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reviewer2337807 - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Comprehensive project management and collaboration for software development, although it may have limitations in terms of ease of deployment and integration with non-Microsoft tools
Pros and Cons
  • "The features of Azure Repos that we find most impactful are those related to source control management within our DevOps code management processes."
  • "Incorporating security tools directly into DevOps is crucial, as many existing DevOps solutions lack robust security features."

What is our primary use case?

We rely on Azure DevOps for our CI/CD workflows. We use it extensively in our daily operations, particularly for deployments and other IT tasks. We use it for project management and collaboration throughout our software development lifecycle. Our task is to determine if the workflow within our networks is integrated with our ITSM or focused management, enabling us to initiate tracking for these tasks.

How has it helped my organization?

The reporting and analytics features of Azure DevOps significantly improve our project visibility and decision-making process. This includes a reporting dashboard and integrated monitoring capabilities. We utilize Prometheus and other tools for monitoring, and Azure DevOps seamlessly integrates with various solutions, ensuring flexibility in usage while maintaining consistent concepts.

Azure DevOps has significantly enhanced the productivity and efficiency of our development team, especially considering our high volume of daily deployments. Developers find it invaluable for tracking changes, generating logs, and creating reports effortlessly. Automation of deployments is particularly crucial for us, given our extensive environment with over two thousand fifty-three instances. The most significant benefit is the reduction in time and effort, leading to a decrease in human errors.

Integrating our pipeline with Jenkins is seamless, particularly for code management using Git repositories. Additionally, for cloud-based applications, we already have native network integration with Azure Active Directory.

What is most valuable?

As we frequently deploy numerous applications, ensuring the protection and fine-tuning of these applications once they are in production is crucial for minimizing downtime and enhancing availability.

The features of Azure Repos that we find most impactful are those related to source control management within our DevOps code management processes.

What needs improvement?

If the pipeline isn't properly configured, it indicates a potential gap in the team's understanding of DevOps principles, which can lead to deployment issues. Incorporating security tools directly into DevOps is crucial, as many existing DevOps solutions lack robust security features.

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure DevOps
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure DevOps. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with it for nine years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We encountered certain downtime.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It doesn't provide the level of scalability as Jenkins provides. We have approximately forty users in our company. I would rate it six out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is relatively satisfactory. I would rate it five out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

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

Deploying GitLab or Jenkins is much easier and involves fewer requirements. Integration with various tools is readily available, especially with Jenkins Blue Ocean, which offers extensive enterprise integrations. When it comes to Azure DevOps, integration with non-Microsoft tools may pose challenges.

How was the initial setup?

For any Microsoft product, Active Directory is a prerequisite, and ensuring its availability on the Azure Standard and Database is essential. This configuration is necessary for setting up the application effectively.

What about the implementation team?

Maintenance is essential due to occasional exclusivity with business connectivity, leading to various issues such as data rate problems and database availability issues.

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

When compared to other vendors, it is cheaper.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend other tools like GitLab or Jenkins. Overall, I would rate it seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2288430 - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Scientist at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Offers excellent version control capabilities to maintain and track our codebase efficiently
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable aspect of Azure DevOps for me is its robust version control functionality, which is critical for our workflow."
  • "The solution is generally stable but not entirely issue-free."

What is our primary use case?

My clients use Azure DevOps primarily for managing code deployment pipelines. We follow a structured process of pushing code from the development environment to testing and then to production, and Azure DevOps is crucial in this workflow. We leverage its version control capabilities to maintain and track our codebase efficiently. Additionally, we make use of its dashboard service to monitor and manage employee hours, helping us keep a close eye on project timelines and resource allocation.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable aspect of Azure DevOps for me is its robust version control functionality, which is critical for our workflow. I find it particularly useful how easy it is to automate pipelines. When we push code changes, the system automatically runs the entire pipeline, and the clear visualization of logs is a great benefit. This feature allows us to quickly pinpoint issues and understand what went wrong with our processes or tools, making troubleshooting much more efficient.

