Atlassian Intelligence for Jira and Confluence increases your productivity.

Atlassian Intelligence: What can I do with it?

by with No Comment Atlassian

Artificial intelligence is on the rise and is finding its way into all areas of life, including the business world. Jira and Confluence have also been equipped with artificial intelligence. This marks a milestone in the world of project management and collaboration tools. With the introduction of "Atlassian Intelligence (AI)", we are experiencing a new era of efficiency and innovation. In this blog post, we take a detailed look at AI, explain what it is, what it can do, and how it integrates artificial intelligence into your Jira and Confluence workday.

What is Atlassian Intelligence (AI)?

AI is an advanced artificial intelligence based on GPT-3 technology. This technology, developed by OpenAIis known for its ability to generate human-like text. Atlassian has integrated this technology into Jira and Confluence to improve the user experience and increase productivity. AI understands and learns from users' data and interactions to make personalized and contextual suggestions.

What can I do with Atlassian Intelligence (AI)?

AI is not just another tool, but an intelligent partner that supports you in your daily work. Here are some key features:

  1. Automated task creation: AI recognizes patterns in your project data and automatically suggests new tasks or projects.
  2. Intelligent search functions: Search Jira and Confluence with natural language. AI understands your queries and delivers precise results without you having to resort to JQL.
  3. Improved collaboration: AI analyzes the context of discussions and suggests relevant documents or previous conversations.
  4. Personalized recommendations: AI suggests suitable resources and actions based on your interactions and preferences.

Application examples for Atlassian Intelligence

To demonstrate the versatility of AI, let's look at some practical application examples:

  1. Project management: In Jira AI helps to maintain an overview of complex projects by prioritizing tasks and identifying risks at an early stage.
  2. Knowledge management: In Confluence AI can help provide the right knowledge at the right time by suggesting content that matches your current tasks.
  3. Automated reporting: AI can create customized reports based on your specific requirements, saving time and speeding up decision-making.

Advantages of use

The advantages of AI in your day-to-day work are manifold:

  1. Time saving: Automated functions and intelligent suggestions save valuable time.
  2. Higher productivity: AI helps to minimize distractions and you focus on what's really important.
  3. Better decision making: AI-supported analyses help you make more informed decisions.
  4. Promotion of cooperation: AI facilitates teamwork by providing relevant information and context.

How you can integrate Atlassian Intelligence into your company

Integrating AI into your Jira and Confluence environment is straightforward. Here are a few steps to get started:

  1. Training of your team: Ensure that your team has the necessary knowledge to make the best use of AI.
  2. Customization to your needs: Configure AI to adapt it to the specific requirements of your teams.
  3. Data protection and security: Make sure that your data is secure and that the use of AI complies with data protection guidelines.

Introducing AI to Jira and Confluence is more than just a technological advancement; it's a way to transform the way your teams work. It gives you the tools to work smarter, faster and more effectively.

Reducing the cognitive load of manual tasks with Atlassian Intelligence

Cognitive load - the amount of mental effort required in your work environment - can be critical to the efficiency and well-being of your employees. This is where Atlassian Intelligence (AI) plays a crucial role by helping to reduce this mental load. Let's look at how AI overcomes this challenge:

Atlassian Intelligence Features

  1. Simplification of decision-making processes: Atlassian Intelligence (AI) provides data-driven insights and suggestions that reduce the need for extensive research and analysis. These clear, precise recommendations make it easier for employees to make quick and informed decisions.
  2. Automation of routine tasks: One of the biggest challenges in any working environment are repetitive and time-consuming tasks. AI automates these processes, allowing employees to focus on more complex and creative tasks. This helps to avoid fatigue and overwork.
  3. Improvement of information management: In today's information overload, finding relevant data quickly can be a challenge. AI improves the way information is organized and retrieved, helping employees work more efficiently and avoid cognitive overload.
  4. Personalized user experience: Every employee has their own way of working. AI learns from each individual's preferences and work patterns and adapts to provide a customized user experience. This reduces the time and effort needed to adapt to new tools or find relevant information.
  5. Promotion of effective cooperation: One challenge in team environments is coordination and communication. AI helps teams work together more effectively by providing relevant information and context at the right time. This reduces misunderstandings and improves overall productivity.

Atlassian Intelligence (AI) is not just a tool to increase productivity; it is a key factor in reducing the cognitive load on your employees. By automating routine tasks, providing personalized recommendations and improving information management, AI allows employees to focus on what's important and be more efficient and satisfied in their work. You can find more information about AI here.

XALT blog post end of Atlassian Server Support

End of Atlassian Server Support - What happens if I don't switch from Atlassian Server to the cloud?

by with No Comment AtlassianCloud

As a long-time user of Atlassian products, you probably remember the good old server days. But now a change is coming that you should not ignore. As of February 15, 2024, Atlassian will end support for all server solutions. So, it's time to take action.

Risks of remaining on Server:

If you stay on servers, you risk security vulnerabilities and inefficient processes. Without regular updates and security patches, self-hosted servers are more susceptible to security breaches. Over time, the efficiency of your servers will decrease. New features and innovations will skip servers, and your team may struggle with outdated tools. Self-powered servers don't provide the flexibility and scalability your business needs for future growth. It's like trying to take an old car on a trip around the world - technically possible, but nowhere near as efficient.

Cloud as the ultimate future:

Data centers may offer a temporary solution, but the cloud offers advanced security measures and flexible collaboration options. It is the future-proof and efficient choice. While security concerns used to be an issue with cloud use, these concerns are no longer appropriate. Modern cloud platforms, such as Atlassian's cloud services or AWS, offer first-class security measures and are consistently state of the art.

In the cloud, we can easily collaborate, see changes in real time and make the workflow seamless. I remember an incident in my old team when I had to find my way back from a cloud environment to a server environment. In the cloud, not only was I able to collaborate seamlessly with my colleagues, but I also had access to a variety of tools and features that increased my productivity. I was also suddenly missing so many apps and essential plugins, such as a proper calendar function, that I really appreciated the cloud.

How do you explain a switch from server to cloud to your management?

You should use clear arguments to convince your management of a cloud solution now. Here are some helpful facts and statements:

  1. Cost-benefit analysis: Server product maintenance is becoming more expensive, while the cloud offers competitive pricing. Cloud platforms offer flexible subscription models that allow companies to precisely control their costs and use resources efficiently.
  2. Future security: The cloud is the future. Switching early puts your company in the best position to respond to future developments. The cloud enables you to react quickly to new requirements and trends without having to worry about procuring and providing new hardware.
  3. Employee satisfaction: The cloud offers flexibility and innovative tools that facilitate teamwork and improve workflow. In the cloud, your employees can work from anywhere and from any device. This allows you to attract and retain talented employees, regardless of their location.

Conclusion: From farewell to a new beginning

A move to the cloud not only marks the end of an era, but also the beginning of something new. It's time to open up to a more efficient, secure and innovative future.

Are you ready for the change? Our consultants are here to help you make a smooth transition. The best way to clarify all your questions is to arrange a personal appointment with one of our cloud migration experts.

You can also find more information on cloud migration in our current Whitepaper ( no e-mail required).

stylish Confluence pages

Create stylish Confluence pages in 5 simple steps

by with One Comment Atlassian

Confluence is one of those tools that can do just about anything. You can provide documentation for your users and projects, publish information and news, and promote collaboration between your teams across departments. But by default, Confluence is sometimes clunky and not necessarily pretty to look at - a real developer tool, after all. But with a few plugins and a little creativity, it's a different story. Ultimately, it's up to you whether you want generic layouts or stylish Confluence pages.

To create great Confluence pages, just like cooking, you need some sort of recipe book, the necessary ingredients, and a little bit of creativity.

