Migrating Projects to Jira Cloud

[Muhammad Kashif]

I want to migrate my project.  What are the key steps and considerations when migrating projects from Jira Server to Jira Cloud?

[Ravina · Accepted solution]

Hi @Muhammad Kashif Welcome to the Atlassian community.

There are lot of good document resources available online from the Atlassian for migrating the data from the server to cloud.

You can refer the below documents to get more understanding about the steps involved in the migration and also check what configuration elements will be migrated and what not, so that you can better plan the migration accordingly.

https://support.atlassian.com/migration/resources/

https://support.atlassian.com/migration/docs/use-the-jira-cloud-migration-assistant-to-migrate/

https://support.atlassian.com/migration/docs/what-gets-migrated-with-the-jira-cloud-migration-assistant/

Below are some some of the phases/steps need to be worked on for the successful migration 

Pre-Migration Planning

1. Assessment and Planning:

   • Analyze Current Environment: Document the current Jira Server setup, including project configurations, custom fields, workflows, user permissions, add-ons, and integrations.
   • Evaluate Differences: Understand the differences between Jira Server and Jira Cloud. Some features and customizations available in Server might not be available or work differently in Cloud.
   • Migration Goals: Define the scope of the migration, including which projects, issues, and configurations to migrate.

2. Prepare a Migration Plan:

   • Timeline: Establish a timeline with clear milestones and deadlines.
   • Stakeholders: Identify and communicate with stakeholders involved in the migration.
   • Backup: Create a full backup of your Jira Server instance before starting the migration.

Data Migration

1. Use Jira Cloud Migration Assistant (JCMA):

   • Install JCMA: Install the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant on your Jira Server instance.
   • Run Pre-Migration Checks: Use JCMA to identify potential issues before migrating.
   • Select Projects: Choose the projects and data to migrate.
   • Migrate Users and Groups: Migrate users and groups to ensure proper permissions and access in Jira Cloud.

2. Perform the Migration:

   • Initiate Migration: Start the migration process using JCMA. Follow the prompts to transfer your data to Jira Cloud.
   • Monitor Progress: Keep an eye on the migration process, addressing any issues or errors that arise.

Post-Migration Tasks

1. Verify Data Integrity:

   • Check that all projects, issues, workflows, and configurations have been migrated correctly.
   • Validate user permissions and access rights.

2. Reconfigure Add-ons:

   • Reconfigure any add-ons that were installed in Jira Cloud to ensure they work as expected.

3. Communicate with Users:

   • Inform users of the successful migration.
   • Provide training or resources to help users get accustomed to Jira Cloud.

Optimization and Cleanup

1. Optimize Performance:

   • Review and optimize the performance of your Jira Cloud instance.
   • Ensure that all configurations and integrations are functioning optimally.

2. Cleanup:

   • Remove any obsolete data or configurations that were not needed in the new environment.

Considerations for Migration

1. Feature Differences:

   • Be aware of the differences between Jira Server and Jira Cloud. Some features and customization might not be available or will work differently.

2. Customization and Apps:

   • Review customization and third-party apps used in Jira Server. Not all apps have a direct counterpart in Jira Cloud.

3. User Management:

   • Migrate users carefully to ensure that permissions and access rights are maintained. Consider using Atlassian Access for centralized user management.

4. Data Integrity:

   • Ensure that all data, including attachments, comments, and history, are correctly migrated and intact.

5. Testing:

   • Conduct thorough testing in a sandbox environment to identify and fix issues before performing the final migration.

6. Downtime:

   • Plan for potential downtime during the migration process. Communicate this to users and stakeholders.

7. Compliance and Security:

   • Ensure that the migration process complies with your organization’s security policies and regulatory requirements.

Once you gone through the documentation and ready for migration, try the migrations on the sandbox (stage) instance Atlassian provides the sandbox instances where you can try your migrations and fix the issues if any before planning the production upgrades, if you already have an active production cloud site then you may already have a sandbox instance.

Regards

Ravina.

[Hoa Nguyen]

Great, Thank you!

[Ash Yadav]

Very high quality answer, I do want to emphasise the need for a backup of your server instance though. I know it's been mentioned before but DO NOT skip this step and make sure you've tested it and that it works before proceeding with the migration.

KR, 

Ash

[Hoa Nguyen]

Tuyệt vời, Cảm ơn bạn