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Differences administering Jira Data Center and Cloud

This page outlines the differences you can expect as a Jira Data Center or Server administrator when moving to Jira Cloud. Some of the capabilities listed below apply to more than one product.

If you want to explore how Cloud is different for your users, check out the Cloud adoption toolkit.

Administrator roles


Administrator global permissions

Works differently in Cloud.

What’s different

In Jira Data Center and Server, there were two levels of global administrator permissions, Jira administrator, and System administrator.  In Cloud, you assign roles to people. Roles include User, Product admin (which is equivalent to Jira administrator global permission), and Organization admin, which is similar to System administrator global permission, but has rights to manage user directories, security settings, billing details, and other configurations for all the products in your organization, not just Jira.

How it works in Cloud

Give users admin permissions

Who it affects

Organization admin, Product admin
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Apps and integrations


Install apps

Works differently in Cloud.

What’s different

Some apps are only available for Server or Data Center, or only for Cloud. You can only install apps from the Atlassian Marketplace. You can’t install an app by uploading a file. This includes apps you’ve built yourself or those designed for Server or Data Center. If you want to develop your own app, you can use the Forge or Connect platforms to build the app. You can list the app publicly, so others can use it, or use a secret token to list it privately.

How it works in Cloud

Getting started with Forge

Getting started with Connect

Who it affects

Organization admin
Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Listeners

Works differently in Cloud.

What’s different

You can’t configure listener interfaces in Cloud. In Jira Data Center and Server, listeners were used when you wanted to trigger an action in an external system based on an event that happened in Jira. Webhooks provide a better way to do this in Jira Cloud products (and more recent versions of Jira Data Center).

How it works in Cloud

Webhooks

Who it affects

Organization admin
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Assets (previously known as Insight)

Works differently in Cloud.

What’s different

Assets is a part of Jira Service Management used for asset management. In cloud, it’s available on selected plans. There are some differences in how asset management works including object schema templates, integration with other 3rd-party tools, some bulk actions, and the ability to extend automation with Groovy scripts.

How it works in Cloud

What’s in Assets for Cloud?

Who it affects

Product admin
Jira Service Management


Install intermediate certificates

Not available in Cloud.

What’s different

It’s not possible to install intermediate certificates in Jira Cloud products as they can cause problems when you add secure POP/IMAP mail servers that have certificates signed by non-root CAs. If you need an intermediate certificate for an integration, you should obtain a certificate signed by a trusted root Certification Authority (CA).

How it works in Cloud

N/A

Who it affects

Organization admin
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Opsgenie incident management

Only available in Cloud.

What’s different

Opsgenie provides on-call and alert management and is included with your Jira Service Management Cloud subscription. Features available may depend on your plan.

How it works in Cloud

Get to know Opsgenie

Who it affects

Product admin
Jira Service Management


Auditing and governance


Audit logs

Works differently in Cloud, and may require an additional subscription.

What’s different

An audit log is available with all paid Jira Software Cloud and Jira Service Management Cloud plans, and is similar to the audit log provided with Jira Server. However, the Cloud audit log doesn’t provide the ability to configure granular coverage areas and levels as in Jira Data Center. An additional audit log for user management and organization-level events is available with an Enterprise plan or Atlassian Access subscription.

How it works in Cloud

Audit activities in Jira applications

Track organization activities from the audit log

Who it affects

Organization admin
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


People directory

Works differently in Cloud.

What’s different

The people directory lists all the people in your organization, and allows people to be grouped into teams for the purpose of sharing or mentioning people. You can’t hide or restrict access to the people directory in Cloud.

How it works in Cloud

Search for people and teams

Who it affects

Organization admin, Product admin
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Email and mail servers


Customize email templates

Not available in Cloud.

What’s different

You can’t modify email templates in Jira Software Cloud. In Jira Data Center and Server, this was only possible by modifying the underlying Velocity templates, which you don’t have access to in Cloud. Customer email customization is possible in Jira Service Management.

How it works in Cloud

N/A

Who it affects

Organization admin, Product admin
Jira Software


Outgoing mail server

Works differently in Cloud.

What’s different

Your Cloud application includes an internal SMTP server configured to send notifications. There should be no need for you to administer the internal SMTP server manually. You can configure the sender email address for Jira projects, so emails are sent on behalf of your domain.

How it works in Cloud

N/A

Who it affects

Organization admin, Product admin
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Incoming mail server

Works differently in Cloud.

What’s different

You can configure POP/IMAP mail servers but not file system messages. An incoming mail server is used to create issues via email, and must be configured to standard ports POP: 110; SECURE_POP: 995; IMAP: 143; SECURE_IMAP: 993. You can also connect a Google, Microsoft or other custom email address to your service project and view email logs for each of these accounts.

How it works in Cloud

Create issues and comments from email

Who it affects

Organization admin
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


General administration


Backups

Works differently in Cloud.

What’s different

In Cloud, automated Amazon Relational Database Service backups are created for disaster recovery purposes. Site backups must be manually created, if you require them.

How it works in Cloud

Track storage and move data across products

Back up Jira by exporting data

Back up Confluence by exporting data

Suggestion CLOUD-6498: Automatic backup generation

Who it affects

Organization admin, Product admin
Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Base URL

Works differently in Cloud.

What’s different

We provide you with a secure, authenticated domain name. Your Cloud site will be accessible at example.atlassian.net, where example is a unique identifier that you specify when signing up. If you’re on a paid plan, you can change this identifier, but you can’t change the atlassian.net domain.

How it works in Cloud

Change a product URL subdomain

Suggestion CLOUD-6999: Use a custom domain

Who it affects

Organization admin, Product admin
Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management


External user directories

Available in Cloud, but may require an additional subscription.

