Comparing Atlassian Cloud vs. Server vs.

Data Center

https://www.contegix.com/resources/library/atlassian-cloud-vs-server

When you’re entering the Atlassian ecosystem,

you’ve got plenty on your plate, from determining
what pricing model makes sense to which Atlassian
platforms you want to adopt. One of the most
critical decisions you have to make is choosing
among Atlassian’s three available hosting options:
Atlassian Cloud, Server, and Data Center.

Does your enterprise require the control and

customizability of Server and Data Center, or would
it benefit more from the ease of use that comes
with Cloud? Let’s find out!

Atlassian Hosting Options: Cloud,

Server, and Data Center
To get started, here’s a high level look at each
hosting option, before getting into the weeds of
what differentiates them.

Cloud
Atlassian Cloud allows you to run Jira, Confluence,
Bitbucket, and other software while Atlassian hosts
and runs your Jira deployment. In addition to the
standard benefits that come with any quality cloud
hosting service, like scalability and reliability,
Atlassian Cloud offers the convenience of a quickly
available Jira instance that requires only minimal
setup. You can also take advantage of automatic
updates to your Atlassian products.

Who should use Atlassian Cloud?

In general, Atlassian Cloud makes the most sense
for organizations that want a software-as-a-service
(SaaS) experience and don’t require the
customizability or control offered by Atlassian
Server and Data Center. It’s also a good choice for
organizations whose needs fluctuate wildly from
month-to-month, as its tiered pricing solution is
based on the number of users who have accessed
your instance in the last month.

Server and Data Center

Both Atlassian Server and Data Center let you host
Atlassian’s products on your own infrastructure or
by using a third party cloud provider. Running and
maintaining Atlassian software yourself does
require more work — and technical expertise —
than using Atlassian Cloud, but it provides control
over all aspects of your deployment, from updates
to security. In addition, depending on your setup,
these options may perform better than Cloud.

As Atlassian Server has been deprecated as of

February 2, 2021, and new licenses are no longer
sold, Data Center is now the only option for
organizations who are new to the Atlassian
ecosystem. Thankfully, Atlassian Data Center
provides superior security, customizability, and
reliability compared to Server, though at a higher
cost. Data Center is the most performant, robust
option available, and it can meet the needs of even
the largest enterprises.

Who should use Atlassian Data Center?

Organizations that require control over their
infrastructure due to performance, security and
compliance, or integration needs should look to
Data Center. And if disruptions to service have a
serious impact on your company, Data Center’s
multiple node instances and high availability are
great ways to maximize uptime.
The Big Differences Between
Atlassian Cloud, Server, and Data
Center
Now that you have a basic understanding of your
options, it’s time to get into the details. Here’s a
rundown of everything you need to know to make
an informed decision between Atlassian Cloud,
Server, and Data Center.
Cloud
Hosting Atlassian takes care of hosting
your deployment remotely. You
avoid the hassle of installing,
setting up, and maintaining your
Atlassian products.
Pricing Pricing is determined based on
how many users access Atlassian
products. Both monthly and
annual subscription plans are
available, with a discount for
annual subscriptions.
User Limits 10,000 users per product, with the
exception of 5,000 for Jira Service
Management.
Management Administration is significantly
streamlined, with only limited
Server/Data Center
You take care of hosting, either
using your own infrastructure or
by contracting with a third party
vendor. You’re able to fully
customize your deployment to
meet your organization’s unique
needs.
Pricing is determined based on
how many users access Atlassian
products. Atlassian Data Center
licenses are only available as
annual plans, while Atlassian
Server licenses are no longer
available for purchase.
Unlimited, subject to what your
license allows and infrastructure
can support.
You are responsible for managing
all aspects of your Atlassian
 responsibility for managing and
configuring Atlassian software.
Atlassian now offers the ability to
create sandbox environments to
test changes alongside production
Cloud instances, but this requires a
Premium or Enterprise Cloud
subscription.
Upgrades Atlassian performs upgrades
automatically, so your tools are
always fully patched. This provides
convenience at the cost of control
over your upgrade schedule, and
you may experience difficulties
with adapting to a new interface or
newly introduced bugs.
Customization Customization is limited to options
provided by the UI of your
Atlassian platforms.
Accessibility You lack full access to your
database and infrastructure.
Directly connecting to an LDAP
(Lightweight Directory Access
Protocol) directory is not possible,
although you can sync your LDAP
directory with one of Atlassian’s
supported identity providers using
Atlassian Access.
Scalability Quickly scalable. Adding users past
the limit of your current plan will
bump you into a more expensive
pricing tier.
deployment, from the applications
themselves to infrastructure and
updates.
You choose when to upgrade your
deployment. While this leads to
additional administrative overhead
due to the need to create a
schedule and handle the upgrades
manually, it also provides the
freedom to hold off on an upgrade
if it introduces incompatibilities or
would otherwise disrupt
operations.
You also have the ability to test
upgrades in a staging environment
beforehand.
Fully customizable, with the ability
to create tailored addons and
integrations.
You have access to your database
and the backend of your systems.
LDAP connections are immediately
available.
Scalability is dependent on your
organization’s capabilities. Adding
users past the limit of your current
plan will disable the ability to
create issues until you upgrade to