What needs improvement?

While there is always room for improvement, I don't have any urgent issues or specific feature requests right now. I'm content with Azure DevOps as it is. Its functions are standard and easy to use for those familiar with such tools. However, the only thing that could be improved is the stability of the solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Azure DevOps for two months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is generally stable but not entirely issue-free. While problems do occur occasionally, they have become less frequent, occurring around six times less often than before. For example, a recent issue occurred when a dependency was updated, causing the pipeline to crash. However, with the help of logs and troubleshooting, we were able to identify and resolve the problem by making adjustments to the Docker file. I would rate the stability as an eight out of ten. There is room for improvement in terms of stability, as there are occasional issues that require manual intervention to address. While progress has been made, there is a desire to achieve a level of stability where network removal is not necessary in the first place.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Azure DevOps is highly scalable and works effectively even for large-scale projects. It can handle the demands of extensive engineering work and is generally robust in terms of scalability.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is good and quite responsive.

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

I have experience with using GitLab. Comparing GitLab and Azure DevOps, GitLab excels in functionality and offers excellent integration capabilities with Azure DevOps. However, Azure DevOps has a more user-friendly UI. The choice between the two depends on specific project needs and preferences.

How was the initial setup?

The installation of Azure DevOps is straightforward because it is a web-based platform. You don't need to create solutions or go through complex setup procedures, making it a user-friendly option. Maintenance for Azure DevOps is minimal, especially if you have automated processes in place. If your solution uses Docker and you have set up automated updates on Docker Hub, the environment can essentially upgrade itself without much proactive maintenance. However, if issues arise, you can make adjustments to the configurations as needed, allowing for a more reactive approach to maintenance.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to those looking to use Azure DevOps would be to make good use of the documentation available on their website. It is a valuable resource that can help answer questions and provide clarity on various aspects of the platform. Overall, I would rate Microsoft Azure DevOps as an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure DevOps
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure DevOps. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.
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
Jeremy Chen - PeerSpot reviewer
Installation Engineer at CTCI
Real User
Top 20
Stable, scalable, and good for source code control and task management
Pros and Cons
  • "Most of the features are very valuable for us, especially the source code control and task management."
  • "The main issue that I have is the connection speed. Sometimes, the response is too slow. I am based in Taiwan, and I am not sure if it is because of broadband or something else. Its initial configuration is also a little bit difficult."

What is our primary use case?

We are trying to move our entire DevOps cycle to Azure DevOps. It includes test management, source code control, and some parts of CSED.

It is deployed on the cloud, so we always have its latest version.

What is most valuable?

Most of the features are very valuable for us, especially the source code control and task management.

What needs improvement?

The main issue that I have is the connection speed. Sometimes, the response is too slow. I am based in Taiwan, and I am not sure if it is because of broadband or something else.

Its initial configuration is also a little bit difficult.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for almost one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. Currently, we have around ten users. We hope to increase its usage.

How are customer service and technical support?

I didn't have to get in touch with them. I didn't have any technical issues.

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

We have used Jira and TFS. Microsoft Azure DevOps is very useful in terms of management. We are trained to be the users of the DevOps services, but with Jira and TFS, we also had to manage the server, which we didn't want. We wanted to eliminate this kind of effort and just wanted to publish our own developments without having to manage the server.

How was the initial setup?

It is a cloud solution, so there is no installation. Its initial configuration takes some time and is not very easy. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Microsoft Azure DevOps an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1553925 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
Himanshu  Rana - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivery Service Engineer at Hanu Software
MSP
Top 20
Centralized code repository facilitates collaboration and visibility and scalability allows for handling large code volumes and deployment needs
Pros and Cons
  • "Azure DevOps is effective for repository management and code collaboration. We can create branches, differentiate between code versions, save and review code later, get PR approvals, and more. All these features are valuable."
  • "Another area is the Azure monitoring agent for Citrix machines. There's room for improvement there too."

What is our primary use case?

