TFS vs. Azure DevOps Services Explained

Team Foundation Server (TFS) was initially launched in 2005 when cloud solutions weren’t nearly as popular as they are today. By 2018 when Microsoft introduced Azure DevOps, the new version of its DevOps solutions, TFS had changed significantly. 

 

As Microsoft was continuously pivoting toward cloud service offerings, it renamed the on-premises TFS to Azure DevOps Server, whereas the cloud-based Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) became Azure DevOps Services. 

 

Let’s look into the differences between TFS vs. Azure DevOps Services to learn whether it’s worth migrating your operations to the cloud.  

 

TFS vs. Azure DevOps Services: What Are They?

 

Azure DevOps Server, formerly Team Foundation Server (TFS for short), is an on-premise application lifecycle management product by Microsoft that empowers teams with DevOps capabilities. It offers tools and technologies that facilitate team collaboration and streamline the process of completing projects or products, such as software development.

 

Meanwhile, Azure DevOps Services, formerly Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS), is a cloud-based SaaS (Software as a service) platform provided by Microsoft that offers businesses a DevOps toolchain that enables end-to-end software development and deployment.

 

Foundationally similar, Azure DevOps Server (Team Foundation Server) and Azure DevOps Services (Visual Studio Team Services) have some key differences between them. TFS is installed on-premises, whereas VSTS is cloud-based. Since TFS is an on-premises version, development teams connect to the intranet server. However, VSTS requires you to connect to the public internet.  

 

With its continuous improvements to Azure DevOps solutions, Microsoft has been working to provide TFS users with more flexibility and functionality.

 

What Does Azure TFS or Team Foundation Server Offer?

 

Microsoft developed Team Foundation Server (TFS) to help teams manage the way they work. It is, in essence, an on-premises management tool that facilitates project management and execution. TFS operates in Microsoft Windows and supports businesses through the entire life cycle of software development. 

 

The main purpose of TFS is to facilitate teamwork and collaboration between a development team and the project manager to serve as a centralized hub where the entire team can store, access, and coordinate work. 

 

You can consolidate all information on one or several projects in a single place and easily access it when needed. Moreover, a development team can share and store documents, control their versions, inspect source code quality, and take advantage of collaborative tools like calendars and lists. 

 

TFS is most commonly used for version control. Team Foundation Version Control, or TFVC, is a version control system that uses Git and allows teams to store all types of artifacts in its repository. As a result, DevOps teams can keep a record of any source code changes made throughout the entire development process. 

 

Furthermore, TFS users can benefit from TFS’s compatibility with other tools and applications like SharePoint, Visual Studio, and IIS. 

 

Azure DevOps Services in Brief

 

Azure DevOps Services consist of several tools and technologies that cover the entire software development cycle. They include:

 

• Azure Boards: Azure Boards is an agile planning, project tracking, visualization, and reporting tool that helps development teams manage software development projects. It has calendar views, customizable dashboards, and native support for Scrum, Kanban, and Agile tools and processes. Your teams can track events, features, bugs, and more with Azure Boards. 
• Azure Pipelines: Azure Pipelines is a cloud-based service that uses continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) that builds, tests, and delivers code projects to any destination, such as Kubernetes. 
• Azure Repos: Azure Repos is a combination of version control tools that allows development teams to track and monitor the changes that they make to the code over time. With Azure DevOps, you get a private, cloud-hosted git repository.
• Azure Artifacts: Azure Artifacts is an integrated package management service that allows DevOps teams to share their code with other developers and manage all the packages in a single place. It also supports Python, Maven, npm, and NuGet package feeds from both private and public sources.
• Azure Test Plans: Azure Test Plans is an Azure DevOps test management module. With it, your teams can manage test plans, test cases, and test suits for everyone involved in the software development process. 
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Development teams can also use Azure DevOps to orchestrate various third-party tools. Azure DevOps supports integration with Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, Puppet, Cassandra, and a range of other open-source tools and technologies.

 

Are Azure DevOps Services and Azure DevOps Server the Same?

 

Azure DevOps Server, formerly TFS, is an on-premises version of Azure DevOps Services, formerly Visual Studio Team Services. Despite that, there are a few differences between the two, for example, Azure DevOps Server and TFS require SQL server integration, but it’s not possible with Azure DevOps Services. 

 

TFS vs. Azure DevOps Services: Overall Comparison

 

1. Features

 

One of the main benefits of using Azure DevOps Services is that Microsoft is continuously adding new features and enhancing the existing ones. Development teams consider Power Business Intelligence one of the best platform’s features and appreciate the fact that it’s easy to integrate with other Microsoft features. 

 

On the other hand, DevOps teams believe that the API capability and functionality of Azure DevOps Services could be improved, according to the service’s users. Development teams would also like to be able to perform a larger number of tasks as well as get access to improved templates. 

 

As per TFS, project management, traceability, and user stories are some of the favorite features of development teams. They also appreciate TFS’s task management simplicity.

 

Besides, developers find the UI of TFS to lack user-friendliness. They believe that the interface requires improvement, and some even find the service outdated. Moreover, users would like TFS to improve its integration with third-party tools and technologies.

 

2. Deployment

 

Users find Azure DevOps Services to be easier and more straightforward to set up and implement. The TFS setup tends to be more involved, time-consuming, and complex, and it requires the organization to have an SQL server. 

