Microsoft Azure DevOps Reviews

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.

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.

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.

I've been using the solution for three years.

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.

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.

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.

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

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. 

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

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. 

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.

While DevOps is a well-established area offering robust capabilities, our focus lies in its adaptability to our specific needs. It enhances collaboration and project management. Additionally, we leverage DevOps for its robust reporting capabilities, which empower us to make informed decisions and track progress effectively.

When implementing CI/CD workflows using Azure DevOps, we leverage its standard model as our foundation. However, we also integrate third-party tools such as Jenkins, NGINX, Argo, and Tecton, all of which are compatible with Azure DevOps. This interoperability greatly benefits us, as Azure DevOps seamlessly integrates with these tools, enhancing our workflow capabilities.

Azure DevOps has significantly enhanced our team's agile project management and planning processes. One notable capability is the rapid setup time of a new Azure DevOps system, often completed within minutes, eliminating the need for extensive setup hassles. Additionally, once established, the platform has proven to be highly robust, with no instances of downtime or performance issues encountered. This stability extends over the years, with projects maintained on Azure DevOps for two to three years remaining consistently stable. This reliability ensures that projects don't slow down or require intricate management, as Azure DevOps provides a seamless and dependable solution.

Azure Boards has significantly enhanced our team's collaboration efforts. We have a long history of using the platform, even before it was branded as Azure DevOps, with various name changes over the past five years. Boards are a particularly powerful feature, offering ready-made templates that serve as a solid foundation for project management. Additionally, the platform allows for customization, enabling users to tailor boards to specific project needs. This flexibility extends to offering different boards for different management levels, catering to both team and executive needs.

Azure Test Plans have significantly improved the quality and efficiency of our testing process by incorporating test cases and methodologies seamlessly into the suite. It serves as a one-stop solution for our testing needs, empowering both developers and QA teams to identify and address issues that impact overall quality.

Since adopting Azure Pipelines, we've witnessed significant improvements in our release management processes. It serves as a one-stop solution for CI/CD, offering maturity and flexibility. We have the autonomy to configure our CI/CD pipelines according to our specific needs, whether we choose to implement continuous integration (CI) only or both CI and continuous delivery (CD), either manually or automated. While there is potential for enhancement in providing more out-of-the-box CI/CD templates, overall, teams have not encountered any significant issues with Azure Pipelines.

Two of the most valuable features include the integrated project management suite, which consolidates source code and project management in a single location, and its powerful reporting capabilities.

There's potential for Microsoft to enhance third-party integrations. This could streamline the testing process by providing access to these tools directly within Azure DevOps, eliminating the need for separate subscriptions and browsers. While reporting in Azure DevOps is a robust capability, there's always room for enhancement, particularly in providing more granular reports. Also, integrating Co-pilot, Microsoft's AI-powered tool, into Azure DevOps could greatly enhance the platform and potentially offer valuable assistance and insights throughout the development process.

We have been working with it for the last five years.

The system is exceptionally robust and reliable,  and we rarely encounter any performance issues. I would rate it eight out of ten.

It's capable of handling large volumes of data, project archives, source code, and more without any issues. Around three thousand developers regularly engage with Azure DevOps in various capacities. We have plans to expand its usage in the future. I would rate it eight out of ten.

We have been part of the Microsoft Compliance journey through its rebranding to the integration into Microsoft Studio. In addition to Azure DevOps, we also utilize Jira, including both Jira Cloud and on-premises versions, as well as other project management tools like Monday.com and Asana, catering to various customer preferences and requirements.

The initial setup was quite intuitive. I would rate it eight out of ten.

Deployment time is swift and efficient. Once we initiate the process, the team typically has it available within minutes. For maintenance, we have a team of two people.

The return on investment is evident in the ease and compatibility Azure DevOps provides, sparing us from the complexities of managing additional products while focusing on building our own. This capability adds tremendous value to the entire value chain we offer to our customers. I would rate it six out of ten.

The pricing of Azure DevOps falls within the average range and it is fixed. When evaluating costs, it is not a significant expense for our organization. I would rate it four out of ten.

We conducted evaluations of other vendors as well, with Jira emerging as the strongest contender at that time. When considering an on-premises solution, particularly for internal team collaboration, an internal instance of Jira suffices, leveraging available compute units and VMs within the organization. However, for external client collaboration, especially when teams are geographically dispersed, Azure DevOps in the cloud presents a more viable option. Additionally, Azure DevOps offers an intuitive interface for efficient project management and source code integration. From a cost perspective, Azure DevOps proves to be more economical, priced at seven dollars per user.

Azure DevOps is a highly stable and robust product, providing users with a dependable experience. It offers more functionality than initially anticipated, making it essential to explore its full capabilities beyond just storage management or source code usage. It's crucial for users to thoroughly understand the product and its features to leverage its full potential. We are highly satisfied with it as we haven't encountered significant problems where the product itself is unresponsive or features are failing to load. Performance issues, authentication failures, and other common concerns are non-existent, as the standard mechanisms work flawlessly for us. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

My team uses this solution for the CI/CD deployment, and code check-ins.

We are also using Azure Boards for tracking our work, all of the requirements, the backlogs the sprints, and the release planning.

What I like the most is that it is easy to comprehend, and it's easy to use.

The simplicity is very good and the customer experience is also great.

I am not suggesting this solution should be cheaper. I would like to see a bucket of licenses. for example, 10 licenses or 100 licenses that could be monitored to know how many of those licenses have been used. The price would be deducted accordingly.

