How Are Marketplace Partners Progressing Toward Forge?

[#1]

With Atlassian planning to end support for Connect in December 2026, many enterprise administrators are evaluating their Marketplace apps to understand potential impacts and plan ahead.

I recently completed a Forge readiness assessment for a large enterprise organization with a substantial Marketplace footprint. The goal wasn't to evaluate vendors—it was to identify potential risks, understand migration progress, and help the organization prepare for the transition.

What I Found

The results were encouraging overall. Approximately:

• 17% of Marketplace apps have a Forge version available or a published upgrade path.
• 12% have publicly announced migrations that are in progress or planned.
• 6% are following a legacy/end-of-life transition or are custom/private integrations that require internal validation.
• 33% are Atlassian-owned or managed products that are outside the scope of the Marketplace Connect migration.
• 31% did not have publicly available Forge migration information that I could find.

That doesn't necessarily mean those vendors aren't migrating. It simply means I couldn't locate a public roadmap, migration status, or announcement.

The Community Helped Explain Why

In the internal Champions Slack, I asked Marketplace Partners how their Forge migrations were progressing. The response was encouraging- no one suggested they intended to remain on Connect. Instead, partners shared that they are actively working toward Forge but are facing challenges such as:

• Achieving feature parity with existing Connect apps
• Waiting for Forge platform capabilities or bugs to be resolved
• Supporting customer cloud migrations while simultaneously rebuilding applications

Several partners also mentioned they are working closely with Atlassian to remove blockers before releasing Forge versions. That context helped explain why some Marketplace listings don't yet contain clear migration information.

Vendors Without Public Migration Information

In addition to vendors without publicly available Forge migration information, there were  a few listings in the admin panel where the vendor or migration ownership wasn't immediately clear. These tended to be older applications no longer on the official marketplace or random user downloaded plugins.  

Again, this does not mean these vendors lack a migration plan. It simply means I wasn't able to locate publicly available information after reviewing Marketplace listings, vendor documentation, release notes, and announcements.

If your team is actively migrating to Forge—even if you're still working through feature parity or platform dependencies—consider publishing a short status update. It doesn't need to be a detailed roadmap. Something as simple as:

• We're actively migrating to Forge.
• Feature parity work is underway.
• A beta is planned.
• Additional updates will be shared as milestones are reached.

Those updates can make a meaningful difference for enterprise customers trying to plan responsibly.

Why This Matters

As consultants and administrators, we spend a significant amount of time helping organizations assess risk and plan upgrades. When Forge migration information isn't publicly available, customers are left asking questions such as:

• Should we expect a Forge version?
• Will customer action be required?
• Should we begin evaluating alternatives?
• Are there known feature differences?
• What timeline should we plan around?

Even a brief update can help organizations make informed decisions and reduce uncertainty.

Let's share what we're learning and help make the transition smoother for everyone.

[Update]

Huge thanks to everyone who commented on my original post, sent DMs, and helped refine my approach, including:

@Rustem Shiriiazdanov _Actonic_ suggested looking for the Runs on Atlassian badge in the marketplace because only Forge apps can run within Atlassian's managed runtime. However, not all vendors that have migrated to Forge have earned this badge because it has additional eligibility requirements. Its absence shouldn't be interpreted as evidence that an app hasn't migrated.

@Krzysztof Bogdan recommended using forge-apps.com by Seibert, which provides module-level Forge migration progress. It significantly sped up my research, although not every marketplace vendors are listed. I still had to contact several vendors directly. Krzysztof also introduced me to ampin.app, which provides a wealth of Marketplace insights.

Visibility Boost

Time Off Management and Auto Assignment by Almbase

All of our apps, with the exception of Time Off Management and Auto Assignment, have already been transitioned to Forge or are currently in testing on Forge. Time Off Management's Forge version is planned for release by December 2026.

Backlog Prioritization for Jira by AppBox

In active development — our Forge migration is underway. No firm date to share, but we're actively working to complete it ahead of Atlassian's Connect end-of-support timeline. The migration is handled entirely on our side; customers won't need to take any action.

Label Management for Jira by Aldeva Digital

We do plan on migrating our applications to Forge platform.  Recently we have published an article on our blog regarding the details https://www.aldevadigital.com/?p=2398.

