inherited from a client, and when I tried to run it on my system, I discovered that some of the packages were either depreciated or no longer in use. It would be helpful if Visual Studio could suggest and handle such unused packages in a more user-friendly manner.
I am suggesting this as an area of improvement because recently I was working on a bigger client project. The project was functioning correctly on my system but not on another system. Later, I found that some packages were depreciated, which might have caused the issue. However, we couldn't determine the exact reason for the difference in behavior because we used the same ZIP file and the same Visual Studio version. Then, when the person tried to run the same code on her system, it didn't work. It seemed to be related to the deprecated packages. Ultimately, the solution we eventually found was to set up a new system for her, reinstalling Microsoft Visual Studio and related components.
Another area that could greatly benefit from Microsoft within Visual Studio is unit testing. It's a pain point for every software developer. If Microsoft can provide better tools or features related to unit testing, it would be really helpful. Especially when working on complex projects, writing comprehensive test cases can be time-consuming. However, clients often cannot afford to pay for that additional time in the competitive market.
So in future releases, having some automation capabilities or built-in support for generating test cases would be great. Although we can integrate third-party automation testing tools, they are often paid solutions. For example, I've noticed the presence of plugins like ChatGPT in Visual Studio Code, but I'm not fully aware of their capabilities. Therefore, if Visual Studio could offer some level of automation for test cases, it would be a valuable addition.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Visual Studio for over 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of Visual Studio a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft has gained a lot of confidence in the market, so I would rate the scalability of Visual Studio around eight out of ten.
Based on my recent experience, sometimes, we faced difficulties with the same set of codes. Therefore, considering the recent incident, I leaned toward an eight and not a ten for scalability.
In my company, around 20 people are using this solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple. Microsoft has made it very easy to set up.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Price-wise, it is good. We are using the paid versions, and the price is reasonable. For our company, it's a genuine price.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have only worked with Visual Studio.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate it a ten. It's very user-friendly and feature-rich.
However, there's always room for improvement in the product. Features like automation test cases to meet market requirements would be beneficial.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Xamarin Developer at Cognizant
Easy to understand, simple to implement, and easy to expand
Pros and Cons
- "We have no issues with scaling."
- "Every time it updates, there are issues."
What is our primary use case?
I'm using Visual Studio 2022 on a MacBook.
What is most valuable?
The installation process is not difficult.
It's good overall.
The solution is stable.
We have no issues with scaling.
What needs improvement?
I don't know what area needs to be better.
Every time it updates, there are issues. It alerts to an exception and then quits. They need to improve that aspect.
We would like a .NET core API. Currently, Visual Studio is using a .NET core six version.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for around four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution. There are no bugs. It works well.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution can scale as needed.
We have around 5,000 people on it. Typically, they are developers.
How are customer service and support?
The solution itself is good. We don't have issues. I've never had to contact support.
I have had to contact the Microsoft team due to some items surrounding the Xamarin platform, however.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We chose Microsoft Visual Studio due to the fact that it's a .NET part for developing applications and contains many more things like C#, a mobile application for Xamarin, and MBC, et cetera. That's why many people are using it. I can't speak to what was used before.
How was the initial setup?
It's very simple to install the solution. First, you need to install it, then, we need to install Xcode for iOS and Android SDK for Android. We need to install the Xamarin profiler when using Visual Studio as well.
It's a big file that you need to download during installation. For Android and iOS, it's something like a 20GB file that needs to be downloaded. Visual Studio is not more than 3GB to 4GB to set up, however, Android SDK is a very big file, which is why it's more than 15GB.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't deal with the licensing aspects of the product. I'm not sure how much we pay.
What other advice do I have?
Currently, I'm using Visual Studio version 2022.
I'd recommend the solution to others. It's a great product.
It's very easy to understand and develop the application.
I'd rate it an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Data engineer at Ernst & Young
Helps with data modeling but needs to improve user interface
Pros and Cons
- "I like the product's connection with Azure analytics services and the ability to build the model on the cloud."
- "The tool's interface should be more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
I use Microsoft Visual Studio for data modeling.
What is most valuable?
I like the product's connection with Azure analytics services and the ability to build the model on the cloud.
What needs improvement?
The tool's interface should be more user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working the solution for six months.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Visual Studio Code is not the best in terms of scalability. My company has 15 users for it.
How was the initial setup?
The product's setup is straightforward. The time taken to deploy it depends on the project.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Business System Developer at AVEVA
Breakout point,and interface design are easy to use, but the solution is not really good at debugging JavaScript, jQuery, or SQL
Pros and Cons
- "The solution includes a debug function that I can breakpoint to easily detect what is wrong with my applications."
- "The solution is not really good at debugging JavaScript, jQuery, or SQL"
What is our primary use case?
I write all of my web applications and perform debugs with the solution. Our company is a Microsoft partner and has 1,000 developers and technical team members that are dispersed across the UK, US, and Asia Pacific.
How has it helped my organization?
The breakout point, interface design, and coding areas are WYSIWYG and easy to use.
What is most valuable?
The solution includes a debug function that I can breakpoint to easily detect what is wrong with my applications. It is really good for debugging C# code. It identifies which lines or sections have problems and if your naming is incorrect.
What needs improvement?
The solution is not really good at debugging JavaScript, jQuery, or SQL.
For SQL, sometimes I get alerts that there are non-values or mismatches but the line or section is not identified. I get very generic information with SQL. I have to install ELMAH open source code into our SQL so Visual Studio can track it.
For jQuery, I have to add the debugger command manually.
Sometimes, when upgrading the product, certain features are removed even though they are very good like EDMS. There was a VISA for connecting databases and creating an entity framework that would generate connections and pulses. It was removed from the latest release so now it needs to be added manually. I like enhancements but would prefer they not remove features as it makes things more difficult.
When they release things like .NET Core, the solution becomes unstable. There needs to be a long-term plan because so many versions have been released that some are duplicates. Let's say I'm using .NET Core version 5 and they change it to .NET 5 or 6.0, the releases are too quick and completely duplicated.
Every new release includes duplicates of features. Some are very useful but when they are duplicated, I have to rewrite or upgrade my code. This makes it difficult for a developer and is not a long-term solution. In one year, I've already spent money to develop my apps, and then I have to upgrade the code again.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is not very stable and sometimes hangs.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable and adding users is no problem.
How are customer service and support?
I rely on internal staff for technical support. I believe Microsoft requires you to register as a customer before you can utilize their support. There's an online forum where you can post questions and get quick replies from other users.
How was the initial setup?
Setup and use are easy.
Deployment varies based on the size of your project.
Small, web-deployed projects take less than five minutes and we are ready to publish the web app to Azure.
For on-premises, we build the DLL and web package in advance. It takes 20-30 minutes to import because you have to upload to the file server, download the package, and import the application.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Our company is a Microsoft partner so we only use their solutions.
What other advice do I have?
If you want to use .NET or C#, then Visual Studio is the best solution.
I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner

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