Latest / DevQuestions with Tim Corey / 094 Is Azure DevOps Going Away? If So, Where Do We Go?

Transcript

094 Is Azure DevOps Going Away? If So, Where Do We Go? · DevQuestions with Tim Corey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Dev Questions Podcast with Tim Corey.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Join us each episode as we tackle the questions you are asking about a career in software development, understanding the industry, and new technology.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you're just starting out or you want to grow stronger as a developer, this is the place to get your questions answered.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's your host, expert developer and online educator Tim Corey.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: Is Azure DevOps going away?
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: And if it is, what do we replace it with?
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_02: This is a question that Jose asked recently because it's something he's facing at his current job, where his coworkers are planning for the demise of Azure DevOps by moving things in-house.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_02: So let's answer that question and kind of explore a little deeper what this might mean if it's true.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: So the first, the basic answer is yes, at some point Azure DevOps will go away.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_02: Now, is that tomorrow?
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely not.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: Is that in a month, in a year?
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_02: Probably not.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: It's probably going to be years before Azure DevOps fully goes away.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: So don't panic.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: If you have things on Azure DevOps, they're fine.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: They will be there for a long time.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: Even if Microsoft decides to no longer do updates for Azure DevOps, which they have not stopped doing.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: But even if they get to that point, it will be a long time after that before they stop fully supporting Azure DevOps.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: And the reason why is because there are a number of companies that use Azure DevOps.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_02: And Microsoft is very good about supporting companies long term.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, one of the biggest blunders people point out to with Microsoft is the Silverlight blunder, where Microsoft said, hey, we have this WPF thing, let's put it on the web and call it Silverlight.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: And it needed a plug-in that every browser had to support, which no one wanted to support because it was a Microsoft only thing.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_02: And so it didn't last very long before Silverlight was essentially kicked to the curb by Microsoft.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_02: They dropped it pretty hot and heavy, even though people were interested in using Silverlight.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_02: So the thought process, whenever you see anything new from Microsoft, for example, Blazor came out and people said, oh, it's the next Silverlight.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, it's the next Silverlight.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_02: But I want you to take something from that conversation because Silverlight has been out for years.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's been deprecated, no longer being used for years.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: And yet it was only in 2021 when Microsoft finally fully stopped supporting Silverlight.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: So even though it had been years and years and years of Microsoft saying, we're done, their support lasted until 2021.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: And that I think speaks to the bigger issue for Microsoft is that they do support things very long term, even if they move on with new development to other places.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: And that's where Azure DevOps is starting to get to.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_02: So when Microsoft bought GitHub way back a few years ago, they started the process of bringing GitHub up to the place where Azure DevOps already was.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: So they brought in new features into GitHub.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_02: And soon that that trickle of new features became more of a stream and then a flood of new features and new support.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_02: With that, they had taken GitHub from being a just code storage and Git management platform to something much, much more.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: There's now GitHub Actions and other things that really round Git out GitHub out into being your one-stop shop for a lot of things around your code.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: That means that they now have two different systems, Azure DevOps and GitHub, that do essentially the same thing.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: Now, there's pluses and minuses to each, and I'm not ready to yet say that I like GitHub better than Azure DevOps.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_02: I don't yet.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: But there's a lot of great things to GitHub, and it's getting there.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_02: Well, with two different products that do the exact same thing, at some point Microsoft is going to say, yeah, it's about time for us to support one instead of two, and to put all of our new features into one instead of two.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: We're getting there with Azure DevOps.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_02: I think that eventually Azure DevOps will be a supported but not updated system.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_02: Again, not tomorrow, not this year, even.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: It's gonna be a little bit, but it's going to get there.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_02: And at that point, it will be only GitHub that gets pushed forward with new features, new development, new options.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_02: They already have ways of moving your existing things from DevOps, Azure DevOps over to GitHub.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: So you can transition over fairly easily.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: It's not the same, but you can get pretty close.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_02: So they already have a replacement and they have ways to get from one to the other.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: So yes, I think that Azure DevOps will eventually go away.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: Does that mean you should go crazy and stress out or the fact that your company uses Azure DevOps?