1. the basics in Confluence - Spaces and Pages

Right from the first login, Confluence comes with some ingenious features that allow you to create an understandable page structure. The best way to start is to create some spaces to give your Confluence a basic structure. For example, the simplest basic structure you can create is one Space for each Team (e.g. Marketing) or Project (e.g. Iron Man Suite Mk. 5). 

Common Confluence Spaces

  • Teams & departments: e.g. Marketing, Human Resources, Sales, IT, etc.
  • Projects: e.g. Iron Man Suite Mk 5., Captain America Shield Mk 2, etc.
  • Personal Space: Mario's Dope Marketing Space, Philipp's crazy Dev. Space
Confluence templates
Marketing Template and Spaces in Confluence

Once you have created all the relevant Spaces for your business, it is advisable to create additional parent pages in each Space. This way you make sure that you don't end up with a bunch of confusing pages and content and don't know your way around anymore. For example, you can further structure the Marketing Space by adding pages for Content Marketing, Social Media or Homepage and then adding individual content for the respective topics. 

2. templates for your Confluence pages

Surely you have already worked with templates for various tools here and there, which have made your life and your work so much easier. It's the same with Confluence. At Atlassian you can find some free and preconfigured templates that you can add directly to your Confluence instance and create stylish Confluence pages. 

Templates for Confluence Cloud Users

Confluence templates for stylish Confluence pages

If you're already using Confluence Cloud, this is also a breeze. Just click on "Use template" and add it to a page automatically. Then you can edit your pages as usual and access additional plugins and macros.

Templates for Confluence Data Center and Server Users

Confluence page template

Unfortunately, as a server and data center user, it's not that easy. To be able to use templates, you can either create new pages directly from a template or rely on plugins from the Atlassian Market Place fall back. Here you will find a template for pretty much every conceivable purpose.

You can also find all templates directly in Confluence (Cloud). When you create a new page, a bar appears on the right-hand side of the screen where you can choose from a variety of templates for your project.

Create your own templates

If there is no template that meets your requirements, you can easily create your own or adapt an existing one.

How do I create a Confluence template?

  1. Go to the Confluence Space settings, (or to your Confluence settings (if you are an admin))
  2. Search for "Look and fell" and click on "Templates"
  3. Click on the "Create new template" button or select an existing template that you would like to customize
  4. Give your template a name
  5. Add editable content
  6. Save the template
  7. You will then find the template in the right-hand sidebar when you create a new Confluence page.

3. plugins and macros

To make your Confluence pages even more expressive or to customize them for your specific purpose, you can use plugins and the macros that come with them. Plugins can be obtained from the Atlassian Market Place. 

Plugins

There are several free extensions for Confluence that you can install directly on your instance. Additionally, there are also a lot of external plugin providers. 

Refined

The Confluence plugin "Refined" is your secret recipe when it comes to giving your Confluence pages not only structure, but also a touch of style. With Refined, you can transform the standard Confluence interface into a visually appealing and intuitively navigable intranet that both facilitates information intake and strengthens brand awareness.

Structured and stylish Confluence pages with plugins and templates with Refined
Source: Refined

With the ability to customize themes and layouts, you can give each page a unique character - whether it's project dashboards, company wikis or team spaces. Refined allows you to create engaging and user-friendly sites that promote collaboration and increase productivity without in-depth technical knowledge.

Discover how you can turn generic Confluence pages into real eye-catchers with just a few clicks that not only present your content better, but also take the user experience to a new level.

Aura from SeibertMedia

With the "Aura - Content Formatting Macros" provides you with a powerful tool for customizing and structuring your Confluence pages far beyond the standard design. This collection of macros enables you not only to present content in a visually appealing way, but also to significantly improve clarity and user guidance.

Aura - Structured and Stylish Confluence Pages with Plugins and Templates
Source: SeibertMedia

Whether you want to create dynamic tabs for clearly structured navigation, integrate Miro boards or Figma designs directly into your pages, or seamlessly integrate complex content with Google Docs or HTML codes - Aura offers the solution. The diverse design options help you to convey information in a way that is not only accessible but also visually impressive.

By simplifying the integration of this diverse content, Aura allows you to create Confluence pages that are not only informative but also inspiring, encouraging collaboration and engagement within your team.

Advanced Image Gallery from XALT

For example, if you want to add an image gallery or slider to a Confluence page, you can either use the built-in functionality in Confluence, or you can use the 'Advanced Image Galery from XALT'. This makes it incredibly easy and intuitive to edit, adjust and display images in different layouts directly on the page.

Advanced Image Gallery

Macros

Some macros come with Confluence's basic functionality, others are provided by plugins. Macros allow you to customize your pages directly and natively to your liking, and it's a basic feature of Confluence that you'll probably work with almost every day. Some macros are used by clicking on the "little plus" at the top of the screen and adding the function where you want it.

Stylish Confluence pages

4. the most important thing: your creativity

Sometimes your pages are just for internal use and don't necessarily need to be styled creatively. But surely you've been in situations where you need to visually prepare your content. The fancy templates and plugins are of course a great help in creating stylish Confluence pages. But at the end of the day, your own creativity and dedication will go a long way in helping you create great content. 

In marketing and design, people often talk about "Fake it, till you make it". To put it simply, look for inspiration on the Internet and use these insights in your projects. But be careful: Don't copy and paste!

5. structure your pages

To maximize the efficiency and usability of your Confluence pages, a well-thought-out page structure is essential. Here are some best practices to help you organize your pages so that they are not only informative, but also easy to navigate:

Establish a clear hierarchy

Start with a clear idea of how your content should be structured. Create a hierarchy that is logical and corresponds to the way users search for information. This could mean setting up Spaces for different teams or projects and organizing pages and subpages within these Spaces by topic or function.

Use consistent naming conventions

Standardized naming conventions for your pages and spaces make it easier to find information. Decide on a clear and descriptive name that reveals the content of the page or space at first glance.

Use overview pages

Create overview pages that serve as tables of contents for larger areas within your Confluence workspace. These pages can contain links to important subpages and give users a quick overview of available resources.

Apply labels consistently

Confluence allows you to use labels to group pages thematically. Use this function to link similar content and simplify the search within your Confluence environment.

Set up navigation aids

Consider integrating navigation aids such as breadcrumbs, tables of contents or user-defined page navigation elements. These tools help users find their way through your content and keep track of their current position within the structure.

Do you need support integrating Confluence into your company and team? As an Atlassian Gold Solution Partner, we'll be happy to help you find a solution. On our Atlassian Services page you can learn more about our approach and methodology.

The basics in Confluence, starting with the creation of spaces and pages, lay the foundation for clear and efficient use. The use of templates not only simplifies the design, but also optimizes the work process. The integration of plugins and macros, such as Refined, Aura and Advanced Image Gallery, not only gives Confluence pages structure, but also an aesthetic touch.

The user's creativity plays a decisive role in presenting content in an appealing way. A well thought-out page structure, clear hierarchies, consistent naming conventions and the use of navigation aids are essential to maximize efficiency and user-friendliness. Confluence offers a variety of ways to promote collaboration and increase productivity.

Atlassian Team Playbooks

Maximize team success with Atlassian Team Playbooks

by with No Comment Atlassian

Fostering collaboration, continuous improvement and operational excellence is critical for organizations that want to remain competitive. Atlassian Team Playbooks are a valuable tool that provides resources to address common team challenges and improve project execution. They provide clear guidance on roles and responsibilities, improve communication and promote a proactive learning culture. Discover the benefits of Atlassian Team Playbooks.

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Most popular playbooks from Atlassian Team Playbooks

There are more than 50 Atlassian Team Playbooks that organizations can use to increase productivity and communication, accelerate digital transformation and much more. Listing them all here would be a bit much. Therefore, we have decided to provide you with a selection of the nine most popular playbooks.

