Overview
Atlassian Server and Data Center to Cloud migration for Australian organisations
Atlassian Data Center reaches end of life on 28 March 2029 (Pacific time), which is the evening of 29 March in Sydney. From then, Jira, Jira Service Management, Confluence, Bamboo and Crowd Data Center become read-only. Existing customers can't buy new Data Center users, apps or expansions after 30 March 2028, and Atlassian Server has been out of support since February 2024. For most organisations, the realistic window to plan, test and migrate is 2026 and 2027.
Great Minds plans and runs these migrations from Sydney. We're an Atlassian Silver Solution Partner with Atlassian's Cloud Migration Delivery accreditation, and we cover four kinds of move:
- Server to Cloud: for Jira and Confluence instances that have been out of support since February 2024.
- Data Center to Cloud: for Jira, Jira Service Management and Confluence ahead of the 2029 end of life.
- Cloud to Cloud: consolidating or splitting Atlassian Cloud sites after a merger, divestiture or restructure.
- Third-party to Atlassian Cloud: moving work from tools such as ServiceNow, Trello or Asana into Jira, Jira Service Management and Confluence.
The data itself is rarely the hard part. Atlassian's migration assistants move projects, issues, pages, attachments and workflows well. The time goes into everything around them: Marketplace apps with no Cloud version, integrations built on Data Center webhooks, dashboards and filters the assistant leaves behind, single sign-on, and the risk and privacy approvals regulated organisations need before go-live. We plan those from the first week.
Bitbucket Data Center and Jira Align Data Center aren't reaching end of life in 2029. Their integrations with Jira still need rework once Jira moves to Cloud, so we put them in scope early. Our Atlassian Data Center to Cloud migration guide sets out the dates, the options and a 12-point readiness check.
Capabilities
What an Atlassian Cloud migration covers
Every migration is different in its apps and integrations, but the work falls into the same four areas. We document each decision so your team knows what moved, what was rebuilt and what was retired.
Two details shape every plan. Single sign-on goes in before cut-over, so users don't have to reset passwords. And automation steps and Rovo credits are metered in Cloud, with usage above plan allowances billed from 3 December 2026, so we review the automation rules you bring across. AI agents running on Claude and OpenAI models do much of the inventory and mapping work; our consultants review it and own the decisions. If you're leaving ServiceNow, our comparison of Jira Service Management and ServiceNow covers when the move makes sense.
01Server and data centre to cloud migrationDiscovery, app audit, test migrations and cut-over for Jira, Jira Service Management and Confluence, using Atlassian's Cloud Migration Assistants where they fit. We rebuild what they don't move, such as dashboards, webhooks and some app data.
02Migrate from legacy or competing platformsMoves from ServiceNow, Asana, Trello and similar tools into Jira, Jira Service Management and Confluence. We map fields, statuses and permissions, bring history and attachments across, and redesign the process instead of copying workarounds.
03Clean-up and workflow restructuringA migration is the cheapest time to tidy up. We merge duplicate custom fields, retire unused workflows and schemes, and archive inactive projects and spaces. Every object you don't migrate is one you don't have to test.
04Post-migration optimisation and analyticsAfter cut-over we stay on for hypercare and fix permission gaps as they surface. Then we help teams use what Cloud adds, such as native automation and Rovo, once governance is in place.How we deliver
An Atlassian Cloud migration in four stages
We inventory users, projects, spaces, apps, integrations, custom fields and automation rules, and run the migration assistants' pre-migration checks. Then we agree the plan (Standard, Premium, Enterprise, or Isolated Cloud where you need single tenancy), the data residency location, the identity approach and the fate of each Marketplace app: keep, replace with a native Cloud feature, replace with another app, or retire.
We archive dead projects, merge duplicate fields, then run at least one full test migration into a Cloud trial site. Atlassian's extended cloud migration trials run for the remaining life of your Data Center subscription, so the test site doesn't add licence cost. Real users from each team test it, and we rebuild dashboards, webhooks and app configuration there first.
A change freeze, the production migration, validation of counts and permissions, integration switch-over and user redirection. Cut-over is usually scheduled over a weekend, and large estates can move in waves by team or product.
Two to four weeks of close support after go-live, then hand-over to your platform team or to our Atlassian managed services and support. Integrations get their own workstream throughout, run by our Atlassian integration practice.
