Compare cloud migration methods

There are a number of methods available to move data from server or Data Center to cloud, and cloud to cloud. The best approach will depend on the needs of your particular migration. Learn about the primary methods, along with the benefits, requirements, and limitations for each.

Assess your environment

You can minimize any negative impacts by conducting a pre-assessment of your source and destination site and choosing the ideal migration type that meets your needs.

Some migration methods are only feasible in certain scenarios, and even when multiple migration methods are technically possible, there may be non-technical factors that influence which option you select. You may need to use more than one method – typically when you need to merge multiple server instances or cloud sites as part of your migration. In order to determine which method best meets your needs, it’s helpful to:

• Understand your destination: Some of the recommendations are dependent on whether there’s data present in your cloud site already. In that case, we use the term existing cloud site. New cloud sites are those that don’t yet have data and aren’t being used in production.

• Define what data you need in cloud: Before choosing the right migration approach, you should clearly define what you need to migrate. For example, do you need to migrate everything, or just a selection of projects or spaces? Knowing this can help avoid migrating data that isn’t needed in cloud while reducing your time to migrate and risk of errors during the migration.

• Products to migrate: Which product(s) will you be migrating?

• Consolidation:  Do you need to migrate multiple server or cloud instances?

• Downtime: Generally speaking, the more data and users you have, the more downtime you can expect and the greater the benefit of a method that supports migrating in stages. 

• Strategy: Do you want to migrate all at once, or in stages? Because you’re migrating less data at once, staged migrations can be helpful if you want to reduce risk of errors or issues that block your migration, reduce downtime, or provide more hands-on support to users during the first few days after migrating. For more guidance, check out Choose your migration strategy.

• Understand app migration: None of the methods outlined here will migrate apps or app data. You will need to work with marketplace partners on app migrations, not with our support team. Read this article to learn what app migration paths currently exist

  Atlassian is also working with top marketplace partners on automated app migrations, which will enable app data to be migrated within the Jira and Confluence Cloud Migration Assistants. Follow the Cloud Roadmap for information on when this feature will be delivered.

When to consider using a Partner

Pending your team’s level of expertise, your migration complexity, and timeline, Atlassian Solution Partners are trained to help customers move to cloud successfully and with minimal disruption. We recommend working with a partner if you have a more complex migration, or need assistance executing on the guidance our support team provides.

Consider enlisting the help of a Solution Partner if you:

• have limited internal resources to help with this project

• need help with things outside of the scope of Atlassian support, including User Acceptance Testing, server upgrades, or user training

• need help with migration project management, planning, and execution

• have a complex merging scenario

• need to migrate five or more business-critical apps

• have specific security and compliance needs

• need to migrate over 1,000 users

• need to meet a specific condensed migration timeline

To find a partner to help with your migration, just get in touch.

Choose your approach

Depending on what you want to achieve, you may need to use one or more of the following methods during your Jira or Confluence migration.

Atlassian is actively investing in improvements to the Jira and Confluence Cloud Migration Assistants, including support for Jira Service Management migrations, cloud to cloud migrations, and automated app migrations. For the latest on our migration tooling, visit the “migrating to cloud” section of the Cloud Roadmap.

Jira Cloud Migration Assistant (recommended)  

The Jira Cloud Migration Assistant is a free app, built and maintained by Atlassian, that can be installed on your Jira Server instance. We’re constantly improving the migration assistant to be the easiest and most reliable way to move from server to Jira Cloud.

Use this method when:

• you want to migrate only some projects to cloud

• you want to migrate to a new or existing cloud site

• you want to migrate all at once or in phases

• you want to migrate everything to a new cloud site

• you need to merge multiple Jira Cloud sites

Jira Cloud site import

Jira Cloud site import uses a Jira Server or Cloud XML backup to import everything from one site into cloud. This method will overwrite any existing data in your cloud site, so is only recommended when you’re moving to a new cloud site.

Use this method when:

• you're migrating Jira Service Management (formerly Jira Service Desk).

Jira Cloud CSV import

You can import issues from Jira Server or Cloud into a cloud site using CSV import.

Use this method when:

• Jira Cloud Migration Assistant or Jira Cloud site import are not options for your needs.

Merge in Jira server

If you need to either consolidate server instances or merge with an existing Jira Cloud site, merging sites in Jira server may be a prerequisite step to your migration to cloud. However, you may be able to skip this step depending on which migration method you choose – for example, if you’re importing issues via CSV or using the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant, you don’t need to consolidate server instances before importing the issues to cloud.

Use this method when:

• you need to merge multiple Jira Cloud sites

• you need to merge multiple Jira Server sites

• you want to import only specific projects from one cloud site to another

Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant (recommended)

The Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant is a free app, built and maintained by Atlassian, that can be installed on your Confluence Server or Data Center instance. The migration assistant is the easiest and most reliable way to move from server to Confluence Cloud.

Use this method when:

• you want to migrate from server or Data Center to a new or existing cloud site.

Confluence Cloud site import and Confluence Cloud space import

The Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant supports the vast majority of migrations, but there are some cases where another method may be required. Two other options are Confluence Cloud site import and Confluence Cloud space import.

Bitbucket migration methods

We’re in the process of creating a migration assistant for Bitbucket to migrate code, pull requests, and basic configuration settings from Bitbucket Server. If you’re interested in using this tool, sign up for the Bitbucket Cloud Migration Assistant early access program for updates as we roll it out.

If you want to begin planning your migration or get an overview of the recommended activities for the current process, check out our Bitbucket Server to cloud migration guide. If you prefer to wait until the Bitbucket Cloud Migration Assistant is available to migrate your Bitbucket server instance to cloud, bookmark our roadmap for updates.

More information and support

We have a number of channels available to help you with your migration.

• For more migration planning information and FAQs, visit the Atlassian Cloud Migration Center.

• Have a technical issue or need more support with strategy and best practices? Get in touch.

• Looking for peer advice? Ask the Atlassian Community.

• Want expert guidance? Work with an Atlassian Partner.

• For more help, check out the migration guide or register for for the cloud migrations demo with live chat Q&A.