Retrospective Play - Atlassian Team Playbook

Retrospective Play

Retrospective Play is a gateway to fostering a culture of continuous improvement. By reflecting on past actions and results, teams can gain invaluable insights that lead to better decision-making. Companies that use this method not only strengthen their problem-solving skills, but also create a culture of transparency and accountability. This game is a catalyst for fostering a proactive mindset that thrives on feedback and iterative learning, which is critical for navigating complex and dynamic business landscapes.

Roles & Responsibilities - Atlassian Team Playbook

Roles & Responsibilities Play

The essence of the roles and responsibilities game lies in its ability to bring clarity to team dynamics. It defines exactly who is responsible for what, preventing overlaps and gaps that can negatively impact the project timeline. Companies that use this method benefit from improved team synergy, streamlined workflows and significantly improved project execution. It is a cornerstone for building a well-coordinated team where everyone is focused on the common goals.

Health Monitor Play - Atlassian Team Playbooks

Health Monitor Play

The Health Monitor Play acts as a mirror that reflects the true state of a team's operational health. It enables self-assessment against the attributes of high-performing teams and helps to identify strengths and areas for improvement. For organizations, this game is essential to take the pulse of team performance and ensure that the team is continuously improving. It is a blueprint for driving excellence and achieving operational efficiency.

DACI Play - Atlassian Team Playbooks

DACI Play (Driver, Approver, Contributor, Informed)

The DACI framework is critical for clarifying decision-making roles and responsibilities within a team or project. It identifies individuals as Drivers (D), who drive the decision-making process; Approvers (A), who make the decision; Contributors (C), who provide input; and those who are Informed (I) about the decision. This structured approach ensures that decisions are made efficiently, with clear communication and accountability, allowing the project to run more smoothly.

Icebreaker Activities play - Atlassian Team Playbooks

Icebreaker Activities Play

Icebreaker activities serve to warm up the group, create a comfortable and inclusive atmosphere and encourage interaction, especially at the beginning of meetings or workshops. These activities can range from simple introductions to engaging games or discussions that help to break down barriers, encourage open communication and set a positive tone for the collaboration to come.

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) Play - Atlassian Team Playbooks

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) Play

The OKRs framework is a goal-setting tool that helps teams define, communicate and track goals and their outcomes. By setting objectives (ambitious and inspiring goals) and key results (specific, measurable actions to achieve the goals), teams can align their efforts, fully commit to the shared goals and transparently monitor progress. This game is fundamental to maintaining focus, alignment and momentum in achieving key results.

Project Kickoff Play - Atlassian Team Playbooks

Project Kickoff Play

The project kickoff is a structured approach to starting a project on the right foot. It aligns the team on the goals, scope, roles and responsibilities of the project and establishes a clear plan of action. By setting expectations, defining success criteria and ensuring everyone is on the same page, this game creates a solid foundation for successful project execution and helps mitigate risks associated with misalignment or misunderstandings.

Sparring Play - Atlassian Team Playbooks

Sparring Play

Sparring sessions provide a platform for teams to present their work, gather constructive feedback and refine ideas in a structured, supportive environment. This practice encourages diverse perspectives, constructive criticism and iterative refinement, helping to improve the quality of work and ensure that the best ideas are put forward and refined together.

Standups Play

Standups Play

Standups are short, regular meetings where team members update each other on their progress, discuss the day's work and identify any obstacles or challenges. This approach promotes transparency, timely problem solving and ensures that the team stays aligned on priorities. It is an important practice to maintain a steady flow of communication and address issues in a timely manner, which contributes to the overall agility and effectiveness of the team.

You can find more Atlassian Team Playbooks on the Atlassian website.

Why should I implement the Atlassian Team Playbooks in my company?

Implementing the Atlassian Team Playbooks can significantly improve your teams' collaboration, communication and problem-solving skills. These playbooks address key issues in team dynamics that can hinder project success if ignored. They promote a culture of openness, continuous improvement and clear communication that is essential for successful project delivery. The structured framework of these playbooks provides actionable insights and plans that clarify the path to resolution and improvement.

These versatile playbooks can be tailored to your organization's individual needs and challenges, making them a valuable business asset. Not only do they improve operational efficiency, but they also create a resilient and adaptable organization. With the support of XALT, these playbooks can be seamlessly integrated into your existing processes and offer significant benefits in achieving your business goals.

How to get started with Atlassian Team Playbooks

Getting started with Atlassian Playbooks can be a smooth process with the right approach and guidance. Below is a suggested strategy broken down into manageable steps to ensure a successful implementation in your organization:

1. sensitization and training:

Understanding the playbooks: Learn about Atlassian Playbooks and their benefits. Use resources, attend workshops or consult experts like those at XALT for deeper insights.

2nd evaluation:

Identify the needs: Evaluate the team's current challenges to determine which Atlassian Team Playbooks would be most beneficial.

Customization: Customize the selected games to the individual needs of your company based on the evaluation.

3. planning:

Implementation plan: Create a plan for the implementation of the selected measures, listing timelines, required resources and teams involved.

Training: Provide training to ensure all stakeholders understand the process and objectives of the playbooks.

4th version:

Executing the moves: Execute the moves according to the plan and encourage open communication and active participation.

Documentation: Document the findings, measures and feedback for later use and analysis.

5. check and improve:

ReviewEvaluate the effectiveness of the actions after implementation in terms of overcoming the challenges and achieving the objectives.

Continuous improvement: Based on the review, make adjustments for future iterations to ensure continuous improvement.

6. support and guidance:

Expert advice: Let Atlassian experts or companies like XALT advise you on successful implementation and overcoming challenges.

7. scaling:

Expand: Expand the implementation to other departments or teams once you have familiarized yourself with the playbooks to achieve a company-wide improvement.

8. measure success:

Metrics: Establish metrics to measure the success and impact of implementing Atlassian Team Playbooks, such as improved communication, shorter project timelines, and improved collaboration.

xalt_webinar_platform engineering

Webinar Platform Engineering: AWS account setup with JSM

by with No Comment Container8DevOps

In our webinar "Platform Engineering - Build AWS Accounts in Just One Hour with JSM Cloud", our DevOps ambassadors Chris and Ivan, along with Atlassian platform expert Marcin from BSH, introduced the transformative approach of platform engineering and how it is revolutionizing cloud infrastructure management for development teams. In our conversation, we discussed the concept of platform engineering, including how to initiate the process of using platform engineering, what obstacles organizations may encounter and how to overcome them with self-service for developers. We also showed how Jira Service Management can be used as a self-service for developers to create AWS accounts in just one hour.

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Understanding platform engineering

"Platform Engineering is a foundation of self-service APIs, tools, services, knowledge and support designed as a compelling internal product," said Ivan Ermilov during the webinar. This concept is at the heart of internal developer platforms (IDPs)aimed at streamlining operations and supporting development teams. By simplifying access to cloud resources, platform engineering promotes a more efficient and autonomous working environment.

Find out more about platform engineering in our article "What is Platform Engineering„.

The decisive advantages

One of the key takeaways from the webinar was the numerous benefits that platform engineering brings. Not only does it speed up the delivery of features, but it also significantly reduces manual tasks for developers. The discussion highlighted how teams gain independence, leading to a more agile and responsive IT infrastructure.

Overcoming traditional challenges

Traditional methods of managing cloud infrastructure often lead to project delays and security compliance issues. Ivan pointed out that "a common scenario I've personally encountered in my career is that deploying infrastructure requires a cascade of approvals. The whole process can take weeks. One specific example we encounter in our customer environment is that AWS account provisioning can take weeks to complete. One reason for this is usually that the infrastructure landscape is simply inefficient and not standardized." By using platform engineering, companies can overcome these hurdles and pave the way for a more streamlined and secure process.

