How to achieve a bidirectional Jira Zendesk integration

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A Jira to Zendesk integration can help support and dev teams stay on top of customer tickets. It automates the escalation process and increases transparency and visibility between these teams.

To get this done, you can find the native integration tool in the Atlassian marketplace. But this tool supports only a few entities, and you cannot sync multiple Zendesk instances to a single Jira work item. 

Another option is to choose a third-party integration tool. I'll cover Exalate here. Exalate has a Groovy scripting engine for mapping the incoming and outgoing data on both sides, giving you full control over what gets synced and how.

DPG Media was able to use Exalate's Jira to Zendesk integration to consolidate workflows and connect teams for accelerated growth.

4 Simple Steps to Set Up Your Jira to Zendesk Integration

Step 1: Set Up Exalate and Authenticate Your Systems

Go to the Exalate app at exalate.app. If you already have an account, log in directly. New users can create an account by entering their email or signing up with Google.

Once logged in, create a workspace to organize your integrations. Click the "+ Create Workspace" button, enter a name and description, and confirm.

From your workspace, you will authenticate both Jira and Zendesk by entering their instance URLs. Exalate detects the platform type automatically and prompts you for the appropriate credentials.

You can always discuss your use case with our team and understand if Exalate is the right fit for your needs.

Step 2: Connect Jira to Zendesk

First, outline the requirements for the integration on both sides. This helps you create accurate mappings for projects, fields, and entities.

After chalking out the requirements, set up a connection between Jira and Zendesk.

Click "+ Add connections" > "Create new connection." Enter the name and URL for your first system (System A). You can name either Jira or Zendesk as System A. It doesn't matter which one goes first.

Once the URL is entered, a validation check runs. For new systems, you'll need to provide authentication details. Complete the same setup process for the other side.

Give your connection a name and description, review the details, and click "Create connection."

When the process is complete, select "Continue to configuration."

Step 3: Configure the Sync Rules

After creating your connection, you have two configuration options: "Quick Sync" and "Edit & Test."

Quick Sync lets you publish the starter configuration and sync one item between Jira and Zendesk to verify that your connection works. This is optional, but recommended for initial testing.

Edit & Test opens the draft editor, where you can customize your sync rules before going live.

Exalate uses Groovy scripts to configure one-way and two-way syncs. You can map data from labels, summaries, descriptions, assignees, reporters, comments, attachments, and much more.

The scripts are divided into incoming and outgoing:

• Outgoing script: Controls what data goes out to the other side.
• Incoming script: Decides how and where the information coming from the remote side appears.

Here is a sample line of code for syncing Jira custom fields:

issue.customFields."Jira custom field name".value = replica.customFields."Jira custom field name".value

The above code snippet populates the custom field in Jira with a value coming from the Zendesk side and vice versa. In the other instance's incoming sync, make sure to map the value received from Zendesk to the correct field.

AI-Assisted Configuration with Aida

To save time and simplify the scripting process, you can use Aida, Exalate's AI-assisted configuration feature, to generate sync scripts from natural language prompts. Describe what you want in plain English (for example, "sync all high-priority tickets to Jira as bugs"), and Aida generates working Groovy code with the correct field mappings.

Aida is available in both incoming and outgoing script sections. For outgoing scripts, describe what data should leave your system. For incoming scripts, describe how the data should be applied.

Once Aida finishes drafting, review the suggested changes. Green highlights indicate new lines, and red highlights show lines to be removed. You can choose to "Insert" or "Discard" each suggestion.

Test Run: Validate Before Going Live

Before publishing your configuration, you can use Test Run to validate your sync scripts against real data without affecting production. Select the work items you want to test, click "Start Test Run," and review the incoming and outgoing replicas for each item.

Review how the sync configuration will be applied, preview the replica, and verify that the field mappings look correct. If needed, go back, adjust the scripts, and test again. Deploy only when you're confident everything works correctly.

Once everything matches your needs, click "Publish Version" to apply the updated configuration to your live synchronization.

Step 4: Automate Your Sync with Triggers

Triggers are conditions that control how your sync works. They automatically carry out the sync once the condition is fulfilled.

You can configure triggers using Jira Query Language (JQL) and Zendesk search syntax.

Here are sample JQL triggers:

• project = FIR and labels = sync
• project = XProject and assignee = JDoe
• worklogDate > startOfWeek()

Here are sample Zendesk triggers:

• type:ticket ticket_type:incident priority:urgent
• type:ticket status:open
• has_attachment:true

You can now sync your data automatically based on the rules and triggers you have set.

Advanced Jira to Zendesk Integration Use Cases

• Connect the team using Jira Service Management to Zendesk using side conversations as well as field and entity sync.
• Separate comments such that private comments stay in Jira, while public comments go over to the client in Zendesk. This is useful when dealing with L1-L2 support. A media company was able to consolidate workflows by integrating Jira and Zendesk.
• Companies going through a merger can sync multiple Zendesk tickets to one Jira instance. You can also sync one Zendesk ticket to multiple Jira instances.
• Sync user fields, statuses, and work item priority between Jira and Zendesk to help teams prioritize what gets attention first.
• Sync Elements Connect fields with different key values in Zendesk. This includes syncing custom fields. For instance, you can display the remote Jira work item link in a Zendesk custom field.

Exalate supports integrations across Jira, Jira Service Management, ServiceNow, Azure DevOps Cloud, Azure DevOps Server, Salesforce, Zendesk, Freshservice, Freshdesk, Asana, GitHub, and custom connectors.

Interested in learning more about how Exalate integrates Jira and Zendesk? Reach out so we can discuss your use case.

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The Zendesk Jira integration tutorial video 


 https://bit.ly/3xB5TND