Australian considerations
Data residency, CPS 230, the Privacy Act and AUD invoicing
Atlassian Cloud offers data residency in Australia, in the AWS Sydney region, for Jira, Jira Service Management, Jira Product Discovery, Confluence and Loom on Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans. Issues, pages, attachments and configuration can be pinned there. User account information sits in Atlassian's central identity service and can't be. Marketplace apps depend on how each vendor hosts its data, so we check every app you plan to keep. Moving an existing Cloud site's data into the Australian location involves downtime, so we set the location before migrating, not after.
Jira, Confluence and Jira Service Management Cloud have been assessed at IRAP PROTECTED. That's an independent assessor's findings, not a certification, so your security team still reads the report. For APRA-regulated entities, a Cloud subscription that supports a critical operation is likely to be a material service provider arrangement under CPS 230: APRA must be notified within 20 business days of entering into it, and before entering into it if offshoring is involved. Service desk portals also hold personal information covered by the Privacy Act's APP 8 and APP 11. We build these approvals into the timeline, because they sit on the critical path.
Atlassian invoices Cloud in US dollars. Buying through Great Minds gives you Australian-dollar invoices, and we model Atlassian's migration incentives into the business case: step-up credits for unused Data Center maintenance, dual licensing for larger customers, and a first-year Cloud Enterprise discount for eligible customers who buy by June 2027. Our guide to Atlassian licensing in Australia covers plans, Collections and GST.
People
The people who plan and run your migration
Our Atlassian team plans and runs Cloud migrations from Sydney, under Atlassian's Cloud Migration Delivery accreditation.
Senior consultants own the plan, the client relationship and every cut-over decision. AI agents do the repetitive inventory, mapping and validation work, and a consultant reviews every change they propose before it runs.
Case studies
Atlassian and platform consolidation work
For a premium kitchen appliance manufacturer, we consolidated a product launch process spread across several disconnected tools onto Jira and Confluence. More than 50 teams and 400 tasks now run on one platform.
FAQ
Atlassian Cloud migration questions
How long does an Atlassian Cloud migration take?
A standard Server or Data Center to Cloud migration takes 4 to 12 weeks. Large or multi-instance estates take several months. The spread comes from apps, integrations, customisation and approvals, not from the volume of data. We give you a timeline after discovery.
Will our Data Center instance stop working on 28 March 2029?
It becomes read-only. You can view data but not create or edit work, and technical support and critical security fixes stop on that date. Atlassian offers extended maintenance only by exception, so treat it as a fallback, not a plan.
What won't the migration assistant move?
Dashboards, cross-project boards, some shared filters, issue rank (backlog order), webhooks, classic plans in Advanced Roadmaps, and custom fields from Marketplace apps that have no vendor migration path. Passwords don't move either, so set up single sign-on before cut-over. We list all of these in discovery and rebuild them after the test migration.
Can our data stay in Australia?
Most of it. Jira, Jira Service Management, Confluence, Jira Product Discovery and Loom data can be pinned to Australia (Sydney) on Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans. User account information can't be pinned, and each Marketplace app depends on its vendor's hosting.
Do we have to move everything at once?
No. The migration assistants support phased migrations by project or space, and dual licensing lets larger customers run Data Center and Cloud side by side during the move. Phasing lowers cut-over risk, but integrations have to work across both platforms for longer.
What about Bitbucket and Jira Align?
Neither reaches end of life in 2029. Bitbucket Data Center customers get a hybrid licence to use Data Center and Cloud together, and Jira Align Data Center continues. Their integrations with Jira still need rework once Jira moves to Cloud, so we include them in scope.
Insights
Migration is not a technical milestone—it’s a transformation opportunity
Atlassian Data Center to Cloud: the Australian migration guideAtlassian Data Center goes read-only on 28 March 2029. Key dates, Australian data residency, CPS 230 and privacy checks, and a migration plan.
Atlassian Cloud pricing in AUD: licences, tiers and metered AIWhat Atlassian Cloud costs in AUD after the October 2026 price rise, plus GST, plan tiers and how Rovo credits and automation are billed from 3 December.
Moving work management to the cloud: a guide for Australian organisationsData Center end of life, data residency in Sydney, IRAP, Cloud plans and AI, and how to plan the move.