Success story from the field: BSH's journey

Marcin Guz from BSH told the story of the company's transformation and illustrated the transition to automated cloud infrastructure management. The practical aspects of implementing platform engineering principles were highlighted, emphasizing how operational efficiency could be improved.

Technical insights: The self-service model

Ivan and Chris Becker discussed the implementation of a self-service model using Jira Service Management (JSM) and automation pipelines. This approach allows developers to manage cloud resources, including the creation of AWS accounts, in as little as an hour - a marked difference from the days or weeks it used to take.

Live demo: Quick AWS account creation

A highlight was the live demonstration by Chris Becker, who presented the optimized process for setting up AWS accounts. This real-time presentation served as a practical guide for the audience, illustrating the simplicity and efficiency of the self-service model.

A look into the future: The future of platform engineering

The webinar concluded with a look to the future. Ivan spoke about exciting future developments such as multi-cloud strategies and the integration of DevSecOps approaches, giving an indication of the ever-evolving landscape of platform engineering.

Watch our webinar on-demand

Want to learn about the possibilities of platform engineering and developer self-service? Watch our on-demand webinar to learn more about platform engineering, IDPs and developer self-service. In this informative session, you'll gain insights that will help you transform your cloud infrastructure management.

Jira Service Management News Atlassian High Velocity 2023

Jira Service Management News from Atlassian's High Velocity Event 2023

by with No Comment Atlassian

The Atlassian community recently met at the High Velocity event in Sydney. At the event, Atlassian leaders presented groundbreaking new features in Jira Service Management (JSM) and announced new collaborations. JSM customers gave insights into how they use the Atlassian platform in their business, underlining how Atlassian is revolutionizing service management. The overarching motto was: End bad service management.

In this article, we give you an overview of the most exciting news and new features in Jira Service Management.

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The most important news & new features at a glance

New cooperation:

  • New cooperation with Airtrack enables comprehensive asset management in JSM

New features:

  • Integration of Compass in JSM combines dev and ops data for full transparency
  • Asset dashboard provides meaningful insights
  • Integration of DevSecOps tools helps to create transparency about security vulnerabilities
  • Integration of CI/CD tools supports seamless collaboration between Dev and Ops
  • Customer support template optimizes support processes
  • Single sign-on for customer accounts creates a seamless user experience
  • Service management templates make teams more autonomous and faster
  • Board View of tickets for optimized overview
  • Dark Mode for eye-friendly working
  • Virtual Agent answers questions with the help of artificial intelligence
  • Agent Co-Pilot creates summaries and optimizes communication

Further news:

  • New upper limit of 20,000 agents per instance on JSM
  • Increase in the upper limits of objects in the asset and configuration database to 3 million
  • Expansion of regional export for data residency: newest region in Canada

Transparency through a "single source of truth"

Integration of Atlassian's Compass and JSM

Compass is one of the latest additions to the Atlassian family. This is a software catalog designed to assist developers in answering queries such as: How do I find a particular micro service? Who owns it? How do I get help if something goes wrong? How do I know if it meets security and compliance requirements?

At the same time, Compass serves as a monitoring tool that supports DevOps teams in monitoring software components and reacting quickly if something gets out of hand.

Atlassian Compass Dashboard
Compass supports development teams, which are often globally distributed and work independently of each other, in creating full visibility of a service and thus facilitating collaboration.

Thanks to the integration in JSM, the IT team, which handles the operational side of a service such as incident and change management, has a full overview of a service and its dependent components. If there is a problem with one of the service components, for example, IT can react and only roll out the change once the problem has been resolved.

Compass integration in Jira Service Management
JSM gives the IT operations team complete visibility of related services, whether all components are intact or whether development is working on a problem.

By combining Compass and JSM, developers and the IT team have a view of the same data source, but with the information that is important for their respective jobs. This solves the major challenge of updating data from traditional CMDBs (Configuration Management Database) and expands the view to the developer perspective.

Comparison of traditional CMDB and modern CMDB with Jira Service Management
Traditional CMDBs do not provide the complete picture that the IT operations team needs. It also implies a significant amount of work required to ensure that it remains current. Modern CMDBs bring Dev and Ops relevant information together in one platform, creating holistic transparency.

Comprehensive Asset Management with Airtrack and new Asset Dashboard

With the announcement that Airtrack is now part of the Atlassian family, JSM users can now operate comprehensive asset management. Airtrack supports companies in merging and analyzing different data sources and ensures that the data is correct, up-to-date and complete. It provides over 30 out-of-the-box connections, enables data reconciliation (e.g., helps identify missing dependencies between services; discovers unmanaged machines) and processes data beyond IT (e.g., managing security, compliance, billing, forecasting, etc.).

The asset data is stored in a new Asset Dashboard in JSM that provides meaningful insights and supports IT teams in their decision-making processes. Various reports can be created in the dashboard.

The extensive asset data is also available in Atlassian Analytics . This means that they can also be combined with data from other Atlassian tools and third-party tools. JSM thus brings development, infrastructure & operations and business teams together on one platform and creates transparency across the entire company.

Atlassian Analytics Dashboard with combined data from different sources
In Atlassian Analytics, additional data can be combined with the asset data: e.g. actual operating costs from the AWS Cloud, budget information from Snowflake in comparison with the assets from the JSM database. This gives you an overview of service, costs and performance in one place.

Breaking down silos for more relaxed collaboration

For Developers and IT Operations

Collaboration between developers and IT teams can be challenging. While developers want to quickly deliver new services and added value, the IT team makes sure that these do not pose any risks to operations. New integration options for developer tools in Jira Service Management are designed to eliminate these friction points and ensure seamless collaboration.

The Integration of DevSecOps-Tools in Jira makes it possible to manage risks better. It makes all security vulnerabilities visible within a sprint. Automation rules can also be created to automatically create tasks in Jira when a security vulnerability is identified. This ensures that all risks are addressed before the service is rolled out.

Through the Integration of common CI/CD tools development teams can create change requests without having to leave the tools they use on a daily basis. The change request is automatically created in JSM and can therefore be accessed directly by the IT team.

Ultimately, the result is an integrated process from development and risk assessment through to the approval and implementation of changes. High-risk services can be fed back to the development team in the CI/CD tool for checking before they are implemented in the production system.

With the new Release Hub in Jira they also have an overview of the status of their services, and automatic notifications inform them when a service has been rolled out.

Integrated process for DevOps with Jira Service Management
Jira Service Management integrates developer tools, creating a seamless system for Dev and Ops.

For Customer Support and Development teams

A new JSM template for customer support provides a convenient overview of all customer-relevant data and processes.

It also includes a feature that supports the seamless escalation process and improves collaboration between development teams and support teams. Support staff can escalate customer issues directly in JSM, and the tickets are created directly as bugs in Jira Software. This also allows developers to quickly see what impact the bug they are working on is having on customers. At the same time, the support team has a central overview of all escalated tickets.

For Customer Support and Customers

For seamless communication and ticket creation, customers can be provided with a single sign-on (SSO) solution. Jira Service Management now enables a connection to a separate SSO provider such as Microsoft Azure AD, Google Cloud Identity, etc.

Quick and easy set-up of various Service Desks

New service management templates for different areas of the company ensure that teams can quickly and easily create their own Service Desk. They contain preconfigured request forms and workflows that can be used directly.

The customization options for the service management templates have also been improved and simplified. Furthermore, users can choose from several best-practice templates or create their own forms.

This allows teams to act more autonomously and quickly without having to involve a system admin for setup and changes.

Jira Service Management templates for different Service Desk set-ups
Fast set-up and simple handling of the service management templates.

Working more progressively with Atlassian's Artificial Intelligence & Co.

New features for a more user-friendly application

Under this motto, JSM now offers a highly-requested function: The view of tickets in a Board View simplifies the overview and offers the usual drag-and-drop options.