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: You're fine.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_02: You're fine.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: But if you're going on new development, maybe you look at Azure as a secondary solution as opposed to the primary solution, and look at GitHub as maybe a better primary solution.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_02: So that's where I would lean and look.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_02: I would say, hey, you know what?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_02: GitHub might be the better option for us if we're starting new.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: If we have an existing solution, you could look in a transition, but take it slow.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_02: Take your time, move over at your pace once the features are there that you really need, and make sure your team is up to speed.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_02: But don't feel like you have to rush from one platform to the other.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: Okay?
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: So the other part of this was Jose asked, Hey, have I lost all my skills if Azure DevOps goes away?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_02: And the answer is no, you haven't.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_02: And here's why.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: Azure DevOps had a number of different features.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_02: It had the boards, it had the actual CI CD process where you can do a whole lot of continuous integration and development uh tasks for different branches.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_02: It had the actual source code management and so much more.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_02: GitHub has those same or similar features.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: The the way you do things might be a little different from DevOps to GitHub.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: However, the the thought process, the logic, the steps that you do in abstract terms are the same.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_02: So your logic will stay the same.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_02: It's just that the syntax or the way you do things will be a little bit different.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_02: You haven't lost your skills.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_02: It's just a new user interface to do the exact same thing.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_02: And that's true of pretty much anything in software development.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: When you change languages, people ask, have I lost everything?
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: No, you still have all your experience being a developer.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_02: You still have all that experience of solving problems.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's just you're doing it with new syntax.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: Well, the same thing is true here.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: You're just doing the same processes with new syntax.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_02: Now the question does come in: should I just bring everything down in-house and kind of forward up and do everything possible inside my own organization because things are going to change out there and I want to be future-proof.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I really don't like that term future-proof because nothing is future-proof.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_02: The language you build on is going to change.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: The operating system you run on is going to change.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: The way the internet works is going to change.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: The way your business works is going to change.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_02: Everything will change.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: So saying this won't change is ridiculous.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's going to change, things are going to happen, you're going to have to migrate, you're going to have to move, you're going to have to change how you think about things and do things.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's a part of life.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_02: It's why we stay employed as developers.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: Otherwise, we build a great system, leave it in place, walk away, and become farmers.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_02: Because it would never change.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_02: Therefore, we're all good.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_02: We got the one perfect system and we're done.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_02: And that just doesn't happen in life.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: So don't think that by bringing it in-house, you're going to future proof it somehow, because you won't.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, it's probably more dangerous to bring it in-house as opposed to using a reliable third party like Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions and all the rest, because of the fact that those are supported by large organizations.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: And like I said, even if that large organization decides tomorrow we're not going to move forward on new features that will stay the same and will stay supported for years to come.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_02: The same can't be said of your internal systems.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe you have a great development team where they are really on top of things.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_02: They know how, let's say, the DevOps process works and they're going to do all the DevOps process in-house.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: That's great, but those developers aren't there forever.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: The team will leave, the team will change, things will happen, and the next thing you know, you have new people in who don't know how the system was originally built or why the decisions were what they were when they were made.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: And now you have a more fragile system that's dependent on one team in one location with one set of servers.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_02: That is more fragile than depending on a multinational company who has a track record of long-term support.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_02: So I'd be careful there on thinking that in-house will solve your problems when it comes to changing systems online.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_02: Okay?
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_02: So that's my thoughts on Azure DevOps going away.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_02: Eventually, yes, it will go away, but not for a very, very long time.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_02: And before then, there will be some changes to it, but support will be there long term.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: So don't panic, don't worry.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_02: And if you have to start new, look at GitHub as your potential number one choice.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for the question, Jose.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_02: I hope that answers your question.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_02: If you have a question, go to suggestions.imtimcorey.com, leave that suggestion there, or upvote a suggestion that you find is close to what you're looking for.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for listening.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: And as always, I am Tim Corey.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for joining us for this episode of Def Questions.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: Tim is committed to making it easier for you to become a developer.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: If you would like to help make more content like this possible, please like, subscribe, rate, and share Dev Questions.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: You can also send your questions to questions at IamtimCore.com.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, remember, you are too smart and your time too valuable to waste it making all the mistakes Tim did.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: When you're ready to learn to think and code like a professional developer, head over to imtimcore.com and enroll in a course.