Status Time Reports Free - Time in Status by Bloompeak 

Development is complete and we are currently testing the new Forge app... Estimated availability: Mid-August 2026... No customer action required before December 2026.

Office for Jira (Edit Microsoft Excel, Word & PPT) by ikuTeam (Excellent Customer Service by @Bibek_ikuTeam_  and @Nelson Pereira)

Our apps were rebuilt from scratch on Forge and are Enterprise Ready.

Space Sync for Confluence by Ricksoft

Coincidentally, Space Sync for Confluence completed its migration to Forge just yesterday, shortly after you published this article. See @Raziman Dom - Ricksoft comment below.

Special Note: If you use AI-powered customer support, consider adding your Forge migration status to your knowledge base. I spent a surprising amount of time chatting with support bots that simply didn't have this information.

The more transparent we are as an ecosystem, the easier it becomes for enterprise customers to plan, test, and migrate with confidence.

[David Day_ Appcento]

Great analysis!, this data is incredibly helpful for navigating the ecosystem.

Since you are looking closely at individual vendor roadmaps, I have two quick questions regarding risk and timelines:

1. Which app categories have the most vendors likely to miss the migration window entirely, or are quietly choosing to sunset their tools rather than rebuild them on Forge?
2. For the 31% of vendors currently lacking public Forge info, did you get any sense from the community of how many are actually close to a release (e.g., in the next 2–3 months) versus those who are still in the early, multi-month stages of overcoming platform blocks?

Thanks for sharing these insights with the community!

[Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_]

Great questions @David Day_ Appcento!

From this assessment, of the '6% are following a legacy/end-of-life transition or are custom/private integrations that require internal validation' about 3% of the apps are following a legacy/end-of-life path. The most notable example was SmartBear's sunset of Zephyr Squad and its reincarnation Zephyr Essential, which required us to manually relink a LARGE number of test cases back to their Jira issues. 

With roughly five months until Connect support ends, I'm becoming increasingly aware of the lack of public visibility of the 31%—not necessarily because vendors aren't migrating, but because enterprise customers have very little information to plan around.

I've encouraged Atlassian to continue helping Marketplace Partners remove remaining platform blockers—or consider extending the deadline. As I learn more about the vendors in that 31%, I'll let ya'll know. If I don't hear from them here, my next step is to reach out to them directly.

[Josh]

@Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_ thank you for quantifying this situation and sounding an early alarm.

At TEAM this year, the vast majority of vendors I spoke to were working towards Forge migration but the vibes weren't so great. As you mentioned, Atlassian has placed a lot of pressure on them between DC -> Cloud migrations as well as platform limitations, feature parity gaps, and bugs. Quite a few of them lamented how they haven't been able to invest much effort in advancing their product functionality forward but have instead been tied up in architecture and infrastructure changes.

My personal take is slightly less optimistic. With over 30% of vendors that haven't even published migration plans and only five months left to make the change - they're going to put a big squeeze on large customers. Either:

• Accept condensed (likely rushed) testing and verification of new apps
• Quickly abandon ship to other products built on Forge, which is much harder given:
  • Large orgs usually have annual or multi-year contracts in place
  • Internal vetting for new apps / vendors can often take significant time
  • Userbases may already be entrenched in current tooling, so internal change management will be an uphill struggle
• Beg Atlassian to extend the transition timeframe

TLDR: If you support a large org with marketplace apps that haven't migrated to Forge yet - it's time to create contingency plans if you don't have them already and start nudging quiet vendors on their plans.

[Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_]

@Josh I wish I had a good rebuttal, but I tend to agree. I think its telling that included in the 31% without publicly available migration information is some well-known marketplace apps.

Users always have the option to do nothing. Atlassian ending Connect support doesn't necessarily mean enterprises have to replace or remove those apps on day one. The question becomes: what level of risk is acceptable? Over time, security, compatibility, maintenance, and (lack of) support risks grow as the Atlassian ecosystem evolves (and its evolving quickly). If a vendor ultimately discontinues an app or falls behind platform changes, customers may find themselves planning an unanticipated migration under much tighter timelines than they'd prefer.

On December 31, 2026 what would you do:

1. Continue using a Connect app until the vendor publishes a roadmap
2. Begin evaluating Forge alternatives now
3. Wait for additional guidance from Atlassian
4. Or take another approach

[Josh]

@Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_ yes, you're 100% right that customers don't necessarily have to do *something* by the cutoff date. They could choose to do *nothing* and let things ride for a bit.

