The image above is a quote from Atlassian's blog where the details around the Atlassian Server end-of-life timeline were published.
Atlassian Cloud is the future for most new Jira and Confluence users. It removes the pain of having to run the tools yourself and users do no longer have to deal with challenges such as security patching and upgrades.
As the Atlassian Cloud transition accelerates, the need for Atlassian Experts to have the required skillsets for Cloud increases over time.
The big irony, however, is that when it comes to custom Atlassian add-ons, the majority of my billable client work is still in Server and Data Center (DC), i.e. the on-premise editions.
Here are some of my recent projects:
Upgrade of a Confluence Server add-on for a charity with very specific privacy requirements for Confluence spaces holding very personal and sensitive data.
Creation of a new integration between Confluence and Quip (a collaboration solution), allowing users to import quip documents into Confluence or display live Quip data on Confluence pages. This client is on Confluence DC.
Creation of an integration between an in-house purchase-order system and Jira Data Center.
Upgrade of a Confluence Server add-on that displays personality-profiling information regarding the authors of Confluence pages and on user profiles.
All of the above work is for Server and DC editions. However, we also offer add-on services for Atlassian Cloud, and we even train users in Atlassian Cloud development (e.g. our Jira Cloud App Development Course on Udemy). And whilst we have only been trading for two-and-a-half months, it is curious that we have yet to even pitch for a custom add-on development project for Atlassian Cloud customers.
So, the big question is "why?".
The answer lies in the following factors:
Sometimes, when customers migrate from Server/DC, they decide to reduce the complexity of the systems they used to run in house. This often means eliminating reliance on a large number of add-ons and customisations. Customers have in the past been seduced by the ability to customise the Atlassian solutions. However, the total cost of ownership of these customisations over time (support, maintenance, upgrades, etc) was often underestimated.
The fact that Server/DC is more customisable plays into the narrative to customise as much as you can. Some customers go as far as making Confluence DC look nothing like Confluence or even put a completely new front-end on Jira to fit in better with their internal systems.
The organisations moving to Atlassian Cloud today tend to be the ones who require less customisation. Many of the organisation who operate in more complex environments remain on Server and DC for now or even start out on DC with new deployments. This trend is likely to change over the next one-and-a-half years as Server is retired completely in February 2024. As the more complex organisations migrate, the need for custom-made Atlassian Cloud add-ons is likely to increase.
So, the bottom line is that custom add-on development for Atlassian Cloud is likely to lag behind the curve of Atlassian Cloud adoption. Over time as the more complex systems are migrated or as the ones who reduced complexity during their migration revisit some of their decisions and reintroduce customisations, it is likely that the number of custom-made Atlassian Cloud add-on projects will increase.
So, today it is important to have both skills. As the market shifts over the next two years, it is likely that having the skillset of Cloud App development will be essential for all Atlassian experts.
Comentários