We use Azure Repos for most things. It integrates with Azure Boards. 

It's good for the ticketing part and for saving the Azure Repos. We use Terraform.

How has it helped my organization?

Azure DevOps integrations with other tools have streamlined our workflows.

The centralized code repository is a major part. We store code and collaborate, and everyone can see what others are doing and what code they're adding. We can review the code and make changes if needed. 

The same code used for implementation is visible to other team members, allowing them to contribute. Additionally, the Azure board interface helps create tickets and assign workloads, keeping everyone informed about progress.

What is most valuable?

Azure DevOps is effective for repository management and code collaboration. We can create branches, differentiate between code versions, save and review code later, get PR approvals, and more. All these features are valuable.

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement in customer service and support. Sometimes, I create a ticket for a specific issue, and they tell me it's not relevant to that ticket. 

They ask me to create a different one, basically saying they can't help with the current one. It's a communication gap. We're troubleshooting, so we don't always know the exact issue. They should let us stick with the same ticket and maybe assign a different engineer if needed. These areas definitely need improvement.

Another area is the Azure monitoring agent for Citrix machines. There's room for improvement there too.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for four months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a very refined tool from Microsoft, so there haven't been any problems with stability for us.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is great. We can add as much code as we need, and the deployed code volume can also be scaled. 

The scalability comes in the sense of creating virtual machines using IaaS, which works really well within the suite.

I'm on the DevOps team, and around 25 to 30 of us in the team itself use Azure DevOps. So, overall, there are a lot of end users in my company. 

How are customer service and support?

The customer service and support are good, but there are some issues when we're doing a deployment and need clarification. They're not very helpful there. Maybe there's a separate team for that. 

But in general, for project creation and work, after everything is deployed, Microsoft can help with a general support ticket. But they won't help with the planning phase. They're more like big management. So, there's a gap in the assistance we need for new project deployments.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

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

For ticketing, we use ServiceNow. Both solve the same problem in that regard. And for code repositories, we use GitHub. So, it's not an all-in-one solution like Azure DevOps, which has a lot of features bundled together.

Since Azure DevOps offers everything in one place, it feels more convenient. It does a bit of everything. So it's a good option because it replaces various individual tools and provides all their services in one package.

How was the initial setup?

It is very straightforward. It was easy for me to deploy. 

The deployment depends on the workloads we have. For example, deployment for setting up Azure DevOps or the application itself isn't the same.

It takes a lot of time to get the setup ready. 

Regarding setup, connecting it to Visual Studio was smooth on both Mac and Windows. Integrations are quite good. 

Deployments depend on the workload. We create virtual machines using Terraform, so it's usually fast, especially when downloading repos from Azure Repos.

What about the implementation team?

Smaller tasks like deploying a prepared code for a single service wouldn't require additional engineers. Many workflows can be handled by one person. 

Architecture is different, as the architect designs the infrastructure, which needs to be followed.

What was our ROI?

ROI depends on the cost optimization we can achieve. Sometimes, clients use heavier resources than they actually need. So it depends. 

If the environment is fully optimized, there can be significant savings, leading to a good return on investment. But they would also be paying for partner management. 

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

For Microsoft, it can get expensive when you need heavy-duty machines. But compared to on-premises solutions or the hardware we used before, it's still much more convenient for us. So even though it can be pricey, the benefits outweigh the cost in our case.

Maybe some more flexible payment options could improve the pricing. 

What other advice do I have?

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

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
CTO at Southernsoft Technologies
Real User
Intuitive and easy to use with good stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The one thing that really stands out to me is how you can filter and how you can do your reporting and filter the tasks and everything by user."
  • "We did have some brief performance issues, however, that was due to putting everything on one epic instead of breaking a project up."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use the solution on projects often. We use it for our Git repository and the CI/CD.

What is most valuable?

I love how easy the solution is to use. It’s intuitive. I don’t need to reference a manual. Everything is just very naturally laid out.

You can link your tasks and assign people. To me, it just makes sense. The user experience is excellent.

