Jira Cloud vs. Server: main differences 2022 - Actonic – Unfolding your potential
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Jira Cloud vs. Server: main differences 2022


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In 2022, not many topics in the Atlassian ecosystem are being discussed as often as the hosting variant of Atlassian software. Jira Cloud and Server both have their advantages and disadvantages, which is why it is important to inform yourself about the two variants before making a licensing decision. So that you can make your decision based on information, we have summarized all the knowledge worth knowing on this topic in this article.

Jira Cloud vs. Server: What is Jira?

Jira from Atlassian is a project management software that helps teams to organize their collaboration in an agile way. It started as a tool for software developers, but is now used by all kind of project management teams worldwide. The application enables precise planning of the individual steps of a project, and gives team members an overview of the current status at any time. To-Dos are created in Jira as stories or tasks, placed in specific sprints to work off. In the process, the volume of tasks can be estimated and precisely distributed among team members. This makes Jira the perfect tool to help project managers achieve successful work.

The basic difference between Jira Cloud and Server

With Jira Server, the software is hosted on a server that is owned by the company or an external one. With the Cloud version, on the other hand, the system is managed on servers maintained by Atlassian. By hosting yourself with the Server version, you get greater autonomy and more configuration options. However, you also have to accept greater responsibility in terms of data protection and a greater effort to maintain the instance. With the cloud version, the effort for data protection and maintenance of the instance is omitted. In return, you have fewer configuration options and less autonomy (although the resulting loss of benefit seems rather manageable for most companies).

Jira Cloud vs. Server: Functional differences

Below, we explain the more in-depth differences between the two hosting variants:

User administration

  • Cloud: All users are displayed in one place. For this purpose, they can be divided into user groups.
  • Server: Here, on the other hand, you won’t have an overall view of all the company’s users. However, it is possible to assign users to groups.

Mobile application of the software

  • Cloud: This version offers a free mobile app through which you can access Jira with your smartphone.
  • Server: Mobile apps are offered only from Jira version 8.3.

APIs

  • Cloud: Because of the Forge framework, apps can be integrated and customized using APIs.
  • Server: A provided API can be used by teams working on apps for Atlassian products.

Backups

  • Cloud: Backups are automatically created here and stored for a month. This allows data from a specific tag to be restored. Additionally, you can create an offline backup every two days.
  • Server: Administrators of the company have to take care of data backups themselves. The company can determine the time itself, but it also has a higher administration effort.

Database access

  • Cloud: Since the hosting here is with Atlassian, you do not get direct access to the database structure and system files.
  • Server: Here, the hosting is done by you, and therefore you also have full access to the database and system files.

Payment processing

  • Cloud: Here you pay either monthly or annually. This includes license, updates, support and operation.
  • Server: With the Server version, you buy the product once. You receive support and updates free of charge for the first year. However, after that, you have to pay half the list price for updates and support annually. The price depends on the number of users.

Functions/user interface

  • Cloud and Server have partly clearly different functions and the user interface is built differently. In part, you could speak of two different software products. Updates are usually first available in the cloud and then on the other hosting variants.

Apps

  • Both hosting variants offer the possibility to expand Jira almost infinitely through apps. However, the functions of the apps are often significantly different depending on the hosting variant.

Jira Cloud vs. Server: Reasons for a Jira Cloud Migration

Migration to the cloud is all the rage in 2022, and there are good reasons why. In our article “10 Benefits of Cloud Migration”, we listed the top ten. These reasons include:

  • 24/7 support and 99% uptime SLA of cloud support.
  • Cost savings (no physical hardware, no maintenance).
  • Mobile application of Jira
  • Dynamic and straightforward scalability
  • A fast and straightforward startup

The rest of the reasons and detailed explanations can be found here:

Jira Cloud vs. Server: End of support for Server licenses

Atlassian sees the future of its software in the Cloud variant. If you use Jira Server, you surely know it already: in February 2021, the sale of new Server licenses ended. As of February 15th of this year, the ability to upgrade and downgrade Server licenses has now also ended.

Other important dates that you can mark in your calendar are the following:

15th of February 2023: End of sale for Server apps

2nd of February 2024: End of support for Server products and apps.

Therefore, if you are currently still using Jira as a Server version, it is recommended to migrate to Cloud, as your hosting variant will soon no longer be available. To do this, you should find out quickly what this migration could look like for your company.

Migrate to the Jira Cloud: Use our service

As you can see: migrating to Jira Cloud is worthwhile! But how do you actually migrate to Cloud, and which migration plan is the right one? Our experienced consulting team has the answers to your questions!

We have already helped numerous customers to migrate successfully. Also, for your use case, we have the best solution ready. Actonic is your confidential partner from the initial consultation to the successful migration. Together, we conduct a detailed requirements analysis and implement it step by step with you. Regular and trustful communication is thereby very important to us.

We would be happy to analyze the requirements of your company in a free and non-binding initial meeting and derive the necessary first steps from this.

Book your free and non-binding initial meeting:

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