Keeping track of software development in your organization can often be a pain, which is why
application lifecycle management (ALM) software has popped up. Suppliers include CA Technologies's Software Change Manager, Pivitol Labs Pivotal Tracker, IBM's Collaborative Lifecycle Management, Oracle's Team Productivity Center and a host of others.
For the Microsoft environment there's Visual Studio Application Lifecycle Management. But a year ago the company put out a cloud version called Team Foundation Service. Initially it was in beta,
but as this report from ComputerWorld U.S. outlines, it's now gone live. And there's a great introductory price: For the next few months it's free for up to five users from one organization.
The advantage, Microsoft says, is source code and work items are stored in the cloud, "making server configuration a thing of the past."
The service lets staff manage code online from anywhere using Visual Studio or Eclipse. Bugs can be checked in Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Safari. Languages and platforms including C#, Python and Android can also be used.
Pricing will be announced in 2013. Until then, there's no harm in giving it a try.