New Board View for handling tickets in Jira Service Management
Improved ticket overview and intuitive editing options.

Another new feature is that, for example, night-time users working on support tickets can now also use JSM in Dark Mode for a more eye-friendly experience.

Integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) simplifies daily tasks and increases work efficiency

With the vision of freeing employees from repetitive tasks and scaling Service Desks, the Virtual Agent is now available in JSM. The Virtual Agent is able to ask a logical follow-up question to an employee question in order to play out the answer for the employee as concretely as possible.

Virtual Agent in Jira Service Management
The Virtual Agent quickly provides the right answer with the help of a predefined sequence of follow-up questions.

The unique advantage of the Virtual Agent is that it is designed in such a way that anyone can set it up themselves. This is made possible by an easy-to-use no-code interface in which the employee can determine the path that a request goes through. This means that the agent can be set up within a few hours instead of spending days and weeks.

No-Code-Interface of the Virtual Agent for easy handling
The Virtual Agent can also be installed within a few hours via a no-code interface by
non-technical employees.

The features of the Agent Co-Pilot (powered by Atlassian Intelligence) has been rolled out. This is intended to improve service management quality in particular, which often suffers when different support employees take turns working on a ticket. The challenge for employees is to keep up to date with the latest information each time, which can be very time-consuming.

With just one click, the Agent Co-Pilot provides a short and concise summary of all processes that have already been documented in this ticket and brings the support employee up to speed in the shortest possible time.

The agent also assists with the formulation of messages to make communication as efficient and clear as possible. It reformulates written texts so that they are clear and professional and provide the necessary context for the recipient.

More news about Jira Service Management

Further news at the High Velocity Event was that the upper limits were raised as follows:

  • for agents per JSM instance to 20,000 agents
  • and for objects in the asset and configuration database to 3 million.

Regional export for data residency has also been extended to the Canadian region. The following figure summarizes these updates once again.

Summary of the news in Jira Service Management

Atlassian's future vision for Service Management

Finally, Atlassian's vision for its service management platform was emphasized: No matter how many different technologies, teams, and systems are in use in the service area - Jira Service Management is connected to all systems as a central platform and serves as a control system to coordinate and solve requests, regardless of which system they are solved in.

Artificial intelligence helps to provide quick, clear and consistent answers. It is also connected to all systems, collects the information there and delivers it in a concise summary.

If you would like to watch the keynote and sessions from High Velocity in Sydney, you can find the video recordings here: https://events.atlassian.com/highvelocity/

What is Platform Engineering

What is Platform Engineering

by with No Comment DevOps

IT teams, developers, department heads and CTOs must ensure that applications and digital products are launched quickly, efficiently and securely and are always available. But often the conditions for this are not given. Compliance and security policies, as well as long and complicated processes, make it difficult for IT teams to achieve these goals. But this doesn't have to be the case and can be solved with the help of a developer self-service or Internal Developer Platform.

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Simplified comparison of Platform Engineering vs Internal Developer Platform vs Developer Self-Service.

Platform Engineering vs. Internal Developer Platform vs. Developer Self-Service

What is Platform Engineering?

Platform Engineering is a new trend that aims to modernize enterprise software delivery. Platform engineering implements reusable tools and self-service capabilities with automated infrastructure workflows that improve developer experience and productivity. Initial platform engineering efforts often start with internal developer platforms (IDPs).

Platform Engineering helps make software creation and delivery faster and easier by providing unified tools, workflows, and technical foundations. It's like a well-organized toolkit and workshop for software developers to get their work done more efficiently and without unnecessary obstacles.

Webinar - Platform Engineering: AWS Account Creation with Developer Self-Service (Jira Service Management)

What is Platform Engineering used for?

The ideal development platform for one company may be completely unusable for another. Even within the same company, different development teams may have very different requirements.

The main goal of a technology platform is to increase developer productivity. At the enterprise level, such platforms promote consistency and efficiency. For developers, they provide significant relief in dealing with delivery pipelines and low-level infrastructure.

What is an Internal Developer Platform (IDP)?

Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs), also known as Developer Self-Service Platforms, are systems set up within organizations to accelerate and simplify the software development process. They provide developers with a centralized, standardized, and automated environment in which to write, test, deploy, and manage code.

IDPs provide a set of tools, features, and processes. The goal is to provide developers with a smooth self-service experience that offers the right features to help developers and others produce valuable software with as little effort as possible.

How is Platform Engineering different from Internal Developer Platform?

Platform Engineering is the overarching area that deals with the creation and management of software platforms. Within Platform Engineering, Integrated Development Platforms (IDPs) are developed as specific tools or platforms. These offer developers self-service and automation functions.

What is Developer Self-Service?

Developer Self-Service is a concept that enables developers to create and manage the resources and environments they need themselves, without having to wait for support from operations teams or other departments. This increases efficiency, reduces wait times, and increases productivity through self-service and faster access to resources. This means developers don't have to wait for others to get what they need and can get their work done faster.

How do IDPs help with this?

Think of Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) as a well-organized supermarket where everything is easy to find. IDPs provide all the tools and services necessary for developers to get their jobs done without much hassle. They are, so to speak, the place where self-service takes place.

The transition to platform engineering

When a company moves from IDPs to Platform Engineering, it's like making the leap from a small local store to a large purchasing center. Platform Engineering offers a broader range of services and greater automation. It helps companies further streamline and scale their development processes.

By moving to Platform Engineering, companies can make their development processes more efficient, improve collaboration, and ultimately bring better products to market faster. The first step with IDPs and Developer Self-Service lays the foundation to achieve this higher level of efficiency and automation.

Challenges that can be solved with platform engineering

Scalability & Standardization

In growing companies, as well as large and established ones, the number of IT projects and teams can grow rapidly. Traditional development practices can make it difficult to scale the development environment and keep everyone homogeneous. As IT projects or applications continue to grow, there are differences in setup and configuration, security and compliance standards, and an overview of which user has access to what.

Platform Engineering enables greater scalability by introducing automation and standardized processes that make it easier to handle a growing number of projects and application developments.

Efficiency and productivity

Delays in developing and building infrastructure can be caused by manual processes and dependencies between teams, increasing the time to market for applications. Platform Engineering helps overcome these challenges by providing self-service capabilities and automation that enable teams to work faster and more independently.

Security & Compliance

Security concerns are central to any development process. Through platform engineering, we standardize and integrate security and compliance standards into the development process and IT infrastructure in advance, enabling consistent security auditing and management.

Consistency and standardization

Different teams and projects might use different tools and practices, which can lead to inconsistencies. Platform engineering promotes standardization by providing a common platform with consistent tools and processes that can be used by everyone.

Innovation and experimentation

The ability to quickly test and iterate on new ideas is critical to a company's ability to innovate. Platform Engineering provides an environment that encourages experimentation and rapid iteration by efficiently providing the necessary infrastructure and tools.

Cost control

Optimizing and automating development processes can reduce operating costs. Platform Engineering provides the tools and practices to use resources efficiently and thus reduce the total cost of development.

Real-world example: IDP and Developer Self-Service with Jira Service Management and AWS

One way to start with platform engineering is for example Jira Service Management as a developer self-service to set up AWS cloud infrastructure in an automated and secure way and to provide templates for developers and cloud engineers in a wiki.

How does it work?

Developer self-service for automatic AWS account creation with Jira service management

Jira Service Management Developer Self-Service

Using Jira Service Management, one of our customers provides a self-service that allows developers to set up an AWS organization account automatically and securely. This works with a simple portal and a service request form where the user has to provide information like name, function, account type, security and technical responsible and approving manager.

