Are you considering moving to the cloud or are you already in the middle of a migration? Maybe it's already done and you'd like to pick up your users even better?

After moving to the cloud, “almost” everything is better, but it also looks a bit different.

With the help of feedback from our migration customers, we have identified what we consider to be the most important and striking differences. The things that have brought real users the most time to get used to.

Interested in all the differences? Atlassian also has a detailed overview of all the differences and a pretty good guide to get users on board ( Get your users started in Cloud after migrating | Atlassian Support ).

Jira - Software

The most confusing element for users and project managers is the distinction between team-managed and company-managed projects. Only marked by a small information text in the lower left corner, there is a very significant difference in usage and functions.

In team-managed projects, project managers have many rights and responsibilities; for example, they can independently adapt the workflow or create fields and are therefore freer to configure their own project. However, they cannot share settings with other projects, nor do they have advanced customization and integration features. Team managed projects are more recommended for small projects.

Company-managed projects are, as the name suggests, maintained by the Jira administrator. Although project managers are less able to adapt themselves compared to Team-Managed, they benefit from extended functionalities. Company managed projects are best practice for compliance with standards.

For more information, check out the Atlassian documentation on team managed projects: What are team-managed and company-managed projects? | Jira Software Cloud | Atlassian Support.

Jira user

From the perspective of a Jira user without admin rights, there are some key visual differences between Jira Software in the server version compared to the cloud version:

1. Navigation: “Your work”, filters and people are added, but the “boards” are banned to the second row behind “Your Work.” Exposing people/teams in the main navigation is the most popular change
2. Application navigator icon: Only the switch between Confluence and JIRA was hidden on the server, new to the cloud, you can call up all applications on the instance here
3. Search text field: If you could only search for processes on the server, the cloud also offers a search for recently used boards, projects and filters. Unfortunately, the search for keywords is still missing, which is a great relief in Confluence.
4. The bell replaces the feedback megaphone, where Jira now bundles notifications and updates on processes under monitoring
5. Dark mode for users! On the server, as an admin, you could customize the look & feel for everyone. Since Q2 2023, however, you can also put yourself in dark mode and be easy on your eyes.

Jira administrators

From the perspective of an administrator with Jira admin rights, there are some key differences between Jira Software in the server version compared to the cloud version:

1. Administrator roles: In Jira Data Center and Server, there were two levels of global administrative privileges: Jira Administrator and System Administrator. In the cloud, you assign roles to people. Roles include user, product administrator (equivalent to the global “Jira Administrator” privilege), and organization administrator.
2. Project administration role: The project administrator is assigned to an individual person through role assignment in the respective project. With this role, the person can manage the project to a certain extent. Project administrators can manage projects and change various configurations in the project, especially in the cloud, they have extensive rights to work in next-gen projects.
3. System Administrator: There is no longer a system administrator role in Jira Cloud. That role is at Atlassian.
4. Expanded project administration rights: There are no longer extended project administration rights in Jira Cloud.
5. Install apps: Some apps are only available for servers or data centers, or only for the cloud. You can only install apps from the Atlassian Marketplace. Unable to upload an app file to install.

Jira Work Management

Do you remember Server's business projects? They were reborn as Jira Work Management in the cloud. Atlassian has tried to redesign a user experience that is clearly characterized by IT and software development in a way that is suitable for all areas of business.

The boards in particular are a successful development, more on that below.

To make the difference clear, the navigation has been moved up (including project management), leaving a project list on the left — similar to the “Browse projects” view. This left-hand menu is also equipped with quick filters or a context menu for menu tabs that require filtering or configuration.

Jira Work Management also allows you to choose between team and company-managed projects. You can recognize the type by the background color — team-based projects are dark. They also have the same limitations as their Jira Software counterparts.

Are JWM projects more useful than the business projects on the server? In fact, they are!

The user interface is primarily focused on collaboration, and the pre-built screens and filters give you a very quick look at the project you're working on. I personally love the timeline view. Coupled with a busy calendar, it really helps to set and meet project milestones without having to switch between different tools.

I haven't used the “forms” productively yet, but they promise a lot, especially in larger organizations with many stakeholders.

So this (JWM) might be a bit of a new experience, but it's definitely worth it.

Where are my boards

On the server, you could mix and adapt filters and boards for software and business projects. Kanban boards were also often created for business projects. However, these and also “mixed boards” are not migrated. In most cases, this is no longer important as JWM projects in the cloud have a fully functional board that is better for around 80% of users.

However, it's a bit of a hassle to rebuild the custom boards and filters that spanned multiple projects of different application types. If they are needed, you can start from any Jira software project, as mixed boards can also be created here, e.g. from a saved filter.

Jira Service Management

You used to know Jira Service Management as Jira Service Desk.

Since ITIL v4 is much better at implementing agile workflows than previous versions, Atlassian has decided to deeply integrate it with Jira Service Management.

Does it look different in the cloud than on the server? Not really, the differences are more or less cosmetic, as they are with Jira Software. But the makeup is good. The sidebar stays with work queues, which I think is the perfect focus to make your job easier while still giving you a quick overview of how the service team works.

You (or your administrator) must still define the customizable filters for the queues in the cloud.

The workflows, process types, and additional features that Atlassian provides in a standard ITIL-compliant service project facility are well-thought-out and really help set up services in accordance with ITIL standards.

If you're just starting your journey at the service desk, it could still be a bit overwhelming.

As with most Atlassian products, it's a good idea to gain experience with a lighthouse project and then add features such as the on-call schedule or workflow management to your own setup if you feel comfortable with the base.

If you need setup assistance, tips and tricks, and best practices, feel free to contact us. We not only support you during and after the migration, but also when setting up service management, with your development processes or when discovering the new cloud features.

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