Azure DevOps vs Jira for Your Development Needs

Industry:
In a Nutshell

This blog will discuss Azure DevOps vs Jira for development needs. These are the main points discussed:

  • Defining Azure DevOps and Jira
  • User Analysis
  • Feature Analysis
  • Comparison
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Table of Contents

Feel free to ask an experienced DevOps team from any part of the globe what they utilize for software project management. There is a very high likelihood that you will get a reply that features either Azure DevOps or Jira. There is no denying that both are highly useful and practical solutions that offer a wide number of features. This is why many get into an Azure DevOps vs Jira debate, as selecting from one of them can be a daunting task.

So, if you are also facing challenges with the Azure DevOps vs Jira issue, then this is a must-read blog for you. This is because it will make the selection task easier for you. There will be a thorough analysis of these two, which is highly beneficial especially for those that have just begun with their development responsibilities.

Azure DevOps – A Brief Definition

It is generally considered that Microsoft Azure DevOps is a reliable all-in-one software project management product. One of its key highlights is that it is built on the Azure infrastructure. It is specially designed to serve cross-functional teams as it supports the complete software development lifecycle. 

In other words, its work starts from the idea generation phase and goes on to deployment. It features five services. These are Test Plans, Artifacts, Repos, Boards, and Pipelines. It is up to the software team what they want to utilize, either in combination or individually. Usually, if you require collaborating and tracking on software projects, then it is understood that Azure DevOps is a big favorite.

Jira – A Brief Definition

This has been developed by Atlassian, and it initially began as a manner to track issues, such as bugs. Today, it is widely regarded as a reliable project management tool that you can come across. Also, it is rather common to see an Agile software team make use of Jira to create automated workflows. 

The team may perform collaboration on a centralized platform with either Kanban or Scrum templates. Many industry experts believe that when you think about customizable and smart project management solutions, Jira is the best option. This point is often raised by those who get into an Azure DevOps vs Jira debate.

azure devops vs jira

Azure DevOps vs Jira – Use Analysis

With Jira, the core usage is agile project management. Besides software, this includes “non-software” projects too. Furthermore, in the case of Azure DevOps, the use is about assisting software teams so that they can develop applications from the beginning to the end. It is made in a manner so that both operations and developer teams can work in good coordination with each other. This will ultimately ensure that the end product is released on the market at the earliest.

Azure DevOps vs Jira – Feature Analysis

Jira and Azure DevOps consist of unique features. Moreover, let’s see what each of them are known for:

Templates

Many developers have commended the point that Jira is preloaded with templates. These are specifically made by taking note of today’s agile software teams. Additionally, you have the option of customizing your workflows so that they can be exactly what a team requires. All of this hints that for Jira users, the sky is the limit. When we compare all of this with Azure DevOps, we see that Azure offers templates too, but they are not as customizable.

Search

Compared to Jira, Azure DevOps offers a rather limited search functionality. Looking at Jira, its query language is known to offer highly advanced search functionality. This allows you to swiftly find any problem that is present in your code. On top of this, Jira users have the option to perform text-based searches, and they can do so by just using a phrase or a word. Jira also remembers the previous searches of users in a follow-up session.

Ease in Usability

Azure DevOps may lack customizable templates, but it is still considered easy to use. Besides this, its templates are enough for any team to at least get started. On the contrary, if you do not have a reliable Jira beginner’s guide to refer to, Jira can be challenging to set up. 

In Jira’s case, you have great customizability options, but they also come with great complexity. Software teams may take some time to decide about the features they require. Wherever software development teams require their product to get running as fast as possible, the ideal choice is Azure DevOps.

Traceability

Critics have come to commend Azure DevOps as it allows teams to trace their steps between projects. Teams also have the option of tracing the relationships between them. On the flip side, Jira offers a limited amount of traceability. Here, you don’t have the option of looking at a task’s previous versions. 

Also, there is no option that allows you to quickly see the completed work items with each deployment. If you want this, then you need to put in a request, and this may slow things for a team. Therefore, it is safe to state that Azure DevOps is the winner when it comes to traceability.

Stacking Up Azure DevOps vs Jira

Features

Azure DevOps

Jira

Free Plan

Free for as many as five users

Free for as many as ten users

Technical Support

Support ticket system & X (Twitter)

Support ticket system

Free Trial

30 days

7 days

Main Purpose

Development of software applications from beginning to end

Project management utility

Search Functionality

Limited

Strong

Tracking Features

Advanced traceability

Limited traceability, built-in roadmaps for development teams, supports agile methodology

Coding

Integrates with Git

Integrates with Bitbucket

Customization

Custom dashboards

Custom dashboards

Concluding Remarks

The above details are useful for those looking into Azure cloud migration services or similar concepts, such as AWS Azure cloud migration services or Azure managed service providers. There is no denying the fact that both Jira and Azure DevOps are immensely useful and popular software development tools. Also, there are no clear winners to the Azure DevOps vs Jira debate. 

The fact stands that your choice of tool immensely depends on your overall plan of use with it. Let’s say that you are seeking an entity that lets you effectively manage a software application development’s complete life cycle, then go with Azure DevOps. Moreover, if you seek a project development utility that is appropriate for software development alongside a host of different projects, go with Jira.

Don’t forget to look into beneficial kubernetes consulting services as well as a docker expert consultant. These, alongside Microservices Development Services can be of aid to you. Finally, understand that Futurbyte is a well-reputed software development service provider that can immensely benefit you, as it takes well into account all of the developments associated with Azure DevOps and Jira.

Which one is the pricier option? Azure DevOps or Jira?

This is a very common question that is asked by organizations that are yet to develop a good familiarity with both Azure DevOps and Jira. Here, understand that by the time of this writing, Azure DevOps has a starting price of $6 per user per month or $30 per month if there are as many as 10 users. Comparatively, Jira has a price of $7.75 per user per month, and this is for teams that may range from 11 to 100.

Which is easier to go by?

A great number of developers have come to the conclusion that when it comes to ease of use, Azure DevOps takes an obvious edge over Azure. But there are even those cases that argue the opposite of this. Of course, these cases are few in numbers.

Which is better for traceability?

It is generally believed that Azure DevOps is much better when it comes to traceability as its users can trace steps between projects. On the flip side, Jira has a limited traceability. This means that Jira users may encounter slowness in their operations when they will look to perform traceability duties.

Can I use both Azure DevOps and Jira?

Of course you can. Both Azure DevOps and Jira can be integrated and can serve you according to your organizational needs. But if you want to take this decision, make sure you consider all the issues prevalent in both Azure DevOps and Jira.

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