The account is then created on AWS in the backend using Python scripts in a build pipeline. During setup, all security and compliance relevant standards are already integrated and the JSM self-service is linked to the company's Active Directory. Due to the deep integration with all relevant systems of the company, it is possible to explicitly track who has access to what. This also facilitates the control of accesses and existing accounts in retrospect.

The result: The time required to create AWS organization accounts is reduced to less than an hour (from several weeks) with the help of JSM, enabling IT teams to publish, test and update their products faster. It also provides visibility into which and how many accounts already exist and for which product, making it easier to control the cost of cloud infrastructure on AWS.

Confluence Cloud as a knowledge database for IT teams

Of course, developer self-service is only a small part of platform engineering. IT teams need concrete tools and apps tailored to their needs.

One of these tools is a knowledgebase where IT teams, from developers to cloud engineers, can find relevant information such as templates that make their work easier and faster.

We have built a knowledge database with Confluence at our customer that provides a wide variety of templates, courses, best practices, and important information about processes. This knowledge database enables all relevant stakeholders to obtain important information and further training at any time.

Webinar - The First Step in Platform Engineering with a Developer Self-Service and JSM

After discussing the challenges and solutions that Platform Engineering brings, it is important to put these concepts into practice and explore them further. A great opportunity to learn more about the practical application of Platform Engineering is an upcoming webinar. This webinar will put a special focus on automating AWS infrastructure creation using Jira Service Management and Developer Self-Service. In addition, ess will feature a live demo with our DevOps experts.

Webinar - Platform Engineering: AWS Account Creation with Developer Self-Service (Jira Service Management)

Conclusion

The journey from Internal Developer Platforms to Platform Engineering is a progressive step that helps organizations optimize their development processes. By leveraging a Developer Self-Service and overcoming software development challenges, Platform Engineering paves the way for more efficient and innovative development practices. With practical resources like the featured webinar, interested parties can dive deeper into this topic. And also gain valuable insights into how to effectively implement Platform Engineering.

Price adjustments Atlassian

Atlassian Cloud: Price changes in October 2023 and product changes in November 2023

by with No Comment Atlassian

Atlassian Cloud is at the center of many teams' minds when it comes to effective collaboration. There are now some changes coming to the pricing structure and individual products in October 2023. These pricing adjustments affect the Atlassian Cloud products, among others Jira, Jira Service Management, Confluence and Access.

The adjustments are made for the Atlassian Cloud on October 18, 2023 and for the Jira Cloud Products on November 1, 2023 come into force.

In this article we will give you an overview of the price and product adjustments.

The most important at a glance

  1. The increase in list prices concerns:
    • Jira Software and Confluence (5 %)
    • Jira Service Management (5-30 %)
    • Access (for more than 1,000 users 10 %)
  2. Cloud pricing increases for renewal subscriptions to Jira Software Premium, Jira Service Management Standard, Jira Service Management Premium, and Atlassian Access.
  3. New automation limits for Jira Cloud products go into effect on November 1, 2023.
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Why do the prices change?

These adjustments underscore Atlassian's commitment to developing innovative products that better connect teams and increase their efficiency. Over the past year, Atlassian has introduced various security updates and new product features, including guest access for Confluence, progressive deployment and improved security features in Jira Software, and advanced incident and change management in Jira Service Management.

Detailed information on pricing adjustments for the Atlassian Cloud

In this table you will find all the information about the price adjustments and how the changes will affect your existing licenses.

Increase in percent (%)
Jira Software Cloud
Standard, Premium, Enterprise		5 %
Jira Service Management Cloud
Standard, Premium, Enterprise		0-250 agent tier: 5 %
251-500 agent tier: 30 %
All other agent tiers: 20 %
501 - 1,000: 25 % (JSM standard)>1,000: 20 % (JSM standard)
501 - 2,500: 25 % (JSM Premium)>2,501: 20 % (JSM Premium)
Confluence Cloud
Standard, Premium, Enterprise		5 %
Access1.000+ users<1,000 users: 0%
1.000+ User tier: 10%

In addition, Atlassian is increasing the preferential pricing/pricing on renewal of existing subscriptions to its cloud products. This applies to Jira Software, Jira Service Management and Jira Access.

You can find more information about the price adjustments on the Atlassian website.

Product customizations for automations in Jira Cloud products

In addition, Atlassian announced changes for performing automations for Jira software, Jira Service Management, Jira Work Management, and Jira Product Discovery. These will come into effect on November 1, 2023.

In the previous model, customers receive a single, common limit across all Jira Cloud products. For example, if a customer has Jira Software Free and Jira Service Management Standard, they receive a total of 600 executions of automation rules per month (100 from Jira Software Free and 500 from Jira Service Management Standard) that can be used in both products.

In the new model starting November 2023, each Jira Cloud product has its own usage limit. Each automation rule will use the limit of a specific product when it is run. The limits for the Atlassian Free and Standard plans will increase to reflect this. The automation limits in the new model are as follows:

Product and tariff New Automation Limits / Month 
Jira SoftwareFree100
Standard1.700
Premium1.000 per user/month
EnterpriseUnlimited
Jira Service ManagementFree500
Standard5.000
Premium1.000 per user/month
EnterpriseUnlimited
Jira Work ManagementFree100
Standard1.000 
Premium100 per user/month
Enterprisen/a
Jira Product DiscoveryFree200
Standard500
Premiumn/a
Enterprisen/a

Here you can find more information about limits for automations.

More updates from Atlassian: Improved support for cloud migration

The pricing adjustments are just a few of Atlassian's recent changes. The company has also revised its support and testing options for migration projects to make it easier to move to the cloud.

Server customers who have not yet migrated to the cloud can now test the cloud for six months. The test phase now also includes support for selected Marketplace applications.

Dual licensing for large server customers has been extended through February 15, 2024, and for enterprise customers through February 15, 2025.

Why is it worth considering a migration to the Atlassian Cloud now?

For Enterprise customers who want to move to the cloud but cannot complete the migration in time for the end of Server Support in February 2024, Atlassian offers an extension of Server Support in the form of Dual Licensing*. (*For all customers who purchase an annual cloud subscription of 1,001 or more users on or after September 12, 2023).

Wondering how the price adjustments will affect you, or already thinking about migrating to the cloud?

Contact us - our experts will check which options are worthwhile for you. We offer you a free cloud assessment: Within a very short time, you will receive a detailed cost calculation for your migration.

Together with you, we will conduct a cloud assessment and tell you what your options are and how to get to the Atlassian Cloud the fastest.

Click here for your personal cloud assessment and for the path to the cloud.

To your personal Cloud Assessment
Confluence whiteboards vs miro

Confluence Whiteboards (beta) - The end of Miro?

by with No Comment Atlassian

Introduction

Picture this: You're in a virtual meeting, your team is spread across different offices and time zones, and you need to brainstorm ideas for the next big project. The days when scribbling on a piece of paper or a physical whiteboard was enough are long gone. With visual collaboration tools like Confluence Whiteboards, Miro, or Lucidspark, it's easier to visualize and share your ideas in real time.

However, the tool landscape with its many options is somewhat confusing. Miro is the largest provider on the market. But with the newly released Confluence Whiteboard (Beta), you may already have the perfect solution for visualizing your ideas at hand. Especially if you have a Confluence Cloud users are (if not, why not?).

This article explains the main features of Confluence Whiteboards and the differences with Miro.

What are Confluence Whiteboards?

Confluence Whiteboards is a new whiteboarding feature within Confluence and Jira, which is based on the Atlassian Team'23 was announced and is currently available as a beta version.

Whiteboards transform Confluence into a powerful online whiteboard. It allows you to collaborate with others in real time, share ideas, and brainstorm solutions.

