Leveraging Jira Cloud: The Complete Checklist For Easy, Non-Disruptive Jira Cloud Adoption

Learn the best practices to optimize your move to Jira Cloud with this comprehensive guide.

February 22, 2024
Muskaan Pathak

For years, Jira – Atlassian’s project management software has served as a reliable platform for organizing workflows, fostering collaboration, and driving results.

However, the digital landscape is constantly shifting, and so are the needs of modern teams. With cloud adoption becoming a strategic imperative rather than simply a matter of preference, companies across the board are compelled to reinvent their digital core.

This is where Jira Cloud – Atlassian’s cloud-based project management software – comes into play. The Cloud offers always-on access continuous updates, unparalleled scalability, and robust security – fueling your efforts for high-impact work. However, as exciting as Cloud’s possibilities may sound, the success of the project depends on a lot of critical touchpoints.

The time to migrate is now

For modern enterprises, agility and efficiency are not just buzzwords – they’re survival imperatives. As your organization scales, managing projects and workflows effectively becomes increasingly complex.

Beyond imminent deadlines and security concerns, migrating to Jira Cloud isn’t just about embracing modern technology—it’s also about future-proofing your workflow.

Embracing the Cloud advantage

(Source: Forrester Spotlight: The Total Economic Impact of Cloud Migrations)

The numbers speak for themselves – Cloud optimizes resource allocation and drives tangible results.

Here’s why embracing the cloud might be your next big strategic move:

Embrace worry-free security

Atlassian Server: February 15, 2024 marks the end of extended support, leaving your system vulnerable to risks. For Server and Data Center users, this also means increased renewal pricing costs.

Migrating to Cloud helps you leverage Atlassian’s robust security infrastructure and automatic updates for peace of mind and cost optimization.

Enterprise-Grade Protection: Cloud providers like Atlassian offer robust security, constantly defending your data against evolving threats with advanced intrusion detection and encryption.

Innovate at the speed of business

Staying Ahead of the Curve: Gartner predicts that by 2025, 95% of new digital workloads will be cloud-native. Staying on-premise can mean missing out on cutting-edge features and integrations like AI-powered insights and automation that boost agility.

Continuous Value Delivery: Unlike on-premise solutions with infrequent updates, Jira Cloud offers regular feature releases and integrations, ensuring your team always has access to the latest innovations to optimize workflows and adapt to changing needs.

Simplify compliance management

Navigating Regulatory Complexity: Stringent regulations like GDPR and CCPA add compliance burdens. Jira Cloud offers built-in compliance features and certifications, reducing the need for additional legal expertise and streamlining your compliance journey.

Reduced Risk and Cost: Eliminate the need for complex on-premise infrastructure and its associated security measures. Cloud providers handle maintenance and updates, minimizing compliance risks and costs associated with data security and privacy.

Scale faster, collaborate better

Break free from Growth Barrier: On-premise solutions often have user capacity and data storage limitations, hindering collaboration and scalability. Jira Cloud offers infinite scalability, allowing you to accommodate growing teams and data demands with ease.

Collaborate from Anywhere: Jira Cloud empowers geographically dispersed teams and vendors to work together with real-time project visibility and secure access from any device, anywhere.

Assessing your readiness

Before getting started, consider the potential risks associated with the migration, and have a plan for mitigating them.

Here’s a pre-migration checklist to help you plan your Jira Cloud migration better:

Downtime and Business Continuity:

What is the expected downtime during the migration, and how will it impact business operations?
Is there a business continuity plan in place to address potential issues during and after the migration?
Will users be able to access both source and target systems until the migration is completed and sync the changes from target to source (reverse synchronization)?

Security and Compliance:

What security measures and compliance standards does Jira Cloud adhere to?
How will sensitive app data be handled in the cloud environment, and what are the data residency and privacy considerations?

User Training and Change Management:

What is the plan for user training to adapt to the differences between Jira Server and Jira Cloud interfaces?
How will the enterprise manage the change and ensure a smooth transition for users?
Should the migration fail or interrupt at any point, what is the recovery or rollback mechanism?

Integration with Other Systems:

How will the move impact integrations with other tools and systems currently connected to your on-prem tool?
Are the integrations compatible with Jira Cloud, and what adjustments are needed?

Preparing to move to Jira Cloud

Preparing your environment

A. Jira Server/Data Center Users:

Download Final Backups: Before embarking on the migration, ensure you have comprehensive backups of your server and data.
Review User Permissions: Examine user permissions and group configurations. Prepare to map these to corresponding roles and access levels in Jira Cloud.
Clean Up Data: Identify and archive inactive projects, deleted issues, and unnecessary attachments to optimize data size and expedite migration.

B. Users of Other On-Premise Tools:

Data Compatibility Assessment: Evaluate the compatibility of your current tool’s data format with Jira Cloud’s import mechanisms. Plan for export, transformation, and validation if necessary.
Integration Inventory: Create an inventory of existing integrations with your current tool. Identify cloud-based alternatives or API-based connections for each integration.
User Training Plan: Develop a management plan for migrating users that addresses the differences between your current tool and Jira Cloud based on roles and responsibilities.

Choosing your migration approach

Select the most suitable migration approach based on your project complexity and team expertise:

Jira Cloud Migration Assistant: Jira Cloud Migration Assistant (JCMA) is a utility offered by Atlassian to facilitate data and project migration from Jira Server or Data Center to Jira Cloud. You can install the app from the Atlassian Marketplace.
Manual Migration: Only recommended for highly experienced teams with small, simple instances. It can be risky and requires extensive migration planning due to potential data loss and compatibility issues.
Third-party Tools: OpsHub Migration Manager (OMM)– OpsHub’s enterprise-grade migration solution offers advanced features and customization options for complex migrations, ideal for large teams handling multiple projects. OMM supports migration from Jira Data Center/Server and 60+ tools like Azure DevOps, IBM DOORS, OpenText, etc. The tool ensures zero impact on ongoing work during the migration and guarantees complete data integrity – ensuring your data stays secure and compliance worries are put to rest.

How its usually done	How OpsHub does it
Approach: "Lift-and-shift" mentality, prioritizing speed over optimization.	Iterative, agile migration focusing on minimal disruption and continuous improvement.
Risk of downtime which can significantly impact business operations.	Continuous operations with zero downtime minimize business impact.
Lack of security considerations in traditional tools expose vulnerabilities.	Built-in security measures and continuous monitoring ensure data protection.
One-size-fits-all approach may not adapt to specific organizational needs.	Adaptable approach tailors migration to specific requirements and use cases.
Migrated data and applications remain opaque, hindering control and troubleshooting.	Granular insights into the migration process allow for proactive management.

Post-migration analysis and measuring success

Monitor Performance: To ensure a stable migration experience, proactively track user activity, system performance, and error logs in Jira Cloud.
Optimize Workflows & Access: Review and optimize workflows and user access controls to ensure they align with your current needs and security best practices.
Maintain Security: Continue security best practices by implementing two-factor authentication, enforcing strong passwords, and regularly reviewing user permissions.
Seek Feedback & Refine: Gather feedback from users and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and refine your user management processes for future migrations or updates.

The bottom line

Cloud is not simply a source of cheaper and better IT infrastructure – but also one of the strongest enablers of enterprise-wide growth and agility in today’s innovation economy. To ensure your Jira cloud adoption is smooth, risk-free and scalable – get started here.

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Muskaan Pathak

She works as a Content and SEO Strategist at OpsHub. Her interests include devising content marketing strategies for SaaS enterprises, brand strategy and the convergence of emerging tech with design and communication.

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