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it_user283431 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Developer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
It provides us with continuous deployment and integration, but get someone who knows it well to go through the basics.

What is most valuable?

  • General ease of use
  • Quick start up time
  • NUnit build runner

How has it helped my organization?

  • Continuous deployment
  • Continuous integration
  • Testing feedback

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for four years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues encountered.

Buyer's Guide
TeamCity
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about TeamCity. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

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

There was no previous solution in place.

How was the initial setup?

It's straightforward as the UI is intuitive.

What about the implementation team?

I implemented it myself.

What was our ROI?

It's free, so very good.

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

Start with the free version, and go from there.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No other options were evaluated.

What other advice do I have?

Get someone who knows it well to go through the basics, but there's also loads of help on Google.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user289653 - PeerSpot reviewer
Release and deployment process manager at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor
There are the occasional issues in deploying software, but it has centralized our build automation.

What is most valuable?

  • Centralized build automation
  • Ability to embed powershell scripts for automated deployments
  • Auditability of builds
  • Unit tests
  • Smoke tests
  • Automated deployments

How has it helped my organization?

Continuous integration has reduced build failures and highlighted issues sooner. Automated deployments of web services, database scripts and applications chained across all environments has minimized time and effort, sped up delivery time, reduced risk of human error and enabled automated communication to stakeholders via integration with JIRA for release notes.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for three years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Occasionally issues deploying software using the tool due to configuration issues within the tool (mostly around powershell configuration).

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We had to add additional servers to enable a failover capability, but this was more to do with our infrastructure

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues enquired.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

I've not required customer service.

Technical Support:

It's good. It's done via online forums.

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

We previously used Jenkins and Cruise control. We changed to enable one common solution and standard support model, also better functionality.

How was the initial setup?

It was very simple. I have also installed on my home server to enable me to continue to develop and learn the tool.

What about the implementation team?

We did it in-house.

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

The initial cost was only the cost of a virtual server, and database which was less than 1000 Euros a month. I am not aware of ongoing costs.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No other options were evaluated.

What other advice do I have?

Make sure you define the standards and naming conventions prior to implementing TeamCity.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user326337 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user326337Customer Success Manager at PeerSpot
Real User

Debra, how do you find your build automation 10 months later? Have you seen significant progress?

Buyer's Guide
TeamCity
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about TeamCity. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user218967 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Product Manager with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Allowed us to create a visual flow of the processes and steps involved in moving a build through its phases.

Valuable Features

The ability to create Build Pipelines and create user groups are the two most valuable features.

Improvements to My Organization

  • As a business we had a custom build process where the only people with access to the build were our build engineers.
  • Teamcity allowed us to create a visual flow of the processes and steps involved in moving a build through its phases.
  • The product also allowed us to identify areas for improvement in our process.

Room for Improvement

This product lacks real reporting for all the information it captures; we should be able to create reports or dashboards for management.

The product captures a lot of information about build processes, but there is no easy way to create/generate reports that can be used by management.

Use of Solution

We have been using TeamCity for about 6 – 7 years.

Deployment Issues

There were no issues with deployment.

Stability Issues

There were no issues with stability.

Scalability Issues

It would be ideal if agents could scale up on demand using a private cloud. The functionality is there for Amazon.

Customer Service and Technical Support

Customer Service:

Good.

Technical Support:

Excellent.

Initial Setup

The setup is extremely straightforward.

Implementation Team

In-house implementation.

Other Solutions Considered

We evaluated a few other products. The only product that had was a real contender was Electric Commander.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
it_user212079 - PeerSpot reviewer
Automation Test Analyst at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
Vendor
It runs acceptance tests after each commit, giving quick and automatic feedback on software quality.

What is most valuable?

We're using it for CI and automating build pipelines.

How has it helped my organization?

  • Rerun failed tests after overnight execution, saving manual re-execution time during working hours.
  • Run acceptance tests after each commit, giving quick and automatic feedback on software quality.
  • Automate build pipeline process, removing human errors from the process itself.

What needs improvement?

Setting up build configurations involves too many steps, as the process is too much broken down. We could do with the same number of steps but less groups.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for about two years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

I'm not in charge of this, I have updated TeamCity once and it seemed like a quite straightforward task (but slow, due to the DB backup) once I found the online walk-through.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's working perfectly with multiple projects running continuously on five build agents.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

I've never had to use customer support.

Technical Support:

The user guide is quite thorough and extensive. Some topics are hidden a little bit, but after a while all the queries are answered.

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

No previous solution was used.

How was the initial setup?

After updating TeamCity, the setup process was quite straightforward, guiding me step by step through the configuration of the new tool.

What about the implementation team?

It was an in-house implementation.

What was our ROI?

It is vital to our business to have quick and robust builds, and TeamCity is helping us to keep everything tidy and under control.

What other advice do I have?

An FAQ section with all the most common issues/most asked technical questions would be more than welcome.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Software Engineer at a security firm with 501-1,000 employees
Vendor
Features I like include: shared resource locking, customization via plugins and meta-runners, and storing build configurations per-branch for Git code repositories.