Performance Performance and responsiveness
may suffer for teams of more than
a few hundred users.
Security Atlassian handles security and
and Compliance guarantees compliance with a
variety of standards.
Plugins Available through the Atlassian
Marketplace. No manual
installation required, but some
apps’ features are only available on
Server and Data Center.
Cloud vs. Server vs. Data Center for
Jira and Confluence
The differences between Atlassian Cloud, Server,
and Data Center extend to Atlassian’s individual
products. These include Jira — a comprehensive
project management platform — and Confluence
— an easy-to-use knowledge base tool.
a more expensive pricing tier.
Taking advantage of a third party
hosting provider can deliver the
same easy scalability as Atlassian
Cloud.
Performance depends on your
infrastructure or the third party
vendor you employ, but you can
fine tune your hardware to drive
the performance you need.
You are responsible for security
and compliance. However, third
party hosting providers can
provide additional compliance
certifications, like FedRAMP,
HIPAA, and more.
Available through the Atlassian
Marketplace. Downloading and
installation of plugins on your own
server or third party infrastructure
required. Some Cloud-only plugins
are unavailable.
Jira Cloud lacks some capabilities offered by
Server and Data Center. Many relate to
customizability, accessibility, and extensibility, as
indicated above. For instance, you won’t be able to
use the features of some Jira plugins — like many
of the scripting functions of ScriptRunner or the
Dashboard Gadgets of BigPicture — on Cloud, or
tailor email templates outside of some limited
customization offered by Jira Service Management.

However, Jira Cloud does provide some

advantages and features that aren’t present by
default in self-hosted Jira deployments. As an
example, Jira Advanced Roadmaps (formerly
Portfolio), an Atlassian-developed project portfolio
management tool, is available natively on Cloud
Premium but only as a plugin on Server and Data
Center. And next-gen projects are only available on
Jira Cloud, so if you ever migrate to Data Center,
you’ll have to move the relevant issues to standard
projects.

Confluence Cloud shares some of the same

relative limitations as Jira, but also comes with
some of its own. These include the inability to
customize themes, import text files into
Confluence, or use multiple fonts.
If you’d like more information, Atlassian has a
comprehensive look at the functional differences
between Server or Data Center and Cloud for both
Jira and Confluence.

Migrating Between Atlassian Cloud,

Server, and Data Center
If Atlassian Cloud isn’t performing well or offering
your organization the features it needs, it’s time to
consider moving to Data Center. To prepare for the
migration, you should first back up your Cloud
instance as often as possible. This is every 48
hours, but you can reach out to Atlassian if you
require more frequent backups. You’ll also want to
create a test environment with the latest version of
Jira, a database (preferably using MySQL or
PostgreSQL), the proper licenses for any Atlassian
products you’re using, and a written plan for
carrying out the migration.

You have several options when it comes to the

migration itself, depending on what Atlassian
products you need to move. Atlassian offers
migration assistant apps for
both Jira and Confluence that can streamline the
process. You can also handle the migration
yourself. With Jira, you can export your entire
instance, which is likely the best manual option if
you require your current Jira setup largely intact.
Confluence only requires you to export your spaces
to an XML file and then import that file to your new
Confluence instance. You can choose to include all
your attachments as well, regardless of their size.

You’ll want to test the new instance thoroughly in

the environment you set up before it goes live.
During this process of user acceptance testing
(UAT), look for major differences between your
current deployment and the new one, and prepare
for any training you’ll need to give your team. Look
for any potential incompatibilities, bugs, or other
issues that the migration may cause as well so you
can resolve them before they disrupt operations.
And make sure you announce the migration well in
advance, so employees can prepare themselves
for the transition and any accompanying downtime.
What about moving from Server to Cloud or
Data Center?
If you’re interested in migrating from Server to
Cloud instead to streamline your operations or due
to Server’s deprecation, you’ll need to ensure that
your version of Server is compatible, you’ve
cleaned the data in your Server instance, and
you’ve selected the correct Cloud plan for your
user base, among other tasks. Cleaning data in
particular can be a complicated process, involving
everything from removing duplicate information to
standardizing custom workflows. You have the
option of then either using the Jira Cloud Migration
Assistant app or simply importing your database
into your new Server instance.

Your migration timeline can be hard to estimate,

and the process may be longer than you think —
up to several months, in some instances. Running
a test migration helps ensure your assessment is
accurate. You’ll also have to assess relevant
factors, like the state of your data and the impact of
the migration on your business and customers.

Check whether your current plugins are compatible

with Cloud as well. You don’t want to find out that
an app your team relies on is unavailable after
you’ve migrated. See whether there are
alternatives available on the Atlassian Marketplace
for any incompatible plugins.

Migrating from Server to Data Center is relatively

straightforward. Once you’ve upgraded your
license and updated any plugins, you’re set, other
than potentially changing your setup to run Data
Center as a cluster.
Atlassian has excellent resources covering these
and aspects of migrating, but even with this
guidance, seeking assistance from an Atlassian
Solution Partner is prudent when carrying out such
a complicated and important process.

Make the Right Choice with a

Trusted Partner
Deciding between Atlassian’s three offerings isn’t a
choice to take lightly. You must carefully evaluate
your organization’s needs both now and in the
future, taking into account what Atlassian products
you’ll be using and which option makes the most
financial sense. When considering all these factors,
it helps to have a team of experts at your back.

Contegix is an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner

with the expertise to align your Atlassian
deployment with your business needs. From
hosting — whether on Contegix’s BlackMesh Cloud
or elsewhere — to installation to migrations,
Contegix is your holistic Atlassian resource.