 

It’s best to keep in mind that if you already use TFS and consider migrating to the cloud-based Azure DevOps Services, the migration process requires time, effort, and expertise. Therefore, working with DevOps teams skilled in Azure DevOps can ensure that the migration proceeds smoothly and without complications. 

 

3. Support

 

Many developer teams who use Azure DevOps Services find support to be responsive and helpful. However, Azure DevOps Server users believe that the support is slow or lacking and the documentation is insufficient. 

 

4. Pricing

 

Azure DevOps Services has a pay-as-you-go model. This also means that organizations need to pay per user, which can result in being expensive for larger organizations. TFS is more economical on its basic plan. However, features that are available under it are limited. 

 

5. User Experience

 

The user interface is one of the most notable differences between TFS vs. Azure DevOps Services. Developers working with Azure DevOps see incremental improvements to the user experience and interface. They find its interface to be more responsive, user-friendly, and intuitive. However, the opposite is true about TFS. Many users believe that its interface is complicated to use. 

 

Besides improved infrastructure, developers and project managers experience greater convenience and flexibility when using Azure DevOps Services. Since it operates in the cloud, secure access is available from anywhere in the world as well as from any device. Thus, your organization does not need to rely on a local team. You can support various locations, allow developers to work from home, or hire dedicated remote developers in other cities, states, or countries. 

 

6. Artifact and Release Management 

 

As opposed to TFS 2018, Artifacts are now available in Azure DevOps even with its Basic License. Moreover, the Release Management Deployment Pipelines are now integrated with Azure DevOps. Thus, teams do not need to procure them separately. 

 

7. GitHub Enterprise Integration

 

As Microsoft was continuously working on improving project management capabilities, Azure DevOps Server and Azure DevOps Services can both connect GitHub Enterprise with their Azure Boards. Now, development teams can use GitHub commits and pull requests together with tools, backlogs, and more in Azure Boards without disruption in the workflow. 

 

8. Search Capabilities

 

With the transition to Azure DevOps, Microsoft has made significant enhancements to its search capabilities. With the new advanced search capabilities, users can access information from other components without dropping their current activity. Moreover, Microsoft has taken into consideration feedback from users, and developers can now expand the search box directly from the product header. 

 

9. Compliance Certificates 

 

As the use and dependence on the cloud are increasing, so is cybercrime. Therefore, organizations may need to comply with various information security and privacy requirements. Azure DevOps has various compliance certificates required for cloud-based software. These include HIPAA BAA, SOC 1, SOC 2, ISO 27001, and others. 

 

Therefore, working with Azure DevOps minimizes the risks of security issues and penalties related to compliance requirements. Besides, many business partners and clients expect enterprises to be compliant, and the ability to demonstrate that can increase a company’s trust factor.

 

10. Azure SQL Database Support

 

Since TFS and Azure DevOps Server need an SQL server, yet Microsoft is continuously moving toward the cloud, your organization can now host its Azure DevOps Server on virtual machines running on the Azure cloud platform. As a result, users have superior backup and scaling options without needing to invest in additional on-premises server capacity. 

 

TFS vs. Azure DevOps: Common Questions Answered

 

What is the main difference between TFS and Azure DevOps?

 

Microsoft rebranded TFS and introduced several new features to launch Azure DevOps Server 2019. The most significant difference between the two is the user interface. 

 

The target base for TFS was admins. However, as its user base increased, many users found it too complex. As a result, Microsoft revamped the UI to create a more seamless and user-friendly experience that is also consistent between Azure DevOps Server and Azure DevOps service.  

 

Is TFS the same as Azure DevOps?

 

No, TFS and Azure DevOps are two distinct products. Azure DevOps succeeded TFS and is a suite of tools and technologies that allows organizations to manage software development projects. 

 

Organizations can manage multiple software and application development teams across various businesses with Azure DevOps. However, TFS only allows teams to manage a single development team in a single organization.

 

What is TFS now called?

 

Microsoft renamed TFS to Azure DevOps server in 2018. However, TFS and Azure DevOps Server are two different solutions, with the latter being the more advanced one. 

 

Is Azure DevOps replacing TFS?

 

Microsoft markets Azure DevOps Server as a more advanced on-premises project management solution for software development projects. Many favor Azure DevOps because it offers automation and greater flexibility than TFS. However, Azure DevOps and TFS are distinct tools. 

 

Is TFS outdated?

 

While FTS itself is still supported by Microsoft, some users do find it outdated. Moreover, older versions that were released prior to 2016 are no longer supported. 

 

Why move from TFS to Azure DevOps Services?

 

While it can be beneficial to have your entire team work in a centralized environment. However, migrating to the cloud-based Azure DevOps Services can help your organization save time and resources, get access to automatic updates, experience more uptime, meet different compliance standards, and gain access to the environment from virtually any device. 

 

Is Team Foundation Server still supported?

 

Microsoft still supports the newer versions of TFS. However, older versions, for instance, ones released before 2016, are no longer supported. 

 

TFS vs. Azure DevOps Services: Which Should You Choose?

 

While both Azure DevOps Services and Azure DevOps Server have their benefits, Azure DevOps Services is a more advanced solution that is continuously updated and has a superior user interface. It comes at a steeper cost but also offers greater flexibility and functionality. 

 

The Azure DevOps platform isn’t enough for organizations to effectively develop and deploy software solutions. You also need educated DevOps engineers and software developers to turn your project into reality. Schedule a complimentary call to learn how Datrick can help.