I should not have to contact Microsoft daily to request a license or two. There should be a mechanism in place where you are able to find out where you are out of 100 licenses, or that you have used 90 licenses in that year.

I should be given a credit line of 10 licenses at the end of the year or at the end of the month.

It should be easier to manage licenses, especially because it's in the cloud. You should know the usage and based on the usage, you should be able to make decisions.

I have been using Microsoft Azure DevOps for one year.

We are using the latest version.

It's a stable product. I have not experienced any issues.

This is an area that has yet to be explored fully. We haven't taken it to this level.

We are a team of 25 to 30 members, which is fine for us. Every time we scale up we need a new license and that takes time, it's not just a click and it's done.

I don't know if it will be scalable for 200 to 300 people.

Previously, I was working with Jira.

I was not involved in the installation. My team completed it.

Price is an area that could be improved. There are products on the market with a fixed price of 50 or 100 people, you are a bucket price. 

With Azure, you have to pay for every user.

It's good to have a bucket such as 50 to 100, or 100 to 200, and flexible pricing.

The issue may be from having more than one license. When you procure one license or two licenses, it becomes difficult.

It should be easier to procure a license, it should not be one by one. We don't know how many members I will have on my team three months from now.

We plan to continue using this solution.

I would recommend this solution, but I would not know their business needs.

Based on the various features, the deployments, licensing, pricing, and the customer experience, I would rate Microsoft Azure DevOps a seven 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.

Being a project manager, it is necessary to create sprint, and kanban boards for management decision-making and our product life cycle. We use the solution for sprint backlog creation and bug reporting for IT department fixation. The dashboard is an interesting feature with visibility on the pending due dates. 

Since using this software, we have revoked the usage of MS Office tools and prefer to instead use Azure.

Azure is one of the few project management software solutions that provide a clear view of project standing, and sprint of product backlog as well. 

As far as my organization is concerned, we use this software for managing the project life cycle where we raise change request forms here and the IT developer provides the solution and from there we can conduct the UAT and sign off for closure. 

The entire product life cycle is being managed with task assignments so broader and a clear understanding of scope is provided by this software and the organization can better understand its current progress.

The available Kanban board is the best feature for management decisions. The sprint capabilities of the product break down the feature and characteristics of the product into steps and if any step is pending we may forward it to the backlog. 

Microsoft Azure is an Agile methodology, so multiple steps can be performed by different user segments in order to achieve the scope smoothly. 

More features can be included. We'd like to see better Kanban templates and an audio-video chat facility. 

The bug reporting facility can be enriched; there is nothing to mark "passed" "failed" the test cases. 

The dashboard can be enriched. 

Related links must be visible on the dashboard for integration purposes. 

I've used the solution for the last two years.

The stability is good.

The scalability is good.

Customer service and support are good. 

Positive

We did not use a different solution previously.

The initial setup is a little bit complex.

We worked with the vendor.

We have witnessed a good return on investment. 

This is good software for a reasonable price.

We did not evaluate other options. 

Azure DevOps helps us automate building, testing, and deploying our code through CI/CD pipelines.

Valuable features for project management and tracking in Azure DevOps include a portal displaying test results, check-in/check-out activity, and developer/tester productivity. This portal provides options to view development and testing velocity effectively.

I don't see any major need for improvement in Azure DevOps. The only downside is that the deployment could be a little challenging but it is manageable.

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

We have not had any stability issues with the solution.

Azure DevOps is highly scalable and fairly straightforward to scale as needed.

As a Microsoft partner, my clients range from medium to large organizations, with a focus on larger clients. However, I also serve some smaller life insurance companies.

I have received excellent tech support from Microsoft and I would rate them as a ten out of ten.

Positive

I have used Amazon and Micro Focus products in addition to Microsoft offerings, though the majority of my work has been with Microsoft. The main difference is in the documentation and available tech support, where Microsoft excelled with abundant resources compared to Amazon and Micro Focus.

Deploying Azure DevOps pipelines can be complex, but it is straightforward with careful planning and step-by-step execution. Challenges may arise from the multitude of options and design considerations, requiring expertise or guidance from experienced professionals. While there is ample learning material available online, structured examples could enhance usability by providing clearer guidance amidst the vast amount of documentation.

Microsoft's licensing and pricing for Azure DevOps are competitive within the market. While it may be expensive, it is almost the same as the pricing for comparable products in the industry. I would rate the pricing as a six out of ten in terms of costliness.

I prefer Azure DevOps over other solutions. I appreciate its intuitive YAML-based definition language and find its object model and configuration more intuitive than other systems.

We used Azure DevOps to collaborate on migrating a legacy banking application from a mainframe to a Windows platform. The project aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of migrating legacy banking systems.

Azure Repos improves code version control and collaboration by providing a centralized repository for source code. It enables multiple developers to work on the same project, track revision history, and merge code changes efficiently, essential for collaborative development environments.

Using Azure Test Plans significantly improves software quality by enabling structured test planning and automation. This ensures that code is thoroughly tested, enhancing solution integrity and mitigating risks associated with code implementation.

Integrating Azure DevOps with other tools and services is straightforward and intuitive. I found it easy to integrate monitoring and other tools with Azure DevOps.

Before implementing Microsoft Azure DevOps, new users should be aware that it is a complex software requiring careful planning and design. Conduct a proof of concept to ensure it meets your needs, and engage specialists to design your environment accordingly. Additionally, be prepared for a cultural shift in utilizing the tool effectively.

Overall, I would rate Azure DevOps as a nine out of ten. I always recommend it to all of my customers.

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.