I am not a big fan of dependency resolvers whether they be standalone like Ivy or built-in to the monstrosity that is Maven. Frankly when it comes to this topic I am positively Luddite and prefer to hand-manage my binary dependencies via library folders that are checked into the project along with the source code. I think dependency repositories create a pain for library providers who are always having to release into them and for consumers who need a fast connection to the repository to be able to build a project. I always prefer to checkout the source code and have everything I need to build the software right there in the checkout.

There is only one usecase I regard as valid for using a dependency manager and that is where you have very complex internal dependencies between different teams in the same organisation. Since internal release times tend to be very short and you often want to pick up the latest versions as they become available it can be valuable to have a tool that is managing that for you.

Even with this I think it is a big question as to it is valid. After all with internal projects it can often be easier to co-ordinate by source control versions and includes than at the binary level. It also implies that internal communications are not as good as they should be.