If you want to get up and running with Atlassian, you first face a choice: Do you want to move to the cloud, or would you prefer to go old‑school, run your own server, and use the Data Center (DC) edition?
Or do you already run DC and are considering a move to the cloud?
Both have their strengths and challenges – so what are they? Which solution fits your requirements better depends greatly on your company, growth plans, and your own IT setup. Let’s take a look together!
Start quickly or plan for the long term?
If you want to get going as quickly as possible, the cloud is usually the simpler path. Up to 10 users (depending on the product) can work there for free with the included free features – ideal for gaining initial experience, testing the system, and getting a sense of how well your processes can be modeled. All without major lead time or investment.
Getting started with Jira Data Center is different: licenses start at 500 users. That means smaller teams or test environments are not as easy to set up. The trial period is also quite short at 30 days – so you have to decide comparatively quickly.
Ease of use & user experience
The Cloud was designed from the ground up for simple, intuitive use. The interface is clear, many functions are self-explanatory, and typical tasks – such as creating projects, filters, or assigning tickets – can be done without technical expertise. Ideal for teams that want to get started quickly with minimal onboarding.
Data Center now also offers a more modern interface with visually guided workflows and simplified navigation – so the initial onboarding is much more accessible than before. However, the difference shows in depth: DC allows much more extensive configuration, but in return demands a higher level of technical understanding. Especially for more complex requirements, custom automations, or integrating external systems, more setup and know-how is usually required.
In short: the cloud has a clear advantage when it comes to a fast, frictionless start. DC offers more flexibility – but also more responsibility for setup and maintenance.
Operations, maintenance, and availability
With the cloud, you hand over all hosting to Atlassian; you optionally specify the region – and you’re ready to go! Maintenance, updates, backups, and security are centrally managed – with a guaranteed uptime of 99.99 % on the appropriate plan.
This significantly reduces the burden on your internal IT and lets you focus on usage, not operation.
In DC, you retain full control over your systems. You decide where your data resides, which security standards apply, and how the system is hosted. For companies with specific data protection policies or significant compliance responsibilities, that can be the deciding factor.
However, it also requires a truly well-thought-out internal infrastructure.
Both models can, by the way, be operated in compliance with the GDPR – the key is to implement the technical and organizational measures properly. We’ll be happy to support you with this.
Functionality & extensibility
The cloud is often a step ahead: New capabilities like automations, knowledge base, or Forms are built in – no plugin, no setup, no updates you have to run yourself. That speeds up onboarding and noticeably reduces configuration effort.
Data Center also offers a strong feature set – and as of JSM 10.3, ProForma is a built-in component. If you want deeper customization, you can access the Atlassian Marketplace just like in the cloud. In both variants, powerful extensions, including third‑party ones, can be integrated – in the cloud they’re often not even necessary.
Conclusion: The cloud offers many features ready to use – and is therefore especially convenient. DC can be expanded just as flexibly, but requires more administrative work behind the scenes.
Scaling & keeping an eye on costs
With the cloud you remain flexible: User licenses can be adjusted monthly – ideal if your team is growing, projects fluctuate, or you simply want to stay agile. With the subscription model, where you are billed per user, you pay only for what you truly need – with no additional costs for servers, hosting, or maintenance.
Data Center relies on fixed license tiers (starting at 500 users) and is particularly suitable for companies with a stable, long-term IT setup. The cost structure is more comprehensive: in addition to the license, there are expenses for infrastructure, hosting, and administration. In return, you retain full control over your environment – which can pay off especially if you already have infrastructure in place and a well-staffed IT team.
Conclusion: Which benefits your company more?
Ultimately, it depends on what you need: a quick start, less administrative effort, and easy scaling? Then the cloud is the right choice. Maximum control, your own IT infrastructure, and deeper configuration options? Then it’s worth looking at Data Center.
And if you’re not yet sure which option fits you: we’ll be happy to advise you, independently and with practical guidance. Together, we’ll find the Atlassian solution that best fits your requirements and goals.