I like the Kanban tasks and their various features. It’s all very straightforward.

The one thing that really stands out to me is how you can filter and how you can do your reporting and filter the tasks and everything by user. Every time I try to do that in Jira, for example, it's a pain.

The stability of the product is quite good.

What needs improvement?

I’m not sure what needs improvement. I don't even think I'm using everything. There are still a lot of things on the testing side that I'm not using. That said, there's, there's a lot that it can do. I wouldn't even know where to get started on discussing what it needs or lacks.

We did have some brief performance issues, however, that was due to putting everything on one epic instead of breaking a project up.

For how long have I used the solution?

I’ve been using the solution for about four years now. It’s been a while.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

For the most part, the stability is very good. There was one time there was a bit of a performance issue, however, it was just due to the fact that the project manager was overwhelmed. It slowed down and got laggy. We put everything on one story, one epic, and we realized we needed to split it up.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product can scale. With the projects that I work on I just pick up Azure DevOps. It just makes sense. Everything from the beginning, for example, how the story starts right up to how it gets deployed and everything, is well laid out and you can adjust as needed.

On the project that I'm doing right now, maybe have a team of ten. On other projects, for example, at my previous company, we had a hundred devs or so using it.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support has been very good. We used to call Microsoft and they would help us. They gave great support. We’re quite happy with their responsiveness and level of knowledge.

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

I also use Jira alongside Azure DevOps. I use both of them.

I find DevOps easier to use and better laid out. I find Jira difficult and confusing.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward.

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

I can’t speak to the exact pricing. It’s not an aspect of the product I deal with.

What other advice do I have?

We’re a customer and an end-user.

I’m a big fan of DevOps. It’s a good project and I haven’t seen anything else like it.

As we’re on the cloud deployment of the solution, we’re always on the latest version.

I’d advise new users, if they are a Microsoft shop, to choose DevOps over Jira. It just makes more sense.

I’d rate the solution at a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Principal Project Manager at Systems Limited
Real User
Gives you the ability to run test cases, but query functions aren't as helpful as other solutions
Pros and Cons
  • "You can have test cases in DevOps but not in JIRA. And, DevOps has advantages in terms of executing those test cases."
  • "With the query feature, we have to group items, so it becomes difficult for everyone to understand it. It's easier in JIRA, which has filters and other query options."

What needs improvement?

With the query feature, we have to group items, so it becomes difficult for everyone to understand it. It's easier in JIRA, which has filters and other query options. So, I think this query option should be there in the DevOps also. Also, I don't like the DevOps' boards at all. It's more complicated than JIRA, I think. So, DevOps can improve in terms of its boards, work items, and filters. 

Then there is also an issue with user access. We have about 10 to 15 users that we can add to DevOps. But only the first five users have basic level access, and the rest have stakeholder access. That means they can change the task status but not add or do anything. I think Microsoft should remove this restriction from DevOps. With the access restrictions, it's tough for us to add any status for our users or filter anything on the boards. So, Microsoft should add this functionality for the other roles as well.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

DevOps is a stable solution.

How are customer service and support?

It's average. It's not better than JIRA. It's average because many things need to be improved by Microsoft in all their products.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up DevOps is easy. 

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

We pay for DevOps when we use it for our clients. But for personal and internal projects, we can use the free version. But there are restrictions on the trial plan. It should also be available for free use. However, the trial version of DevOps is free for only five basic users. So, I think it should be free for others also. And other extensions like test plan creation should also be available for the basic users, at least. We have to purchase the license for this.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We use both JIRA and DevOps. The main difference between DevOps and JIRA is the test cases. You can have test cases in DevOps but not in JIRA. And, DevOps has advantages in terms of executing those test cases. You can develop releases from DevOps but not from JIRA. At the same time, JIRA's jQuery is the best. I don't like the grouping and filtering in DevOps. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate Microsoft Azure DevOps seven out of 10. I would recommend it to others. It's a nice and helpful tool.

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 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Azure DevOps Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.