Do you have a TFS upgrade on your priority list for 2019? Are you missing out on some of the latest features that TFS has to offer? Do you have a desire to be on one tool that could be used by Dev’s, QA, PM’s, PO’s, BA’s and/or stakeholders? Keep reading to find out why (and initial steps you could take) to migrate to Azure DevOps instead of doing yet another TFS upgrade.
“Azure DevOps is everything you need to build your software product from beginning to end. It helps you plan your projects with Agile tools, manages your code using Git (or TFVC), and deploys your code through the best CI/CD system on the planet.” – Esteban Garcia, SVP of Azure & DevOps
Reason #1
One of the top reasons I hear from customers about why they want to migrate to Azure DevOps is because they do not want to go through yet another TFS Upgrade. With Azure DevOps – you let Microsoft handle that for you. Once you migrate you will no longer have to go through hours of preparation and downtime associated with TFS upgrades. With Azure DevOps you can focus on what’s important to you and your organization, delivering constant value to the business while letting Microsoft worry about reliability, upgrades and security.
Reason #2
With Azure DevOps, you have the latest features available brought to you in a scalable, reliable and globally available hosted service. In addition, Microsoft releases new features every three weeks and you can view current documentation new and upcoming features online.
Reason #3
If your company is using multiple tools (potentially JIRA or another tool for work item tracking, TFS for code repo, and a visual tool for dashboards and reporting), you can bring that all into one tool with Azure DevOps creating full transparency and traceability. This enables various teams in an organization to look at the same tool and gather information in real time, something that is become less of a nice to have and more of a requirement in today’s world.
There are dozens of reasons I could list here, and these are the three reasons I have heard the most in recent years. Over the past three years our team has performed over two dozen migrations to Azure DevOps (from TFS as well as SVN). One of the first steps we take in the process is to answer these questions:
- Why do you want to upgrade/migrate to Azure DevOps?
- What version of TFS are you currently on (including the Update)?
- Do you have Azure Active Directory configured?
- If you have Azure AD configured, is it synchronized to your local AD?
- Do you have build automation setup? XAML or the new Task-based system?
- What types of applications does your team develop? Web, WPF, services, .NET, Java, Android, etc.
- Are your applications deployed on-premises or are you using Azure?
- How many Team Projects to do you have in TFS?
- How many Team Project Collections do you have in TFS?
- Are you using Team Foundation Version control or Git?
- Do you manage test cases in TFS with MTM?
Our recommended path for a TFS to Azure DevOps migration includes leveraging Microsoft’s Team Foundation Server Database Import Service which is a full fidelity migration tool. This tool allows you to bring work item data, source control history, test plans, builds, release definitions, security, and more.
For more information on how we can help you avoid your next TFS upgrade, contact a New Signature expert. We look forward to helping you and your organization reach your full potential by leveraging Azure DevOps!
