TFS Reviews

Name: TFS
Brand: Microsoft
Rating: 4.0 (98 reviews)

Vendor: Microsoft

4.0 out of 5

98 reviews
87% willing to recommend

4,402 followers

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What is TFS?

Visual Studio’s Team Foundation Server (TFS) is a powerful application development lifecycle management solution. It aids developers in managing every aspect of their DevOps and application creation. TFS combines many different types of solutions into a single powerful platform.

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TFS is the #3 ranked solution in top Quality Management Tools and #5 ranked solution in top Application Lifecycle Management Suites. PeerSpot users give TFS an average rating of 8.0 out of 10. TFS is most commonly compared to OpenText ALM / Quality Center: TFS vs OpenText ALM / Quality Center. TFS is popular among the midsize enterprise segment, accounting for 71% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a educational organization, accounting for 68% of all views.

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Featured TFS reviews

Pmurki@Micron.Com Praveen

VP & GM, Client Storage at Micron Technology

I've worked with TFS for source control and Agile project management. We also used TFS for seamless team collaboration and tracking. I used TFS for a couple of years. Now, we use Azure DevOps. It's a wonderful tool for source control and CI/CD pipelines It's a really valuable tool for…

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CarlBrown

Vice President Engineering at Vertex Downhole Ltd

So far, so good. We've had one external developer consultant that had to come in and access it as well, and that went well. I don't have any gauge about how it would be for a team of 50 developers. The hardware we're running on it right now probably wouldn't be enough, but I don't feel that it wouldn't be able to scale to a larger number of developers. From a security model perspective and from a functionality perspective, it seems to have all the features to be scalable. I just don't know about the performance. That's all. Currently, there are five of us who work with this solution. We have one project manager and four developers. We have one firmware developer who does not work in the Visual Studio environment. This firmware developer works in a microchip MPLAB X environment. All other developers work in the Visual Studio development world. So, it's more integrated, but both roles work. The same people also take care of its maintenance. From a source code management perspective, it is being used very extensively. From a build server perspective, it is used extensively. We don't do release management with it, and we don't have integrated automated testing turned on in it as well. Those are two fairly large areas of functionality that we don't use currently. We may in the future, but we're not using them right now. We're using about 60% of the functionality.

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PALAK SURI

Senior Software Engineer at Eurofins

We build a table in TFS and then deploy it using Octopus. It is a slower process, and you can go directly to SSMS and create a table there. However, there is no history if there are any mishaps, so we lose all the changes. So it is better to make those changes in TFS to have a backup. So even though TFS is slower, it is better.

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TFS mindshare

Product category:

As of May 2025, the mindshare of TFS in the Test Management Tools category stands at 7.1%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Test Management Tools

PeerResearch reports based on TFS reviews

Type	Title	Date
Category	Test Management Tools	May 1, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	May 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	TFS vs OpenText ALM / Quality Center	May 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	TFS vs TestRail	May 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	TFS vs Tricentis qTest	May 1, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
OpenText ALM / Quality Center	4.0	12.6%	89%	207 interviews Add to research
Eggplant Test	4.0	5.7%	85%	18 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

TFS offers a user-friendly interface and robust features such as seamless integration with Visual Studio, comprehensive application lifecycle management, and versatile source code management with Git and TFVC support. Its capabilities include version control, agile project management, build and release management, test management, collaboration tools, and traceability. Teams appreciate the customizability, dashboard functionality, and automation options, facilitating effective project management, test case execution, and backlog handling.

"TFS allows me to handle automated builds and release management quite easily."
"It is user-friendly with a straightforward drag and drop interface, which makes it easier for me to create builds and release pipelines without needing to program YAML files."
"A notable feature of TFS is its ease of creating user stories and tasks, which simplifies the process of adding and editing them."

Room for Improvement

TFS users suggest multiple improvements such as expanding platform support beyond Windows, enhancing stability, merging features, and user interface. Training is crucial due to its complexity, and support for cloud integration is vital. Users desire better dashboards, reporting, and agile functionalities. Comparisons to competitors highlight a need for advanced test management, cost-effectiveness, third-party tool integration, better build management, and expanded documentation. Improvements in security, performance, and flexibility would enhance user satisfaction significantly.

"There are glitches, such as runners getting stuck, deployments generating errors, and it's becoming outdated."
"There might be some complexity in its off-cloud versions."
"TFS should have capabilities similar to Git, like storing all types of artifacts in the repository."

ROI

TFS enhances productivity and cost efficiency significantly. Although some have not quantified the ROI, others report a significant reduction in time spent on tasks like validation artifacts, now achievable within a week instead of weeks. Users appreciate its seamless integration with Visual Studio and Azure, making quick fixes essential in high-cost environments like the oil and gas industry feasible. Many highlight the software's interconnectivity and learning curve advantages, improving development processes consistently.

