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reviewer2288631 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Associate at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 10Leaderboard
The most powerful IDE available in the market but can be expensive for medium and small businesses
Pros and Cons
  • "Visual Studio Team System is the most powerful IDE available in the market."
  • "The tool's subscriptions are expensive for medium and small businesses. It works fine on Windows. However, it is not stable on other platforms."

What is our primary use case?

We use the Visual Studio Team System as an IDE for our CRM development. 

What is most valuable?

Visual Studio Team System is the most powerful IDE available in the market. 

What needs improvement?

The tool's subscriptions are expensive for medium and small businesses. It works fine on Windows. However, it is not stable on other platforms. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with the system for 15 years. 

Buyer's Guide
Visual Studio Team System
January 2025
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the product's stability an eight out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My company has five users for the product. 

How are customer service and support?

Visual Studio Team System's tech support is responsive. 

How was the initial setup?

Visual Studio Team System's deployment is straightforward and completed in a few hours. You need to select the options that you want to configure. 

What about the implementation team?

Visual Studio Team System can be deployed in-house. 

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

The tool's licensing costs are yearly. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the product a nine out of ten. You need to be careful about the pricing. The solution can be expensive if you get an enterprise subscription. 

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
Software Developer Manager at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
It lets us know how much work is being done by the team and when the work will be approximately​ finished

What is most valuable?

The valuable features are managing campaign boards, sprint planning with product backlog, sprint backlog, and velocity and capacity of the development team. Also, the bar and chart graphics, which assist in tracking the day-to-day project status (most important).

How has it helped my organization?

Here in the organization, we use Chrome, with development. Also, when we are planning on sprint, for example, it's too easy to put the requirement needs above the product, and a product on that feels very good to write features too easily, and to share with the development team. Pretty quick and fast, by only writing the duration and assessment criteria and also uploading the make-ups related with the deliverables, the thing we have work with, and it also improves the communication because everybody sees the requirements. It is posted in the inbox and shares brainstorming ideas to 35 people, and how the requirement would be implemented. It's very easy to know the status of the funds of the project because the protocol will be accessible to the tools remotely and easily. He/she will review the bar down chart and know how much work is being done by the team and when the work will be approximately finished.

In the engineering area, we use an engineering process because they realize the campaign board will be very useful for consulting the deliverables of the engineering process because we develop elevators, cabinets, and also casétas used in electrical plants here in Mexico. Comisión Federal de Electricidad is our electricity plant. Our customers customize the products for us and we are introducing new product families. It's important to follow and manage the deliverables in time.

What needs improvement?

Many important features that are useful for an organization but I feel that even if it is improved, some of the features are not necessary.

I know the tools. I train people here by using these tools. Today, the software development team and some engineers in production are going to be using the tool. Yet I feel it is necessary to involve more time and practice with the tool here in the company.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using that software for approximately six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It crashed many times, because in engineering there are a lot of phases.

For example, the first phase will be preparing the document specifications about the product while the second phase is preparing the design, at the same time the third phase is preparing the prototype and the fourth is doing the product implementation.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have had technical support for about two months and we really like it, and they're great, too, but it's not necessary. But the response of the tech support is so far pretty good. However, I think in Mexico, for Latinos, the support is not good customer service support because the tech support was elevated to India (another country). I feel that here in Latin America it's necessary to improve the service.

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

I used the first solution in Southern Peru at Cooper Corporations. My new company in located in Lima, Peru. They needed to version in the source code control in Visual Studio. As a part of our consulting services, because I worked at a consulting company, I proposed to implement a version control tool, like Visual Studio Team Services. The thinking thing at that time, the product was changing or Visual Studio paid for the short server after that. I also recommended to use the tool because the project managers would also track the progressive work of the team and also the team would track activities we easily had in the tool. I mean, it's very important to follow or keep it in the mining company, too. For that reason, I recommended the tool.

How was the initial setup?

The tool is not complex. It's medium, because there are a lot of new features that Microsoft delivered about three months ago. But it's easy for me to use the majority of features, as I feel there are new features that I am learning how to use and improve in the company.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I chose IBM Rational Team Concert because I worked in partner consulting. The tool was recommended and it was good, but I felt that it consumed a lot of our resources. It's not too easy to configure, but it managed the majority of things which Visual Studio Team Services performs. It's a very competitive tool, but it's expensive and also it consumes a lot of power.

What other advice do I have?

In regards to Latin America, there is a misunderstanding about application and data management versus software development lifecycle. There is too much confusion here. It is important to clarify what the difference is between the application and system management which it covers from requirements to delivering applications, including the bulk activities.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Visual Studio Team System
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Visual Studio Team System. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Python Developer and Automation at Ionxgen
Real User
Top 20
A good, user-friendly framework that is easy to scale
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has a good framework that is user friendly and scalable."
  • "Accessibility switches available on the desktop should also be available on mobile devices for coding or developing on the go."

What is our primary use case?

Our company has ten developers who use the solution's community edition on a daily basis for business process automations. 

What is most valuable?

The solution has a good framework that is user friendly and scalable. 

What needs improvement?

Accessibility switches available on the desktop should also be available on mobile devices for coding or developing on the go. 

Technical support is a bit lagging so could be improved. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. 

