Discover Azure DevOps Alternatives

Azure DevOps Alternatives Considered: Choose Wisely!

In the DevOps are, things change fast. Staying ahead of the curve is crucial for organizations aiming to optimize their software development lifecycle. While Azure DevOps (ADO) has been a popular choice for many, the market offers many alternatives that may better suit your specific needs.

Meanwhile, while Microsoft continues to support ADO, it has put the bulk of its efforts into building under the GitHub brand. As of this article’s writing, the roadmap for Azure DevOps shows some content, but relatively little in the way of exciting new features. Those listed highest are deeper integrations between ADO and GitHub branded capabilities.  

As you consider whether it makes sense to stay on Azure DevOps, this comprehensive guide delves into the world of Azure DevOps alternatives, helping you make an informed decision for your delivery pipelines.

What does Azure DevOps provide?

Azure DevOps Services is the cloud hosted version of the offering. It has a number of products within the family.

• Azure Boards: An agile planning tool (aka your work-item tracker, or bug tracker). 
• Azure Repos: Git-based code repositories.
• Azure Pipelines: CI/CD pipelines to build and deploy your apps.
• Azure Artifacts: An artifact registry that holds packages and deployable artifacts
• Azure Test Plans: Test planning for manual and automated tests.
• GitHub Advanced Security for ADO: Scanning for problematic secrets, code, and dependencies

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Overall, Azure DevOps covers many of the basics for a developer-centric DevOps pipeline. It has places to store your code and artifacts, while pipelines can deliver your changes. Compared to more robust platforms, it is missing capabilities aimed at Platform Engineering teams, such as an internal developer portal or strong infrastructure-as-code management.

Is Azure DevOps Still Being Widely Used?

Before we explore alternatives, it's worth addressing the elephant in the room: the current status of Azure DevOps. Despite numerous competitors' emergence, Azure DevOps maintains a significant market share. Its tight integration with Microsoft's ecosystem and broad feature set keep it relevant for many organizations.

However, the DevOps landscape is shifting. As cloud-agnostic solutions gain traction and the demand for more specialized tools increases, many teams are exploring alternatives that offer greater flexibility, scalability, or specific features tailored to their workflows.

Best Azure DevOps Alternatives and Replacements

Let's dive into some of the most compelling Azure DevOps alternatives, each with its unique strengths and potential use cases.

GitHub

GitHub, now under Microsoft's umbrella, has evolved from a code repository into something of a DevOps platform. With the introduction of GitHub Actions, it now offers CI/CD capabilities alongside its version control system. 

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Key Features:

• Seamless integration with open-source projects
• Robust code review and collaboration tools
• Extensive marketplace for third-party integrations

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GitHub shines in scenarios where open-source collaboration is a priority, making it an excellent choice for teams deeply embedded in the open-source ecosystem. Data residency choices with GitHub are limited, which keeps some Microsoft customers who would prefer to migrate from ADO locked in. GitHub Actions pipelines may lack some advanced features Azure DevOps users have become dependent on as well.

GitLab

GitLab positions itself as a complete DevOps platform, offering a single application for the entire software development lifecycle. Its all-in-one approach can significantly streamline workflows for teams looking to consolidate their toolchain.

Key Features:

• Built-in CI/CD pipelines
• Integrated security and compliance tools
• Kubernetes integration for cloud-native development

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GitLab's strength lies in its “one of everything” approach to a comprehensive solution. Teams are cautioned to carefully evaluate capabilities that are important to them. Some organizations report that beyond source control and basic CI use cases, many of GitLab’s capabilities can be bare bones. 

Jenkins

As an open-source automation server, Jenkins has long been a staple in the CI/CD world. Its flexibility and extensive plugin ecosystem allow for customization to fit nearly any development workflow.

Key Features:

• Highly customizable through plugins
• Support for distributed builds
• Extensive community support and resources

Jenkins is ideal for teams that require a high degree of customization in their build and deployment processes, though it may require more setup and maintenance compared to some alternatives. As a CI tool, it can be bent to other automation purposes like continuous delivery, but it is not natural at it. Other DevOps capabilities like source control and feature management are completely out of scope for Jenkins.
While Jenkins is a part of many DevOps toolchains, it is not a DevOps platform in and of itself.