Personally, working on contingency plans now while prodding vendors is the only approach that I could take that would allow me to rest easily at night. Leaving a complex enterprise platform up to fate, luck, chance, vendor goodwill, etc. is just too risky for my appetite.

[Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_]

@Josh  your recommendation to the community is to start contingency planning now. Lets help them with that process (1) inventory your Connect apps, (2) research & contact vendors for migration timelines, (3) identify business-critical apps with no timelines, (4) understand downstream dependencies like automations, APIs, and workflows, (5) evaluate Forge alternatives for high-risk apps, and (6) budget time for testing and change management. Is there anything to add or other considerations?

[Josh]

@Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_ if people do nothing but those six steps you identified then they should be in great shape. 😄

One thing to overlay on top of the analysis would be the App Rationalization Framework that @Martin Runge recommended this past March. It may be possible that apps with no published Forge migration timelines could be rationalized.

Prioritize clarity over complexity. If a feature is not used regularly, avoid letting it create unnecessary bottlenecks. If a feature becomes essential in the future, it can be reinstated. Focus on the core functionality that delivers the most value.

[Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_]

@Josh this is a great resource by @Martin Runge thanks for sharing!

[Rustem Shiriiazdanov _Actonic_]

Great post @Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_

Thanks for the in-deep research! I see the race against the time adds some pressure to many of us, marketplace vendors :) I have a question: What's you most valuable insight after speaking to so many Vendors?

[Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_]

@Rustem Shiriiazdanov _Actonic_ great question. Speaking with so many vendors was fascinating. At times I found myself in AI chatbot loops, many free apps offered little or no support, and a few vendors assumed customers already understood their migration plans. On the other hand, many responded within 24 hours with thoughtful, detailed answers and excellent customer service.

One surprise was Notion—support initially wasn't aware they had an Atlassian Marketplace app, so they're investigating internally.

My biggest takeaway for enterprise customers is this: don't wait until there's a migration deadline to understand your Marketplace portfolio. Audit your apps regularly, especially before cloud migrations, retire anything that's no longer used, and establish relationships with key vendors early. The responsiveness and transparency I saw varied considerably, and those factors should be part of your long-term vendor evaluation, not just features and price.

[Raziman Dom - Ricksoft]

Hi @Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_

Great article! Thanks for taking the time to analyze Forge adoption across Marketplace partners and for including Ricksoft in your research.

Coincidentally, Space Sync for Confluence completed its migration to Forge just yesterday, shortly after you published this article. 😄

Just thought I'd mention it in case you'd like to update the analysis. Thanks again for putting together such a valuable overview for the Marketplace community!

[Jens Schumacher - Released_so]

@Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_ 

we are doing final testing for Released Hub – AI Release Notes, Roadmap and Feedback Portal and hope to publish the Forge version of the app this week or next.

It was a much bigger undertaking as initially anticipated. Which was made more complicated by the need to support both Connect and Forge installs of the app during the transition. But we finally got there. 

One word on "Runs on Atlassian", as you already pointed out, not all apps will support Runs un Atlassian. The whole purpose of Released for example is that it lets you share boards and roadmaps with stakeholders or customers who don't have access to Jira. Runs on Atlassian would make that impossible. 

For apps like BetterBoard, which offers simply a much better alternative to the native Jira boards, Runs on Atlassian is a no-brainer of course. 

Thanks for putting this post together! 

[Huwen Arnone _Deiser_Devoteam_]

Thanks for such complete post @Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_, it's very interesting to have a glimpse about the Forge adoption across the Marketplace. 

Precisely last week I announced over here that all of our apps are fully in Forge (Remote, and natively), especially Projectrak. 

Looking forward to check how the Marketplace keeps evolving towards the platform. 

[Dr Valeri Colon _Connect Centric_]

@Jens Schumacher - Released_so thanks for these insights. I don't think the average customer fully understands the 'Runs on Atlassian' badge, I certainly didn't before starting the assessment-- so your explanation using your apps as an example is perfect.

@Raziman Dom - Ricksoft and @Huwen Arnone _Deiser_Devoteam_ thanks for the updates!