Quo Vadis: Atlassian Cloud or Atlassian Data Center?

Where are server customers going?

Cloud or Data Center? That's the question that has been on the minds of a large part of our Atlassian customers for some time now, because ever since the Australian software manufacturer announced the end of the server product line in 2024, there has been unrest.

Cloud

Atlassian now sees itself as a cloud-first company and is investing heavily in this area. The performance and security aspects are constantly improving; cloud systems provide instant scalability and best support distributed collaboration. By 2024, Atlassian wants to make its cloud products fulfill the requirements of even the largest enterprise groups.

Data Center

But in some regions, not many customers feel ready for the cloud. Their security and data protection needs are higher than what cloud solutions can currently provide. Or they have advanced customization requirements for the software that cloud products do not allow. For these organizations, Atlassian Data Center is a mature alternative that ensures control over their own data and provides resilience.

Hybrid

Other organizations, on the other hand, could benefit from both platforms by following a hybrid approach and performing a phased migration, moving some user groups (or systems) directly to the cloud, while other teams (especially those with specific compliance requirements) remain temporarily or perhaps permanently with a Data Center.

Considerations

There are several options open available that need to be thoroughly thought through. Last but not least, cost is also a major factor. When evaluating this question, tools like the personalized calculator that Atlassian has made available can be helpful.

Planning an iterative project

Once you have made the decision whether to move completely to the cloud or to use data centers, planning is needed. Most migrations are more complex projects that take you into new territory where nothing should go wrong.

In many cases, an iterative strategy makes sense, by breaking the journey into small, manageable steps you can get to your desired destination more smoothly (whether that's the cloud or Data Center).

In the case of an infrastructure change, this includes early evaluation of whether and how the extension apps in use will support the migration. If there are specific compliance or security requirements, the team needs to gather them in time to see if Atlassian Cloud can meet them or if Data Center is the more appropriate option.

Our tips and recommendations

For these and similar questions, customers are well-advised to approach an experienced Atlassian partner who has done large-scale migrations and who knows the challenges of projects like this well.

Your partner for Atlassian products

Do you have questions about deployment options for Atlassian products? We would be happy to help you objectively check what you need: As an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner with experience from thousands of Atlassian projects, we can advise you on the evaluation of an optimal licensing and operating model for you and will be happy to help you migrate your existing systems. Get in touch with us!