How are customer service and support?

The community edition includes a forum that offers sufficient, detailed documentation. 

Documentation for the enterprise edition could be more detailed and recent so that it includes upcoming plugins and integrations. 

How was the initial setup?

The setup is straightforward and I rate it a ten out of ten. 

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

There is no fee for the solution's community version. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We have not explored other options because our clients prefer the solution. 

What other advice do I have?

Before using the solution, it is good to have prior knowledge about how it works, how it can scale, and how it integrates with peer tools. 

There may be integrations which are not feasible in the solution's community version, so it is good to do your homework. 

I rate the solution a ten 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
Technical Lead / Project Manager at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Scalable, flexible, and easy to set up
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft makes great products. They are quite robust."
  • "When you go into the front-end, the web portal, if, for example, you pick up an issue, it would be ideal if the branch was automatically created in the repository. Right now, this isn't the case."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for remote repository and management and source control.

What is most valuable?

The analyst feature is very useful to us.

We like that it's quite flexible and you can make a variety of changes using it. There are all kinds of different tasks you can leverage.

The initial setup was straightforward. 

Microsoft makes great products. They are quite robust.

The solution can scale.

The stability is good.

What needs improvement?

Sometimes it gets tough when you're dealing with a larger process if you're accessing it through the VPN. If you're not on the local network, you're accessing through the VPN, which already makes it slower in general, and then on top of that, if you're accessing a really large process, you're going to feel it slow down even more. The product sort of gets stuck when you're trying to connect and operate for the first time. 

When you go into the front-end, the web portal, if, for example, you pick up an issue, it would be ideal if the branch was automatically created in the repository. Right now, this isn't the case.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution over the last 12 months. I've used it for a while.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is pretty stable. I used it on an earlier job and it was fine. There were no bugs or glitches. It doesn't seem to crash or freeze. It's good overall. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution scales quite well. I've used it in larger companies and it was great. At my previous employer, I had 100 or more programmers and the product handled everything like a charm, no problem.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've never had to contact technical support. I guess that says something about the quality of their service that I've never had to call them up. However, since I have never spoken with them, I can't directly speak to how helpful or responsive they are.

How was the initial setup?

We found the initial setup to be pretty simple and straightforward. It was not very complex or difficult. An organization shouldn't have too much trouble with the initial setup.

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

We have an enterprise license. That's an aspect that the company handles. I don't directly deal with sales or licensing.

What other advice do I have?

We're just customers and end-users. We don't have a business relationship with Microsoft.

I've been using the latest version of the solution.

For those considering the solution, I would advise that they decide between a centralized or distributed repository - and then choose VSTS. For a more centralized repository, VSTS is the nicest I've used so far.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. We've largely been happy with the solution overall.

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
reviewer1663731 - PeerSpot reviewer
Process Manager at a marketing services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
An easy to install solution which is scalable and stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is scalable, stable and has allowed us to upgrade our frameworks."
  • "Support response time could stand improvement."

What is our primary use case?

The solution helps the project teams to take care of all aspects of the processes for software development.

What is most valuable?

All is fine with the solution. It is scalable, stable and has allowed us to upgrade our frameworks.

What needs improvement?

It would be nice to see some of the authentications compacted to the solution which are done with Nudi.

Support response time could stand improvement.

The price could be better. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Visual Studio Team System for the last five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Response time could be faster. 

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

We did not use other solutions prior to the current one. 

How was the initial setup?

Installation is easy. 

While I do not recall its exact duration, this should be around four hours. 

What about the implementation team?

Installation can be done with the help of the technical team.

The size of the team should be the same as that which we used, three to four people, consisting of managers. We have one IT manager. 

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

The solution could be more cost-effective. 

There is an annual licensing fee. 

What other advice do I have?

If price is not a consideration, then my recommendation to others is that they go with the solution. 

The solution is cloud-based.

I rate Visual Studio Team System as a seven or eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user1085841 - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at Myriade
Real User
It is stable and scalable and the setup is really straightforward
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is pretty stable."
  • "The technical support could be better."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case of this solution is to search for smugglers and for people who have open files. So we integrate everything with GDPR and then we distribute this in most parts of Europe. We have some interests in the United States too.

What is most valuable?

What I like about this solution is that it is one big framework, which everybody knows, so one can quite easily start-up new developers using it. 

What needs improvement?

We are looking forward to the new Blazer system that is coming out soon. It is currently in beta on the service side, so we are looking forward to the new version that will be on the client side too. I also would like to see an improvement in the technical support.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Visual Studio Team System for more than ten years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is pretty stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is very scalable. We integrate this in SQL and we can do this vertically as well as horizontally; in both directions. We have 15 users that are using the regional pseudo team system within our company, and they are all developers.

How are customer service and technical support?

We pay additional fees for support, and it is doable. It is not the best support, but it is definitely acceptable. That is perhaps something that needs to be improved. 

How was the initial setup?

We did the installation and setup ourselves and it was really straightforward.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to others would be to go all the way with this solution. Don't try to find a cheaper solution. On a scale from one to ten, I rate Visual Studio Team System an eight and I'm looking forward to the new Blazers system.

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
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Visual Studio Team System Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Visual Studio Team System Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.