What’s different

You can't use another Cloud or Server / Data Center instance for user management. There are a wide range of options for managing your users, including provisioning users from an identity provider or LDAP directory, or connecting with a service like Google Workspace. User provisioning and some Google Workspace features require an Enterprise plan or Atlassian Access subscription.  

How it works in Cloud

Configure user provisioning

Set up Google Workspace

Understand Atlassian Access

Who it affects

Organization admin
Bitbucket, Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Mobile apps and app management

Works differently in Cloud, and may require an additional subscription.

What’s different

You can’t use a server app to connect to a Cloud product. Users will need to install the Cloud-specific mobile app. The functionality available in the app will be similar to the Server and Data Center apps. Mobile App Management (MAM) and Mobile Device Management (MDM) integrations are available but may require an Enterprise plan or Atlassian Access subscription.

How it works in Cloud

Get the Confluence Cloud mobile apps

Get the Jira Cloud mobile apps

Mobile App Management (MAM) for Atlassian mobile apps

Mobile Device Management (MDM) for Atlassian mobile apps

Who it affects

Organization admin, Product admin, Users
Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Single sign-on

Available in Cloud, but may require an additional subscription.

What’s different

Single sign-on is available but requires an Enterprise plan or Atlassian Access. The process of connecting your Identity Provider (IdP) will be similar to the process you followed in Data Center.

How it works in Cloud

Configure single sign-on for your organization

Configure SAML single sign-on with an identity provider

Who it affects

Organization admin
Bitbucket, Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Upgrades

Not necessary in Cloud.

What’s different

We perform all required maintenance and upgrades for you during scheduled maintenance windows. If you have a Premium or Enterprise plan you can choose the release track that best suits your needs, and create a sandbox instance that gets changes before your production instance.

How it works in Cloud

Keep track of maintenance windows

Manage product release tracks

Manage Atlassian product sandboxes

Who it affects

Organization admin
Confluence, Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Project and workflow administration


Archive individual issues

Now available in Cloud via API

What’s different

Individual issue archiving, previously exclusive to Jira Data Center, is now available in Jira Cloud for Premium and Enterprise customers. Jira Cloud admins can archive issues using APIs

How it works in Cloud

Individual issues can now be archived or unarchived using APIs. Learn more about announcement here, and check out the API documentation to learn how it works.

Who it affects

Product admin
Jira Software, Jira Service Management, Jira Work Management


Import issues

Works differently in Cloud.

What’s different

In Cloud, you can import data from a range of external applications using a CSV or JSON file, or import data directly from Bitbucket and Trello. This method is not used when migrating from Jira Server or Data Center to Cloud, as specific migration tools are available to help streamline this process.

How it works in Cloud

Import and export your data to and from Jira Cloud

Who it affects

Organization admin
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Import XML workflows from file

Not available in Cloud.

What’s different

While product admins can export a workflow to XML, you can only import workflows from the Marketplace, not directly from an XML file for security reasons. You can share your workflow with other users on Marketplace.

How it works in Cloud

Import and export issue workflows

Who it affects

Product admin
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Inject HTML and JavaScript into issue fields

Not available in Cloud.

What’s different

You can’t paste or otherwise inject HTML and JavaScript into issue fields. This is to limit the risk of cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.

How it works in Cloud

N/A

Who it affects

Product admins, Users
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Text gadget

Not available in Cloud.

What’s different

The Text gadget is not available in Cloud. This is to limit the risk of cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. The gadget was disabled by default in Jira Data Center and Server for the same reason.

How it works in Cloud

N/A

Who it affects

Product admins, Users
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Issue hierarchy model

Works differently in Cloud.

What’s different

Server or Data Center maintains two types of issue hierarchy:

  • Jira Software connects issues from the base level (containing stories, bugs, tasks) to epics. Thus a valid epic-link relationship is when the base/child issue is one level below the epic level.

Epic Links in Jira
  • Advanced Roadmaps installed in the Server or Data Center instance connects issues around in an extended hierarchy.

    • An epic link connects an issue from the base/child level (level 0) to an issue of the epic issue type fixed at level 1.

    • A parent link connects an issue to a parent on a level above it, provided the parent issue type is not a built-in epic issue type.

Epic Links in Advanced Roadmaps

How it works in Cloud

In Cloud, the issue hierarchy is similar to the one in Advanced Roadmaps.

Learn more about issue hierarchy in Cloud

Learn about the two methods to maintain epic link information during migration.

Who it affects

Product admins
Jira Software, Jira Service Management


Service project administration


Canned responses

Works differently in Cloud

What’s different

In Jira Service Management Cloud, a canned response can be either personal or shared. A personal canned response can’t be shared with other agents and will only be visible to the agent or admin who created it. Shared canned responses, on the other hand, are shared with all the agents in a service project. Currently, only project admins can create shared canned responses in Jira Service Management.

How it works in Cloud

Learn more about canned responses in Jira Service Management

Who it affects

Product admin
Jira Service Management


Import SLA configuration from another project

Not available in Cloud.

What’s different

You can’t currently export the SLA configuration from one project and import it into another. This functionality was available in Jira Service Management Data Center and Server, but has not yet been developed for Cloud.

How it works in Cloud

N/A

Who it affects

Product admin
Jira Service Management


Priority schemes

Not available in Cloud.

What’s different

In Jira Service Management Data Center and Server, you could configure priorities per project. This is not available in Cloud.

How it works in Cloud

N/A

Who it affects

Product admin
Jira Service Management


Need help choosing?

Still deciding whether cloud or Data Center is right for your organization? Head to our comparison page to explore the benefits of each.

Learn more about the differences between Cloud and Data Center

Additional Help