Making the switch to Atlassian Cloud is a decision that many customers have been considering lately. This is mainly due to Atlassian’s move to concentrate its resources on cloud and end support for its server instances.
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Although 95% of all new Atlassian customers choose cloud at first, and 90% of those who did migrate say they would recommend it, some still have reservations about the migration. This is completely normal as cloud hosting has always been associated with a host of myths and misconceptions over the years from performance and scalability to security and compliance.
In this blog post, we are going to explore and debunk common Atlassian cloud migration myths. This is the third blog post of our series dedicated to cloud migration. In previous articles, we have covered the differences between the three hosting options and explored the key things to consider before migrating. In the upcoming and final article, we will walk you through the key steps to get your cloud migration right.
Now, without further ado, let’s dive into it.
Myth #1: Cloud is less secure than server and data center deployments
When considering a new enterprise software or a cloud migration, security is among the top priorities for decision makers. And for a good reason. A secure deployment allows businesses to keep their data and devices secure and avoid any unwanted and costly breaches.
But which hosting option is more secure?
Let’s get this straight, both hosting options are secure if managed properly. However, over the years, there has been a common misconception that on-prem deployment is far more secure than cloud. The rationale behind this is that “if I can have all of my data on my own premises, then I can better manage security”. In theory, this is true, but in practice, it depends on many other factors. This traditional “castle-and-moat” security strategy doesn’t take into account the potential vulnerabilities of such a deployment. Generally speaking, on-prem instances are interconnected entities that can be accessed through a single login and username. You know where this is going right? One wrong move from an unsuspected user and all of a sudden, hackers can easily breach your system.
Today, many software providers such as Atlassian offer a zero trust security approach on the cloud. As its name implies, a zero-trust security strategy eliminates trust and puts in place various checkpoints for both users and tools. This means that the system can’t be breached through a single user or device.
Myth #2: Cloud migration is expensive
In the short term, moving to Atlassian cloud might be more expensive than remaining on server or data center. This is due to the cost of migration itself as well as higher licence fees.
However, while the initial costs of cloud migration may seem high, it can actually save your organization money in the long term. As is the case with many cloud providers, Atlassian offers pay-as-you-go pricing models. This means you only pay for what you use. Additionally, the cloud can help you reduce costs associated with hardware and maintenance, and help your IT staff focus on more important tasks.
Myth #3: With cloud, I can’t choose where to store my data
It is true that hosting your Atlassian products on your own premises gives you greater control and perhaps piece of mind knowing where your data resides. A common misconception regarding cloud data storage is that data will be stored randomly across various servers without the client having a say on the matter. Well, this used to be true, but not quite anymore.
Let me explain. By default, Atlassian stores your data in locations close to your users. In recent years, Atlassian started offering its customers on Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans more control over data residency. Some user generated content such as Confluence pages, Jira projects, tickets and so on can be stored in specific locations chosen by customers. The list of locations is constantly growing including primarily the EU, North America, South East Asia and Australia.
Myth #4: Cloud migration is a complex process
Cloud migration is a process that depends on a variety of factors including business processes, number of users, apps, feature parity and so on. As a result, the process can become a bit complex especially in the absence of a clear plan and resources.
Thankfully, Atlassian and its marketplace partners offer detailed guides on how to migrate data. This makes it easy to proceed with the migration and prevent any data loss along the way.
Myth #5: There isn’t as many cloud apps compared to server and data center
It is that the number of apps on server and data center used to be far greater than cloud. However, in recent years, and following Atlassian’s decision to be a cloud first company, we have seen a tremendous rise in the number of cloud apps available on Atlassian Marketplace.
From 2019 to 2021, there has been a more than 50% increase in the number of cloud apps from less than a 1.000 to nearly 2.000 (on average rate of 11 new cloud apps per week).
This leads us to our next big question. Are these new cloud apps of the same quality as Server or Data Center?
Myth #6: Cloud apps are less developed than server and data center
As Server and Data Center apps are older than their equivalent on the Cloud, they might be more developed or feel different. This is due to the differences between the tech used to develop the apps. However, Marketplace partners have been concentrating their efforts on the cloud to offer an even better experience. You can always check the feature differences between the three hosting options via dedicated pages on any given app’s homepage. But it is safe to say that the gap has been bridged.
Myth #7: Cloud Migration can’t support large enterprise needs
A couple of years back, big companies using Atlassian products leaned towards data center deployments to support a large number of users. Today, this has changed, as Atlassian reported that some of its biggest clients chose cloud to further scale their operations.
Atlassian offers various plans that can help businesses scale their operations in terms of storage, number of users and features. The numbers are only going to get higher with Atlassian cloud getting better and better.
The world has moved and will continue moving to the cloud. Over the years, we have seen Atlassian invest heavily on cloud to help its large customer base adapt to the new way of working.
Today, we can safely say that Atlassian cloud has outpaced other hosting options and became the number one choice for Atlassian customers.
In the upcoming article, we will walk through the key steps to get your cloud migration right. Stay tuned!