Connect fields in Confluence whiteboards

The most important functions of Confluence Whiteboards

With Confluence Whiteboards, you can:

  • Free drawing and sketching
  • Add text, images and files
  • Use shapes and templates
  • Add comments to documents
  • Collaborate with others in real time
  • Share whiteboards with others
  • Templates for different topics and teams

Confluence Whiteboards is still under development, so more features will be added soon. Also, since it's directly integrated with Confluence, you don't have to pay for an additional tool like Miro.

Why you need Confluence Whiteboards

There are several scenarios where Confluence whiteboards are useful:

  • Remote Brainstorming: Teams spread across multiple locations can simultaneously jot down ideas, group them, and prioritize them to ensure every voice is heard.
  • Design Workshops: Designers can create wireframes, user journeys, and even high-fidelity prototypes while gathering instant feedback from stakeholders.
  • Agile Planning: Scrum masters and product owners can effectively perform sprint planning, retrospectives, and backlog prioritization.
  • Training & Workshops: Instructors and trainers can use Confluence Whiteboards to conduct interactive sessions where students or participants can actively engage in group activities.
  • Customer workshops: Consultants or agencies can collaborate with clients in real time to make strategy sessions more productive and engaging.
  • Research and Analysis: Teams can map research findings, user interviews, or competitive analysis and visually organize the data to gain better insights.

Another advantage of Confluence whiteboards over Miro for agile teams is that it's much easier to assign tasks and Jira Tickets Create directly from drafts and notes in whiteboards.

Confluence Whiteboards UI - Notice how easy it is to create a Jira ticket using a simple text box.
Confluence Whiteboards UI after converting the text box to a Jira issue.
Confluence Whiteboards UI after converting the text field to a Jira ticket.

In summary, Confluence Whiteboards is a great tool that can take advantage of the features of other Atlassian Tools extends: collaboration and teamwork. It also allows you to get more out of your Atlassian licenses to increase ROI, so to speak.

What is Miro?

How Confluence Whiteboards is Miro an online collaboration platform designed to bring teams together, whether they work remotely or in the same office. It provides an intuitive, visual way to organize thoughts, brainstorm, plan projects, and more.

Source: Miro

Most important features

  • Real-time collaboration: Multiple users can work on the same whiteboard at the same time and see each other's changes live.
  • Pre-made templates: A wide range of ready-to-use templates for various activities such as mindmapping, project planning, SWOT analysis, etc.
  • Integration with other tools: Seamless integration with popular platforms like Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, and more.
  • Unlimited workspace: The workspace can be expanded infinitely and offers as much space as needed for complex projects.
  • Notes and Comments: Team members can leave notes, comments or feedback directly on the whiteboard.
  • Safety and compliance: Strong security measures and compliance with industry standards to protect sensitive information.
  • Mobile accessibility: With the mobile app, you can access and edit your boards on the go.

The main goal of Miro is to create an interactive and dynamic space where team members can collaborate in real time. It facilitates creativity, collaboration and visualization of ideas, overcoming the barriers often associated with traditional or remote work environments.

Confluence Whiteboards vs Miro

User interface:

The user interface of Confluence Whiteboards and Miro is similar, but Miro offers more tools and options for editing your whiteboard. Confluence whiteboards stick to the basics, and ease of access for users seems to be a priority. When using Confluence Whiteboards, we noticed a few key differences from Miro. There is (still) no option to select fonts in whiteboards, so any text you add to your board will always be displayed in the same font.

Confluence Whiteboards UI - Note the ease of creating a Jira issue from a basic text box.
Confluence Whiteboards UI.
Miro UI (Note the different text formatting options that can be applied inside a single element)
Miro UI (Note the different text formatting options that can be applied within a single element).

In general, the Confluence Whiteboards user interface can be described as very simple, but helpful and easy to navigate. You can insert differently shaped text boxes, connecting lines, sticky notes, free floating text, lines, stamps, stickers and image attachments.

It's also very nice that you can preview Jira tickets directly on your whiteboard and change agent, description, status, etc.. All without having to navigate to Jira.

Integrations

  • Confluence Whiteboards is directly integrated with Confluence and Jira, which is perhaps its strongest feature. It's easy to launch your ideas and design collaboratively, and easier to stay in the Atlassian ecosystem.
  • Conversely Miro integrate well with external tools such as Slack, Zoom, and Atlassian Tools. In addition, Miro allows embedding technical diagrams from providers like Gliffy or draw.io, which Confluence whiteboards do not yet offer.

Collaboration features

  • There is no official information about how many users are simultaneously in Confluence Whiteboards to be able to work, as it is still in the beta phase. However, our preliminary tests show that at least ten users can work on whiteboards without problems.
  • Together with Miro up to 100 users can work on the same board at the same time. Guest access is also relatively easy with Miro, and you can include your customers on your Miro boards.

Pricing

  • Confluence Whiteboards will be free, from the Free to the Enterprise level. free, from the Free to the Enterprise level.
  • Miro has a free version that only offers limited features for multi-board collaboration and is only suitable for testing the tool. To get the full package, you have to opt for the "Business" level, for which you have to pay 20 US dollars per month per user.

Support and community

  • This point goes to Confluence Whiteboards, when it is officially released. The Atlassian community is larger and more sophisticated than Miro's, and you won't have trouble finding people who know how to use whiteboards and understand the tool's potential. However, the main advantage is that Atlassian's support and community go far beyond whiteboards. Many Atlassian partners like us focus not only on the technical aspect of a tool, but on solving business challenges using Atlassian tools like Confluence Whiteboards.
  • Miro also has an active community forum and many resources to help you optimize your usage.

Pros and cons of Confluence whiteboards or Miro

Confluence Whiteboards

Pro

  • Tight integration with the Atlassian ecosystem
  • Easy to use, with a simple but functional UI
  • Included in all Confluence (Cloud) versions

Contra

  • (Still) no possibility to import Miro boards
  • Limited formatting options
  • No special applications or integrations
  • Still in beta phase

Miro

Pro

  • Powerful, easy-to-use visual collaboration tool
  • Hundreds of third-party integrations (Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Atlassian, Figma, Adobe CC, Sketch, etc.)
  • Hundreds of free templates, API access, and developer tools to develop your own apps
  • Dedicated apps available for desktop and mobile

Contra

  • High prices for small teams

Use cases for Confluence Whiteboards & Miro

So, when should you use Miro, and when should you try Confluence Whiteboards?

Confluence Whiteboards (in its current state) is best suited for teams that work extensively with Jira and Confluence and have no problem with their Miro boards not being able to migrate yet. If your team is new to whiteboarding, you should try Confluence Whiteboards and see if it meets all your needs. Especially if you are a Confluence Cloud user, as mentioned above.

Miro is best suited for teams that take visual collaboration tools seriously and need integrations with other tools like Gliffy, or want to do quick, rough prototyping of websites and app layouts.

Conclusion

 Confluence WhiteboardsMiro
PriceFrom the free Confluence version to the Enterprise version includedFree version available
Premium version from $10/user/month
IntegrationsConfluence, JiraSlack, Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, Zoom
TemplatesA variety of templates availableA wider range of templates available
NotesText, shapes, images, notesText, shapes, images, comments, notes, GIFs, videos
Cooperation Real-time collaborationReal-time collaboration
SecurityEncrypted whiteboardsEncrypted whiteboards
Mobile VersionNot yetMobile app

So is it officially time to retire your Miro boards and switch to Confluence Whiteboards? Not quite. If your team uses Miro extensively, there is currently no easy way to migrate all Miro boards to whiteboards, making the switch difficult for many people. Also, many use the official "Miro for Confluence" add-on, which allows you to easily embed Miro into your Confluence.

If you are new to visual collaboration and your team uses Confluence and Jira extensively, is Confluence Whiteboards the tool of your choice. All the basic features are there, and more will follow (especially integrations with other tools like Gliffy) to further expand the functionality.

What do you think? Have you already tested Confluence Whiteboards or are you interested in testing Whiteboards for Confluence yourself?

