Recently, Atlassian made a significant announcement: Atlassian Data Center products will reach end-of-life by 28th March 2029.
For some of you following Atlassian’s continual focus on Cloud-only innovations (such as Rovo), this may not be a great surprise – and perhaps the driver needed to finally make the move to Cloud.
For others – particularly those of you with regulatory requirements or complex Data Center configurations – this announcement may be more unexpected, and potentially unwelcome.
We know you’ll have lots of questions, so let’s run through what we know so far, and what it means for you and your teams.
What will happen to my Data Center products (and when)?
The short answer is that by 28th March 2029, Atlassian will make Data Center (DC) apps,* such as Jira, Confluence and Jira Service Management, and DC Marketplace apps, read-only.
Between now and then, there are a number of phases to be aware of:
Atlassian has announced that new customers will no longer be able to purchase Data Center subscriptions or Marketplace apps from 30th March 2026.
Existing DC customers, meanwhile, will still be able to buy new Data Center licenses, Marketplace apps, and license expansions until 30th March 2028.
Finally, after that sunset deadline of 28th March 2029, all of your DC product and Marketplace app licenses will become read-only.
*With the exception of Jira Align DC. Customers will also still be able to stay on Bitbucket Data Center through a hybrid license.
Unsure how to manage this change and start planning for a Cloud migration? We’re here to help. From large-scale migrations to complex consolidations, here at AC we’re an Atlassian Cloud Specialized Partner, and are here to guide you through a secure and smooth migration experience – with minimal downtime for your teams. Start your Cloud migration journey today with a free consultation.
Data Center to Cloud: What choice do we have?
Whilst the deprecation of Data Center products is still some time away, Atlassian is already urging customers to plan their next steps. For many of you – although we appreciate not all – this means a move to the Atlassian Cloud.
But can the Atlassian Cloud truly support enterprise success?
The answer appears to be a resounding yes. Current Atlassian figures estimate that over 75% of enterprise customers operate in the Cloud, and many have seen significant cost-savings and improvements in efficiency as a result.
One major European airline, for example, made £600k cost savings per year, by moving to a centralised System of Work on the Atlassian Cloud. Another enterprise, meanwhile, saw cost reductions of 36% after migration to the Cloud.
Then, of course, there are the Cloud-only innovations that Atlassian has focused on in recent years.
Cloud-only features to provide a competitive edge
Once of the most notable Cloud capabilities is Rovo, which is now included in all Premium and Enterprise apps at no extra cost.
From Rovo Search (centralising enterprise knowledge across multiple applications) to AI-powered Rovo Agents (designed to fulfil and automate specific use cases), these features are only available across the Atlassian Cloud Platform. They have been designed to truly unlock teamwork, knowledge sharing and innovation in organisations right up to enterprise level and beyond.
Without these Cloud-only capabilities, teams on Data Center products may feel the challenges of siloed processes and data, or the lack of automated agents, more keenly (or may have to establish complex workarounds or plugins to achieve similar outcomes).
What about Cloud security?
We know some of you will be operating in highly regulated industries, and a move to Cloud may seem untenable in light of this.
To combat some of these barriers, Atlassian recently heralded the arrival of the Single Tenant Cloud (aka an isolated Cloud) in 2026.
Customer data will be stored in a private, isolated Cloud environment, with dedicated storage, applications and databases – all securely separated from other Atlassian Cloud customers.
This approach may enable regulated firms, or those with stringent compliance requirements, to still benefit from Atlassian’s Cloud architecture and the innovations available across the Cloud product suite.
Recently, Atlassian also announced a move towards a multi-Cloud strategy, as it partnered with Google Cloud. This builds on Atlassian’s existing Strategic Collaboration Agreement with AWS, and further strengthens the resilience and scope of the Atlassian Cloud platform.
Is the Atlassian Cloud Platform the right move for your organisation to make? Discuss your challenges, concerns and questions with us in a free Cloud Migration Strategy session.
So, how do I make the move?
We know that Atlassian’s announcement is a major change for some organisations, and it may take time to overcome certain barriers or resistance to a Cloud migration.
If you are ready to equip your teams with the tools and processes they need in the AI-era, however, your first port of call could be to start talking to Cloud migration experts – like us.
💡 Did you know?
Optimizer for Jira is an Atlassian Marketplace app, and your secret weapon for Cloud migration preparation.
Ahead of a move to Cloud, it’s essential spend time reviewing your existing DC instance to make sure you only migrate the data and configurations you actually need.
Created by our colleagues over at AppFox, an Atlassian Marketplace Gold partner, Optimizer for Jira provides a bird’s eye view of potential problem areas in your instance, and enables you to make bulk actions instantly (such as deleting duplicate fields). The app turns hours of repetitive, manual Jira clean-up activity into moments.
To add Optimizer for Jira to your migration toolkit today, head over to the Atlassian Marketplace!
Why trust AC to guide you to Cloud success?
With over two decades of experience, and having delivered Cloud migrations for organisations ranging from start-ups all the way up to global enterprise clients, we’re here to help.
We’re also an Atlassian Cloud Specialized and Atlassian Platinum Solution partner, along with expertise in AWS and Google Cloud ecosystems – so we’re a safe pair of hands for your migration project.
Talk to us today to start your Cloud journey with a free consultation. We can listen to your concerns and objectives, provide pragmatic recommendations to address your challenges, and help shape your Cloud migration strategy.