Atlassian

While primarily known for its project management capabilities, Jira, when combined with other Atlassian tools, can form a DevOps toolchain with good tracking of issues from ideation to release. Atlassian Bamboo provides CI capabilities, and can be used for deployment as as well. 

Key Features:

• Comprehensive project and issue-tracking
• Customizable workflows and boards
• Integration with a wide range of development tools

Jira shines in scenarios where sophisticated project management and issue tracking are paramount, though it may need to be supplemented with other tools for a complete DevOps solution. While Bamboo may trail other CI/CD tools in terms of features, its tight integration with Jira can make tracking the flow of work from idea to production relatively easy.

TeamCity

JetBrains' TeamCity offers a powerful CI/CD server with a user-friendly interface and extensive customization options.

Key Features:

• Intelligent CI features like build chains and parallel builds
• Support for a wide range of version control systems
• Docker support for containerized builds

TeamCity is particularly well-suited for teams that value ease of use without sacrificing advanced functionality.

Octopus Deploy 

Specializing in deployment automation, Octopus Deploy offers a robust solution for teams looking to streamline their release processes. Azure DevOps users are likely to value Octopus's focus on .Net applications and the Microsoft ecosystem.

Key Features:

• Support for a wide range of deployment targets
• Built-in rollback capabilities
• Detailed deployment insights and reporting

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Octopus Deploy excels in scenarios where complex, multi-environment deployments are the norm, especially when combined with a separate CI tool.

Harness Software Delivery Platform

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Harness offers a comprehensive DevOps platform that addresses limitations found in Azure DevOps, particularly when it comes to multi-cloud deployments and advanced DevOps capabilities.

Key Features:

• Multi-cloud and on-premises deployment support out of the box
• Broad DevOps capabilities including feature experimentation and chaos engineering
• AI-powered verification and rollback
• Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) management
• Developer portal for streamlined workflows

Harness stands out for its ability to support deployments across various cloud providers and on-premises environments, making it an excellent choice for organizations with diverse infrastructure needs. Its advanced features in areas like feature experimentation and chaos engineering provide teams with tools to enhance software reliability and user experience.

The platform's AI-powered verification can significantly reduce the risk of failed deployments, while its IaC management capabilities help teams maintain infrastructure consistency. For organizations looking to move beyond Azure DevOps and embrace a more flexible, feature-rich DevOps solution, Harness presents a compelling alternative.

Conclusion

Choosing the right Azure DevOps alternative is a critical decision that can significantly impact your development workflow and productivity. While Azure DevOps remains a reasonable choice for many, exploring alternatives like GitHub, GitLab, or Harness can open up new possibilities for efficiency and innovation in your DevOps practices.

Consider your team's specific needs, existing toolchain, and future scalability requirements when evaluating these options. Remember that the best choice may be the one that aligns most closely with your organization's workflow and objectives.

As the DevOps landscape continues to evolve, staying informed about emerging tools and platforms is crucial. Regular reassessment of your DevOps toolchain can help ensure you leverage the most effective solutions for your team's changing needs.

FAQs

What is replacing Azure DevOps?

While there's no single direct replacement for Azure DevOps, many organizations are adopting alternatives based on their specific needs. GitHub, GitLab, and Harness are gaining traction as comprehensive DevOps platforms. For specific functionalities, tools like Jenkins (for CI/CD), Jira (for project management), and Octopus Deploy (for deployment automation) are popular choices.

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Is Microsoft stopping Azure DevOps?

As of now, Microsoft has not announced any plans to discontinue Azure DevOps. In fact, they continue to update and support the platform. However, Microsoft is investing more heavily in GitHub, which now offers many similar features. This has led some to speculate about the long-term future of Azure DevOps, but for the foreseeable future, it remains actively supported even if the rate of innovation within it has slowed.

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