Bring External Systems into Jira with Action Hub
What if Jira could do more than display the information already stored in it?
Most teams rely on multiple systems to run their day-to-day operations. Identity providers, endpoint management platforms, CRMs, and workspace tools all contain information that Jira and Jira Service Management teams need to act on.
The problem is usually the same: the data is there, but it is somewhere else.
That's where Action Hub for External Systems comes in.
Action Hub connects Jira and JSM to external systems and brings their data and actions directly into the work item experience. Instead of copying external information into Jira or switching between applications, teams can search external records, display relevant attributes, run approved actions, and use the results in Jira Automation.
Connect. Contextualize. Act.
Action Hub is built around a simple idea: external systems should become part of the Jira workflow rather than another place agents have to visit.
Connections provide authenticated access to external systems, while reusable field templates define how that data is presented and searched in Jira.
This means an administrator can create a field that searches a connected system, presents the relevant information to the user, and exposes only the actions that have been approved for that workflow.
For example, a Jira Service Management request could include an Entra Users field. An agent can search for an employee directly in the request, select the relevant identity, view the configured user information, and access available Entra actions without leaving Jira.
Govern the actions, not just the connection
Connecting an external system is only the beginning.
External platforms can expose a wide range of operations, and not every action should be available to every Jira workflow.
Action Hub provides layered control over external actions, allowing administrators to govern availability across the action catalogue, connection configuration, and individual field templates.
This creates a model where:
Available actions → Connection permissions → Workflow-specific actions
Read-only operations can be exposed for investigation and lookup, while higher-impact write actions can be restricted to the connections and workflows where they are actually required.
The result is an integration that is not simply connected, but controlled.
Turn external data into automation
One of the most useful parts of Action Hub is what happens after an external action runs.
The result can be passed directly into Jira Automation.
Take a simple identity workflow:
Employee selected in Jira → Get user's manager → Manager returned from Entra ID → Jira Automation uses the result
The external response can provide structured data that automation can then use for assignments, conditions, field updates, notifications, or other workflow logic.
For example, the manager's email returned by Microsoft Entra ID can become the input for Jira's Assign work item action.
This turns an external lookup into an automated Jira workflow rather than simply displaying information to an agent.
And it doesn't have to stop at one system
Action Hub also supports cross-connection workflows, allowing a field to use one external system as its primary source while exposing approved actions from another connected system.
Think:
- Entra ID + Intune for identity and device workflows
- Entra ID + Google Workspace for employee administration
- Identity providers + business systems for access workflows
- External user or device records + Jira Automation for operational processes
The goal is not to recreate every external system inside Jira.
The goal is to bring the right context and the right actions into the place where the work is already happening.
Built for Jira and JSM teams
Action Hub gives administrators the building blocks to create reusable integrations without turning every project into a separate integration.
With connections, field templates, governed actions, cross-connection capabilities, and Jira Automation support, teams can build workflows around live external data while maintaining control over what is exposed and how it is used.
The Microsoft Entra manager lookup is just one example.
The same pattern can be applied to onboarding, access requests, endpoint support, identity management, workspace administration, and other workflows where Jira needs to interact with systems outside Atlassian.
Connect your external systems. Bring their data into Jira. Turn the results into action.
For the full configuration and implementation details, see the Action Hub documentation: https://piosoftware.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/WS/pages/1239220226/Action+Hub+for+External+Systems
Ready to connect your external systems to Jira? Install Action Hub for External Systems from the Atlassian Marketplace and start bringing external data and actions directly into your Jira workflows.