Pricing

Enterprise users report varied experiences with Team Foundation Server (TFS) pricing and licensing. Some find it affordable within a Microsoft subscription, while others consider it costly compared to alternatives. Licensing models differ, often including annual fees. Organizations with enterprise agreements or Visual Studio subscriptions may find the pricing reasonable, whereas smaller teams may see higher costs. TFS provides significant features, making it valuable for Visual Studio integration but potentially expensive for basic use cases.

"There is a yearly licensing fee that needs to be paid."
"TFS is expensive, and the licensing costs are yearly. I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."

Popular Use Cases

Organizations primarily use TFS for version control, source code management, and project management. It integrates with .NET and GitHub, facilitating code repository, branching, and lifecycle management. TFS supports various methodologies, including Agile and SAFe, handling tasks like backlog management, ticketing, and progress tracking. It is utilized for test management, defect tracking, and DevOps integration, enabling seamless code development, deployment, and collaboration across teams. TFS is deployed on-premises and in the cloud.

Service and Support

Many users haven't contacted customer service or technical support for TFS. Those who have, report mixed experiences, with some indicating superb or excellent service, especially when using Microsoft Premier support. Others rely on self-help resources like Microsoft's website and community forums. Some users note slow responses and limited global support. Community and online resources are valuable and often used instead of direct support channels. Rating varies from average to high.

Deployment

TFS's initial setup is generally straightforward and well-documented, often requiring basic configurations. It is wizard-driven with built-in validations, making it user-friendly for most. Some users experienced complexity due to customization or large organization size, which required expert support. Transitioning to newer versions simplified the setup. Online resources and Microsoft documentation were helpful. Most installations, whether on-premise or cloud-based, could be completed swiftly, though larger setups demanded more time and expertise.

Scalability

TFS is often scalable with minimal or no issues encountered by users; however, scalability challenges exist for large organizations, particularly when exceeding 200 concurrent users. Many rate its scalability favorably, with strengths in supporting multiple users and projects. While some users have noted difficulties in branch management and integration with non-Microsoft tools, many others have successfully managed large-scale deployments. TFS' scalability is generally trusted, especially when complemented by Microsoft's resources and capabilities.

Stability

TFS exhibits strong stability for most users, with few experiencing significant issues. Some minor problems arise under load or during version migrations. Adequately resourced hardware is recommended, with some noting the need for more CPU and RAM. Occasional alerts or glitches are reported, often quickly addressed by updates. Regular updates enhance stability, providing a reliable experience. While some report connectivity issues, TFS is widely considered stable, with ratings typically between six to ten out of ten.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our TFS Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

68%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Healthcare Company

Insurance Company

Energy/Utilities Company

University

Real Estate/Law Firm

Comms Service Provider

Media Company

Retailer

Construction Company

Logistics Company

Non Profit

Legal Firm

Outsourcing Company

Compare TFS with alternative products

Learn more about TFS

Visual Studio TFS Benefits

Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by choosing to deploy TFS include:

Build automation. TFS enables users to create definitions that can easily automate any and all tasks that are critical to the development of their applications. Businesses can utilize features that are built into TFS to accomplish preset tasks that can help them create the application of their choice. This can include enabling them to run automated tests when the need arises. Additionally, users can create custom tasks that will run automatically and allow users to focus their attention on the areas that most demand their focus.

Security. TFS is designed with the security of a user’s DevOps in mind. It enables an organization to restrict user permissions so that only developers that are meant to have access to particular parts of the development process can perform tasks related to those sections. It segments the development process to reduce the possibility of sensitive data being stolen.

Enables product rollbacks. TFS keeps copies of past versions of the organization’s application. Users can sift through the different versions that are available and can redeploy the version that best fits their needs should it ever become necessary to do so.

Visual Studio TFS Features

Source code management. TFS comes with all of the tools that developers need to completely manage their source code. They can share their code so that multiple developers can work on the same project. Additionally, TFS enables them to do things like review the history of a particular piece of source code.
Project management. Organizations can leverage the wealth of project management features that TFS offers and ensure that their projects run as smoothly as possible. Project managers are able to use TFS to control every aspect of their project, from the planning stage until the application’s development has reached its conclusion.

Reporting. TFS enables users to generate reports that leverage critical metrics and provide them with important insights into the applications that they are creating. These comprehensive reports can be secured so that only users with the proper level of clearance can access them.

Reviews from Real Users

TFS is a highly effective solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Two major advantages it offers are its source code management capabilities and its powerful integration suite.

Carl B., the vice president of engineering at Vertex Downhole Ltd, writes, “The most valuable features are related to source code management. Using TFS for source code management and being able to branch and have multiple developers work on the same projects is valuable. We can also branch and merge code back together.”

Ashish K., the principal consultant at Wipro, says, “I have found almost all of the features valuable because it integrates well with your Microsoft products. If a client is using the entire Microsoft platform, then TFS would be definitely preferable. It integrates with the digital studio development environment as well.”

TFS was previously known as Team Foundation Server.