Working Across Multiple Jira Instances? Lessons from a Real Customer Story
Every Jira admin eventually encounters it: two teams, two Jira instances, and one shared project that somehow needs to stay aligned.
While many articles discuss Jira-to-Jira integrations in theory, this is a real customer story. Levare International faced exactly this challenge when they needed to collaborate closely with a strategic partner that operated in a completely separate Jira environment. To bridge the gap between the two Jira instances, Levare implemented a Jira-to-Jira integration using Getint, enabling both organizations to collaborate without changing the way they worked.
The Challenge: Collaborating Across Organizational Boundaries
Levare International is a global provider of industrial pumps, machinery, and field services. As part of its digital transformation efforts, the company adopted Jira Cloud to support collaboration with one of its key partners.
The situation seemed straightforward at first. Both organizations were using Jira Cloud.
However, each company maintained its own Jira environment, workflows, and processes. Levare's partner operated a large Jira instance used by thousands of users, while Levare maintained a smaller internal Jira setup focused on its own teams and projects.
Neither side wanted to abandon its existing workflows. Yet both organizations needed visibility into shared work, customer requests, and project progress.
As many Jira administrators know, that's where things become complicated.
Without a connection between instances, teams often resort to:
- Copying updates manually between tickets
- Sending status updates through email or meetings
- Creating duplicate issues in separate systems
- Spending time reconciling conflicting information
These processes may work temporarily, but they quickly become difficult to maintain as collaboration scales.
A Common Problem for many Jira Teams
Levare's challenge is far from unique.
Many organizations operate across multiple Jira instances for perfectly valid reasons:
- Customers require collaboration within their own Jira environment
- Vendors and service providers maintain separate systems
- Different business units operate independently
- Security and compliance requirements prevent consolidation
- Mergers and acquisitions introduce additional Jira environments
In all these scenarios, the goal remains the same: keep information flowing without forcing everyone into a single system.
Why Levare Chose Getint
When Levare started looking for a solution, the goal wasn't simply to connect two Jira instances. The company needed an integration flexible enough to support its existing project structure while keeping collaboration with its partner seamless.
The requirements included:
- Synchronizing work between separate Jira Cloud instances
- Supporting multiple internal projects connected to a single external project
- Preserving each organization's existing workflows
- Providing clear visibility into synchronization activity
- Minimizing ongoing maintenance effort
Getint's Jira-to-Jira integration provided the flexibility needed to handle these requirements without forcing either organization to redesign its processes.
The Complexity Behind the Scenes
One particularly interesting aspect of Levare's implementation involved project structure. Internally, Levare managed separate Sage X3 initiatives for different regions. Meanwhile, their partner handled all related work within a single Jira project.
This created an integration challenge that many organizations eventually face.
How do you synchronize multiple internal projects into a single external project while maintaining proper context and visibility?
Using Getint, Levare implemented a routing strategy that preserved their existing setup. Through custom field mappings and synchronization rules, the team was able to distinguish issues coming from different internal initiatives and route them appropriately within their partner's Jira environment.
This approach allowed both organizations to continue working in ways that made sense for them while maintaining alignment across company boundaries.
It's a useful reminder that successful integrations don't necessarily require standardization. In many cases, the better solution is enabling different teams to continue using their preferred processes while ensuring information flows reliably between systems.
1. Visibility Matters as Much as Synchronization
One lesson that emerged from the project was the importance of transparency.
When information moves automatically between systems, teams need confidence that synchronization is working correctly. Administrators need visibility into what was synchronized, when it happened, and how issues can be resolved if something unexpected occurs.
Reflecting on the implementation, Levare's Information Systems Manager & PMO Lead highlighted the value of having clear visibility into synchronization activity.
"The logs are very clear."
While simple, this observation touches on a critical requirement for long-term success. Reliable integrations are not only about moving data; they're also about providing administrators with the information needed to trust and maintain the system.
2. Supporting Business Requirements, Not Just Technical Ones
Another interesting aspect of the project involved licensing considerations.
Like many organizations, Levare wanted to support collaboration efficiently without unnecessarily increasing Jira licensing costs. Their synchronization strategy aligned with a single-assignee model that matched both operational requirements and licensing objectives.
This serves as an important reminder that integration projects are rarely just technical exercises.
Successful implementations often need to balance workflow requirements, user experience, governance, reporting, and cost considerations simultaneously.
The Result: Less Coordination, More Collaboration
The ultimate goal wasn't simply to synchronize Jira issues.
It was to reduce friction between organizations.
By connecting the two Jira environments, Levare and its partner were able to collaborate without relying on manual updates, duplicate tickets, or constant status-check meetings. Teams could continue working in their own Jira instances while maintaining visibility into shared work.
Perhaps the most telling outcome came after the initial implementation.
The integration continued running successfully in production and was renewed after a full year of use. Rather than becoming another system that required constant attention, it became part of the background infrastructure supporting day-to-day collaboration.
As the Levare team summarized their experience:
"It just works."
For anyone responsible for Jira administration, that may be one of the strongest indicators of success.
Key Takeaways for Jira Administrators
Levare's experience highlights several lessons that apply far beyond a single implementation:
- Separate Jira instances don't have to create information silos.
- Teams can maintain independent workflows while still collaborating effectively.
- Integration projects should support existing business processes whenever possible.
- Visibility and transparency are essential for long-term trust in synchronized systems.
- Success is measured not only by technical functionality but also by reduced operational overhead.
As organizations increasingly collaborate across company boundaries, the question is no longer whether multiple Jira instances can work together.
The more important question is how seamlessly they can do it.
Have you faced a similar challenge in your organization? How are you handling collaboration across multiple Jira instances today?
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