Can Jira and Azure DevOps Work Together?

Yes, Jira and Azure DevOps (ADO) can definitely work together. In fact, it's one of our most popular integrations here at Move Work Forward.

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Integrating Jira with Azure DevOps just makes sense – imagine your developers updating Jira tickets directly from their code changes in Azure DevOps, or project managers effortlessly monitoring the progress of a new feature right from Jira.

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In this article, we'll walk you through how to integrate Jira with Azure DevOps. But before that, let's talk about why using them together is a good idea in the first place.

Can Azure DevOps replace Jira?

Not really. While Azure DevOps has some project management (PM) features, they're pretty basic. ADO is primarily a dev platform with strengths in source code management, CI/CD pipelines, and built-in testing tools.

It may be enough if your team mostly focuses on simple dev projects and you're already using Microsoft tools.

But for larger, more complex projects – like building an ERP system – ADO's PM capabilities are simply too basic to keep up.

Here's an example:

Your team is building a high-frequency trading platform. It's a complex system that demands lightning-fast code execution, real-time market data analysis, and split-second decision-making.

This might involve:

An intricate codebase with multiple interconnected modules for market data analysis, order execution, risk management, etc.
Coordination between multiple stakeholders like developers, quantitative analysts, traders, and compliance officers
Real-time performance that can handle high-speed processing, low latency, and system reliability under extreme market conditions
Making sure everything is compliant with auditing and reporting requirements at all times

Managing such a multifaceted project with tons of moving parts is what Jira was built for.

Jira offers greater visibility and control over every part of your project. For instance, you can use Jira to manage complex dependencies, track sprint planning, and keep your team in sync without switching platforms.

Similarly, Jira cannot fully replace Azure DevOps. Although Jira offers basic source code integration and release management, it lacks ADO's extensive dev tools.