Cloud Licensing Model Discussion

Question

We currently have a datacenter solution for our Confluence instance, but we're exploring the possibility of migrating to Confluence Cloud hosting. One of the main reasons for considering a cloud solution is to improve availability and ease of maintenance. However, we have some concerns related to data accessibility and would like to discuss a potential licensing change with the community.

Our usage of Confluence revolves around creating runbooks and how-to guides for both our employees and clients, particularly during internal issue resolutions. Some of these instructions contain sensitive data. In our datacenter setup, we've been able to manage access effectively by configuring spaces to allow anonymous access when necessary. These documents can be accessed through our internal network and VPN.

However, our challenge with moving to Confluence Cloud lies in the fact that documents become accessible to anyone with internet access. Although there is an option to restrict access based on certain IP addresses, this approach doesn't align with our environment's requirements and accessibility.

We're interested to know if Atlassian has considered or discussed changing the cloud licensing model to distinguish between read-only and editing access. We believe this could be a beneficial solution for companies like ours, seeking to adopt cloud solutions while ensuring certain pages remain private and secure.

Dong Park · Answer

Thank you for providing insights into the access model between DC and Cloud versions of Confluence.  While I appreciate the detailed explanation on access model controls, our primary concern is with the licensing model, specifically in relation to distinguishing between read-only and editing access.

To reiterate:

We are keen on understanding if Atlassian has considered revising the cloud licensing model to differentiate between users who solely need to read documents and those who need to edit them.  This distinction in licensing could potentially offer a more cost-effective solution for businesses like ours, where a large number of users only need to viewing access.

Currently, with our Datacenter solution, we've effectively managed access permissions, but the transition to Cloud might mean incurring costs for a broad user base that primarily needs read-only access.

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

DC and Cloud have the same access model - you give people access to your systems as you need them to, and you allow/block IP addresses as needed.

The allow/block works a bit differently - with a server/DC system, your network admins are totally in charge, but with Atlassian Cloud, you need to be looking at the white/black listing features.

The accounts work differently too - with Cloud, you need to use Atlassian accounts or Access accounts (or Google accounts, which have associated Atlassian accounts)

Since version 1 of Confluence (yes, I am that old), Atlassian have enabled a read-only access to their systems - have 25 page authors, but the rest of the world can read everything.  They carried this over into Cloud of course.

Look for "group: anonymous" in your space permissions.

Mark William Graham Bortz · Answer

Thank you mister Park, it was a joy reading your summary and if my memory serves my well it was you and I who worked on last weeks informational data set. Ask Tuong if she has any more suggestions for us. /Mark