Azure DevOps

Azure DevOps is the evolution of Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) and Team Foundation Server (TFS). In 2018, Microsoft rebranded VSTS and integrated it with TFS. This allowed teams to handle all their development needs from a single, unified platform.

Built on Microsoft’s own experience, the platform is among the leading cloud-hosting SaaS solutions and integrates with many leading tools and consists of various services covering the development life cycle, such as Azure Boards, Azure Pipelines, Azure Repos, Azure Test Plans, and Azure Artifacts.

The solution can be best described as a set of development tools and services provided by Microsoft that allows teams to plan, build, test, and deliver software efficiently and effectively. It serves as a comprehensive platform that includes everything from agile project management to continuous integration and delivery. Additionally, a built-in Wiki and reporting capabilities make it a one-stop shop for teams seeking to streamline their development process.

Essentially, Azure DevOps is an end-to-end project management platform, acting as a CI/CD platform providing various tools in the DevOps arena. It assists developers and DevOps teams in the development life cycle of applications and offers “an integrated, collaborative environment that supports Git, continuous integration, and Agile tools for planning and tracking work.”

Because the solution represents a stack of services, features can be used together or separately. The core services include:

• Azure Boards: for agile project management
• Azure Repos: for source control
• Azure Artifacts: for package management
• Azure Test Plans: for testing and continuous delivery
• Azure DevOps Server: for on-premises hosting

Azure DevOps provides teams with a comprehensive set of tools and services that allows them to streamline their development process. It also offers built-in reporting and analytics, as well as the ability to integrate with other tools and services. Using this solution, teams can improve their collaboration and increase efficiency to deliver higher-quality software output.

Azure DevOps Server, originally known as Team Foundation Server (TFS), is the on-premises version of its DevOps Services. It allows teams to use the same tools and services but hosted on their own servers. This empowers teams to exert more control over their data and infrastructure but requires more maintenance and setup.

Like the cloud-hosted version, the on-premises version also provides tools for version control, project and build management, reporting, test execution, and collaborative application development.

The main difference between Azure’s DevOps Services and Server is the hosting. The former is a cloud-based service, while the latter is an on-premises solution. However, according to Microsoft, the cloud-based service has some advantages over its on-premise counterpart. These include:

• Simplified server management.
• Immediate access to the latest and greatest features.
• Improved connectivity with remote sites.
• A transition from capital expenditures (servers and the like) to operational expenditures (subscriptions).

Microsoft also highlights several areas where there are differences between the two, including:

• Scope and scale data
• Authentication
• Users and groups
• Manage user access
• Security and data protection

Azure DevOps can be integrated with various tools and services, such as GitHub and Slack, to name a few.  Additionally, Incredibuild also offers seamless integration with the service, supporting teams’ efforts to accelerate time-consuming tasks such as compilations, testing, and code signing.

Incredibuild Azure DevOps integration is seamless and offer the ability to highly accelerate time-consuming tasks that are part of your Azure DevOps builds, such as compilations, testing, code signing and more (to learn more about it, check out the following webinar). Minitab accelerate Azure DevOps tests from 11 hours to 11 minutes, using Incredibuild and Azure DevOps integration as well as running the compilations x3 faster.