Despite all the benefits of migrating to the Atlassian Cloud such as lower load on your IT infrastructure, cost savings, meeting the need for mobility and remote work, there are still many misconceptions about operating and having your data in the cloud.
Many customers considering migration to the Atlassian Cloud still have the wrong idea about what it involves. In this article, I will try to address the most common concerns and leave no room for any fears.
Top 10 myths about migration to the Atlassian Cloud:
- A cloud and a server are one and the same thing.
- Data storage on the server is safer than in the cloud. / It’s safer to store data on the server than in the cloud.
- Managing applications on the server costs less than in the cloud.
- Large organizations don’t use the cloud.
- Production migration requires the most work.
- Organizations don’t need to “clean up” before moving to the cloud.
- Applications can’t be migrated to the cloud.
- Applications are not available in the cloud.
- Migrating to the cloud requires too much work.
- Migration isn’t flexible enough to fit the needs of any kind of organization.
Myth #1: A cloud and a server are one and the same thing
Atlassian Cloud products offer the same benefits as server products but there are differences in features, functionalities and user experience (of both administrators and end-users). When considering migration, it’s essential to compare the differences between the two platforms and learn about the characteristics of each cloud product. The best way to learn about these features is to explore and try the cloud yourself. Atlassian offers free extended cloud testing to all current customers using Data Center servers.
Myth #2: It’s safer to store data on the server than in the cloud
While accessing hardware directly can give an impression of having more control, it can actually create a source of many problems that will require the intervention of an experienced systems administrator to be resolved. Moreover, server applications require regular upgrading to a higher version, especially in the field of patching security gaps.
Atlassian Cloud products let you access security, encryption and privacy as standard features. Atlassian Cloud products complement industry-wide data compliance and protection standards. Data is protected by encryption during transfer and at rest.
Of course, you don’t have to take the information of that importance on faith. Everything is easy to verify as Atlassian publishes its SOC2/SOC3 reports, Cloud Security Alliance status and other key information in the Atlassian Trust Center.
Myth #3: Managing applications on the server costs less than in the cloud
No, if you include hidden costs. The total cost of a cloud is often lower than a self-managed server because server instances carry many additional costs such as the cost of the device itself, configuration and further maintenance.
To estimate the savings from migrating to the cloud, Atlassian has created a cloud value calculator that will help identify hidden costs associated with self-management of implementations and find areas where the cloud can help save money and time (not to mention nerves). Additionally, there are money-saving offers for existing customers, including an unused server maintenance loan, loyalty pricing for corporate customers – as well as the free cloud migration tests mentioned above. It is also worth taking advantage of cooperation with consulting companies such as Sii that holds the Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner title in order to receive a favorable offer to purchase any license in the Atlassian applications portfolio.
Myth #4: Large organizations don’t use the cloud
As proved, 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies have the Atlassian cloud license and over 90 percent of new clients choose cloud as their first option.
Atlassian server and data center customers are migrating to the cloud more often than ever before, taking advantage of recently announced Premium and Enterprise plans to get exactly the features and support they need on an adequate scale.
Myth #5: Production migration requires the most work
While production migration gets a lot of attention, it is planning, preparation and testing that have the greatest impact on the migration’s success.
Most of the work is done before the migration, in preparation for the move and after the migration as both users and administrators adapt to the new system. Only one example is presented below, but it can be noticed that the actual migration isn’t finalized until almost the entire process has been completed.
More information can be found in the guide: Planning cloud migration
Myth #6: Organizations don’t need to “clean up” before moving to the cloud.
Some organizations see “cleanup” before migration as “nice to have” rather than essential. Before migrating to the cloud, it’s extremely important to properly prepare a self-managed instance, including taking the time to remove/consolidate obsolete projects, workflows and users.
Taking time to do this “cleanup” has three main advantages:
- Migration is faster and smoother, reducing the risk of extending application downtime.
- After the migration is complete, performance often improves due to data reduction and data fragmentation.
- This can help standardize common workflows and issue types, increasing transparency and collaboration between teams.
Myth #7: Applications can’t be migrated to the cloud
Many applications are already migrating their data between platforms, and Atlassian wants to continue increasing its investment in the migration of applications in the near future.
It should also be mentioned here that many plugins for the server version already have their versions for the cloud. Moreover, most of them already have their own data migration procedures between the server and the cloud.
More than 60 percent of customers use applications from the Atlassian Marketplace, and this number is even greater for customers who use servers. That’s why the Atlassian’s migration team works directly with Marketplace vendors and partners to simplify app evaluation and migration.
Myth #8: Applications are not available in the cloud
There are now over 1 000 applications and integrations available for the cloud and app developers are constantly creating more.
Over 250 apps and cloud integrations have been added to the Atlassian Marketplace in the past 12 months alone. Almost all of the most popular Atlassian server applications now have cloud versions, including Insight Asset Management, Jira Workflow Toolbox, JSU Automation for Jira, Structure and ConfiForms.
The most popular cloud applications can be found HERE
Myth #9: Migrating to the cloud requires too much work
As a Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner, Sii has a dedicated Competency Center specializing in Atlassian products and already has successfully carried out many migrations to the Cloud environment. Over the years of cooperation, together with Atlassian, Sii has developed migration methods and tools to make the process shorter and more effective.
Myth #10: Migration isn’t flexible enough to fit the needs of any kind of organization.
Atlassian has developed flexible migration tools that allow you to move to the cloud at your own pace, using multi-stage migration or a hybrid approach.
Free tools to help customers migrate include:
- Extended cloud testing to evaluate products in the cloud without paying for a separate license or disrupting teamwork.
- Jira Cloud Migration Assistant enabling the migration of individual projects from the server to the cloud.
- Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant enabling the multi-stage migration of users, groups, Confluence spaces and attachments.
Sooo… should I migrate to the cloud or not? Summary
There is no doubt that the decision to move to the cloud should be made after a deep analysis of the customer’s needs.
Each solution has its advantages and disadvantages – this applies to both cloud and server solutions. Therefore, the decision whether or not to switch to the cloud environment should be well-thought-out and not influenced by current trends. Such a decision should be made based on the needs and possibilities of a given organization. As the Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner, we recommend conducting a very deep analysis of company needs together with an experienced team. This will allow avoiding very costly consequences of making a wrong decision and will give you peace of mind that everything is being taken care of by professionals.
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