Valuable Features:

Features I really like:
Branch builds for Git repositories, shared resource locking, customization via plugins and meta-runners, and storing build configurations per-branch for Git code repositories.

Improvements to My Organization:

TeamCity allows us to have self-sufficient development teams that can create their own builds and deployments. TeamCity has really allowed us to embrace continuous integration (even running full CI on all code branches with no extra effort).

Room for Improvement:

Features I would like to see in TeamCity:
Allow for shared resource locks across multiple build configurations (i.e. deploy then run integration tests against the same environment).

Allow shared resource locks to accept parameters for dynamic assignment of locks.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user229776 - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps Engineer at a media company with 51-200 employees
Vendor
The templates allow a consistent configuration on how an application is built.

What is most valuable?

  • Ease of configuring complete build chains with the use of build templates
  • Creating a single custom build runner that allows us to have a single entry point and filter steps by arguments for all our builds
  • The ability to trigger subsequent builds in a chain based off of multiple types of triggers in a deterministic fashion

How has it helped my organization?

Creating a meta-runner to use as a single build entry point. The templates allow a consistent configuration on how an application is built, and by combining the use of the meta-runner and build templates, the whole organisation understands, and follows, this convention. By following this convention, a complete build stack is completed in a single REST call.

What needs improvement?

  • Client side load as projects/builds with a lot of test history, and branches can take quite a bit of time to load
  • It would also be nice to have a conditional build step: https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/TW-17939
  • Having project templates

For how long have I used the solution?

I used it for three years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

You shouldn't use TeamCity as a deployment tool.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

As versions progress, TeamCity has greatly improved it's stability with it's resourcing. Also following JetBrains' documentation about how to set up TeamCity, distributes load in a more even fashion.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There have been times when making copies of a project has caused major stability issues, especially when you have nested project structure based off of different build configuration templates.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

I've never needed to deal with customer service.

Technical Support:

YouTrack has been a great forum to raise/track issues.

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

We previously used CC.Net. TeamCity provided a much easier method of configuration as well as templating over CC.Net.

How was the initial setup?

If you want just a basic setup, it is extremely straightforward. If you require optimizations such as I/O distribution, you will need to do a little bit more work.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it in-house.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Software Developer at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Vendor
The support for cross-platform builds is very valuable, as is the flexibility in creating build steps.

What is most valuable?

The support for cross-platform builds is very valuable, as is the flexibility in creating build steps. We love that we can include unit and integration tests as part of a build configuration! The plugin functionality is great too, and we couldn't live without the Octopus Deploy plugin.

How has it helped my organization?

With Teamcity, our build/packaging process and the ensuing deployment via Octopus Deploy takes less than half an hour. We have a customer base of approximately 40,000, spread over hundreds of virtual machines, so a fast deployment with little to no downtime is critical.

What needs improvement?

It'd be great to see future built-in support for Octopus Deploy. Currently, Octopus Deploy provides a plug-in for TeamCity, but the installation is manual, and requires a restart of the TeamCity service in order to complete the installation. This is really the only small improvement I would recommend, but it's obviously not a deal-breaker.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used TeamCity for approximately one and a half years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

While I didn't take part in the original installation of TeamCity at my current employer, I have set it up on various machines for testing/trial purposes. I use it regularly for a personal project that I maintain. The installation and setup of an initial build configuration were both very straightforward.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

I haven't had the opportunity to interact with support team at JetBrains, but I am impressed with the extent of the documentation.

Technical Support:

I haven't been in a situation which required the assistance of the JetBrains technical support team.

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

It was in place before I arrived at my current employer, but I know that the deployments were handled largely through robocopy scripts that took hours to run. Deploys were typically done in the wee hours of the morning, and required having multiple developers on-site/on call.

How was the initial setup?

I've found the installation to be very straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

The installation was handled as a joint effort between our in-house development and IT teams.

What other advice do I have?

If you need an enterprise build management tool, and your budget permits, it's absolutely worth looking at. Even for independent developers with a limited budget, JetBrains allows you to use the product for free up to a certain number of projects. I use it for a personal project at home, and love it.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user215508 - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps Consultant at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Vendor
I use it to increase visibility and clarity of build and deployment activities.

What is most valuable?

There’s loads of valuable features but PowerShell Runner is invaluable.

How has it helped my organization?

It increases the visibility and clarity of build and deployment activities.

What needs improvement?

.net deployment needs improvement. Also, I'd like to see more NuGet/Octopus style features and Azure stuff.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for over five years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

It's all currently hand rolled in PowerShell.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Never ever had any stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have encountered some issues using large number of agents, and using git.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

The agents are amongst the best available/experienced around.

Technical Support:

The agents are amongst the best available/experienced around.

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

I have used Jenkins, TFS, Cruise Control .net, and GO. I switched from using Cruise Control .net as TeamCity is easier to use and displays important information very well. It also has great support for integrating to other products, from JetBrains and other vendors – Atlassian, JIRA, and Windows AD.

How was the initial setup?

It's very, very simple.

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

Setup is the licence (and my contract rate).

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have used all leading CI tools.

What other advice do I have?

With low costs to adopt what are you waiting for?

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user