Want to increase the return on investment (ROI) of your Atlassian license cost by adding more use cases? Contact your Atlassian experts to learn how you can realize the full potential of your Atlassian Confluence license.

Contact my expert >
Jira vs Jira Service Management vs Jira Work Management

Jira vs Jira Service Management vs Jira Work Management

by with No Comment Atlassian

In today's fast-paced digital world, effective project management is the cornerstone of successful business operations. But how do you choose the right tool to manage your projects, streamline your workflows, and increase your team's productivity? Dive into the world of Jira - a set of powerful tools that will transform the way you work. In this comprehensive guide, we'll look in detail at the different products, Jira Software, Jira Service Management, and Jira Work Management. At the end of this article, you'll be able to make an informed decision about which Jira product is the best fit for your team.

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Jira Software

Jira Software Board
Source: Atlassian

Have you ever wondered how software development teams manage complex projects, meet tight deadlines, and deliver high-quality software? The secret lies in Jira Software, a project management tool designed specifically for software teams.

Key features of Jira software

Designed to support agile methodologies, Jira software provides a flexible platform for planning, tracking, and releasing software. With Jira Software allows you to create user stories, plan sprints, and distribute tasks within your software team. It offers multiple boards (Kanban & Agile) to track work, swimlanes to streamline project view based on predefined filters, and Agile reports to track project progress and address issues.

What sets Jira software apart, however, is its deep integration with other development platforms. It connects seamlessly with popular platforms like Bitbucket and GitHub, allowing developers to view relevant Git commits, branches, and pull requests directly in the context of a Jira software story or bug.

The benefits of Jira software

The benefits of Jira software extend beyond the development team. By streamlining the software development process, Jira shortens time-to-market and helps your company stay competitive. It facilitates collaboration by allowing team members to share information, discuss tasks, and resolve issues quickly. This not only improves the quality of the software, but also increases team productivity.

In addition, agile reports provide valuable insights into your team's performance, helping you identify bottlenecks and make data-driven decisions. Whether you want to track sprint completion with a burndown chart or understand the team's velocity over time, Jira software gives you the data you need to optimize your processes.

Is Jira software right for your team?

If your team is in software development and uses agile methodologies like Scrum or Kanban, Jira is the ideal tool for you. It's designed to support the unique workflows of software teams, making it an excellent choice for developers, testers, and project managers in the technology industry. But remember, Jira's strength lies not only in its features, but also in how well it fits into your team's processes and workflows.

Bonus Tip: If you use Jira software, you can also use Jira Work Management projects.

Jira Service Management

Source: Atlassian

Next we turn to Jira Service Management a platform that optimizes interaction between departments or between the service support team and customers.

Key features of Jira Service Management

Jira Service Management is an IT service management (ITSM) solution that brings together IT support and project management. It has a user-friendly customer portal where users can submit requests, a powerful SLA tracking system, and a knowledge base for self-service support.

One of Jira Service Management's standout features is its built-in ITIL-certified processes. ITIL, or Information Technology Infrastructure Library, is a set of best practices for ITSM that focuses on aligning IT services with business needs. With Jira Service Management, you can leverage these best practices to deliver high-quality IT services.

The benefits of Jira Service Management

Implementing Jira Service Management can lead to significant improvements in your IT service delivery. By providing a centralized platform for request management, it ensures that no request falls through the cracks. The SLA tracking system helps maintain a high quality of service, while the knowledge base reduces the burden on your service desk by enabling users to resolve common issues themselves.

In addition, Jira Service Management facilitates cross-divisional collaboration between IT and other departments. This not only leads to faster problem resolution, but also promotes a culture of transparency and collaboration within the organization.

Another important advantage of Jira Service Management is the asset management (database). This can also be used well internally.

An example: A new employee needs work equipment

The employee fills out a form, whereupon a ticket is created. HR approves this ticket and the laptop is shipped. The laptop is then documented as an asset in JSM.

Link with Confluence

Jira Service Management can be directly linked to a Confluence Knowledgebase . When employees submit a service request and the requested topic already exists in the knowledge base, the system provides articles from the knowledge base that address the issue based on the request. This often allows service requests to be resolved in advance without having to open a new ticket or call in a service representative.

Is Jira Service Management right for your team?

If your team is responsible for delivering or supporting IT services, Jira Service Management is an indispensable tool. It's designed specifically to meet the needs of IT service teams, making it the ideal choice for IT managers, service desk agents, and anyone involved in delivering IT services. Whether you're a small business with a single IT support staff or a large enterprise with a dedicated IT department, Jira Service Management can transform the way you deliver IT services.

Jira Work Management

Source: Atlassian

Jira Software and Jira Service Management focuses primarily on software and IT teams. But then what tools should other teams in an organization use? This is where Jira Work Management into play.

Key Features of Jira Work Management

Jira Work Management is a project management tool designed for business and operations teams. It offers a number of features, such as a work tracking board, built-in calendar, forms, and pre-built project templates. Whether you're planning a marketing campaign, tracking HR tasks, or managing a finance project, Jira Work Management is the right tool for the job.

One of the unique features of Jira Work Management is the customizable workflows. You can customize the workflows to your team processes to ensure that the tool fits seamlessly into your existing processes.

The benefits of Jira Work Management

Jira Work Management can significantly increase your team's productivity. By providing a single platform for scheduling, tracking, and managing work, it eliminates the need for multiple tools, reduces complexity, and saves time. Customizable workflows ensure that the tool adapts to your team, not the other way around.

In addition, Jira Work Management promotes transparency and accountability in the team. Everyone has a clear overview of their tasks, deadlines and responsibilities, which leads to better coordination and collaboration.

Is Jira Work Management right for your team?

If your team works in business areas such as HR, Marketing, Finance or Design, Jira Work Management is the right tool for you.
Atlassian developed it to support the specific workflows of business teams. That's why it's a great option for project managers, team leaders, and anyone involved in managing business projects. Jira Service Management is also used by teams outside of IT, such as human resources and materials management.

In addition, Jira Work Management can be used without much configuration effort. However, the functional scope of JWM is significantly more limited compared to Jira, which is why many of our customers prefer to use Jira software.

Take action: Talk to our Atlassian consultants

Now that you've gained a comprehensive understanding of the various Jira products, it's time to act. Our Atlassian consultants are ready to help you choose the right Jira product for your team, assist you with setup and customization, and provide ongoing support to help you get the most out of your Jira tool. Don't hesitate - contact us today and revolutionize the way your team works!

A comparison: Jira Software vs Jira Service Management vs Jira Work Management

Finally, let's take a look at a comparison table that highlights the key features and benefits of each Jira product:

Jira SoftwareJira Service ManagementJira Work Management
Best forSoftware development teamsIT Service TeamsBusiness and operations teams
FeaturesAgile boards, user stories, sprints, Agile reports.Customer portal, queues, SLAs, formsWork tracking board, calendar, forms, project templates
Business AdvantagesEfficient software development, improved collaboration, data-driven decisionsStreamlined IT service delivery, improved customer satisfaction, improved operational efficiency.Effective project management, improved team collaboration, timely delivery of work
TeamsDeveloper, tester, project manager in the tech industryIT managers, service desk agents, IT service delivery teamsProject manager, team leader, HR, marketing, finance, design, legal, sales, and more.
A comparison of Jira, Jira Service Management and Jira Work Management

Remember, the right Jira product for your team depends on your specific needs and workflows. By choosing the right tool, you can empower your team, optimize your workflows, and drive business success.

Use Jira, Jira Service Management or Jira Work Management efficiently

You want to use Jira, Jira Service Management or Jira Work Management efficiently in your company and need support with setup, integration into existing tools or consulting on a specific use case?

Talk to our Jira expert.

Tobias Koch

Atlassian Consultant

For advice