From Data Center to Atlassian Cloud, Why the End Is a Beginning
Atlassian Data Center is coming to an end and it's time we all migrate to the Cloud. ROI from Atlassian's cloud products starts with clean data and that means content governance can’t wait until the end of the migration timeline. As Atlassian moves forward with Ascend, the first and most important step for enterprises is ensuring their Cloud journey begins with discipline: clear retention rules, audit-ready logging, and trusted content for AI tools like Atlassian Rovo. Content Retention Manager should be the very first app installed on a new Cloud instance to make that possible.
The new momentum: ascend to the cloud
Atlassian has officially announced that they are sunsetting their Data Center products through the “Atlassian Ascend”initiative; a phased migration plan spanning the next three years. Support, licensing, and Marketplace Apps for Data Center will remain available until March 28, 2029, but the message is clear: the future belongs to Cloud. This isn’t simply an end; it’s the start of a new chapter where collaboration, compliance, and innovation converge.
The Ascend program makes it clear: nearly all Atlassian customers are already on Cloud, and every new customer chooses it from day one. Cloud is no longer an option, it’s the platform where Atlassian is investing everything. With services like Atlassian Rovo, Atlassian’s AI teammate, and the Teamwork Graph connecting Jira, Confluence, and third‑party tools, customers are seeing faster time to value, lower costs, and a scale Data Center could never match. Atlassian is also extending compliance and residency options, from FedRAMP to Isolated Cloud, to meet the needs of even the most regulated industries.
“Moving to Atlassian Cloud allowed us to harmonize toolsets, reduce maintenance effort, and focus on delivering business value,” says Barmenia Gothaer. “We’re already seeing tangible benefits: in some cases processes that took two weeks are down to an hour.” (atlassian.com)
The infographic in Atlassian's Ascend to the cloud announcement underscores key momentum in their Cloud strategy: 99% of over 300,000 customers are already on Cloud, and almost every new customer opts for it (atlassian.com) . It highlights that Data Center is being phased out over three years under the Ascend initiative—reinforcing that the Cloud is not just the future; it’s already the present.
Don’t migrate the mess, start clean, stay compliant
The real opportunity here isn’t just new features, it’s the chance to rethink what content you bring along. Cloud migration is the perfect moment to pause and ask: What deserves to come with us? What should be archived? What should be cleaned out entirely?
This is where Content Retention Manager shines. By putting policy-driven content management at the center of migration, organizations avoid dragging years of clutter, risk, and outdated information into their new environment. And by cleaning the content, they’re cleaning the context window itself, ensuring that AI teammates like Atlassian Rovo, or knowledge platforms like Glean, deliver far sharper, more accurate, and higher‑ROI results. At the same time, compliance risk is reduced and teams work more productively from trusted content.
By treating migration as both a technology shift and a house‑cleaning project, enterprises can start their Cloud era with confidence, clarity, and a foundation built for growth.
The most overlooked risk in cloud migration is governance gaps
Moving to Cloud changes the compliance equation. In Data Center, IT teams controlled servers, retention rules, and configurations, providing confidence that sensitive data was secure. In Cloud, responsibility shifts to the content layer. What matters now is knowing exactly what lives in Jira or Confluence, how long it stays there, and whether it might surface in tools like Atlassian Rovo.
"Failing to consider security and compliance when migrating to the cloud may increase your risk of falling victim to a data breach." – Dark Reading (darkreading.com)
Without strong content governance, migrations risk becoming drag‑and‑drop exercises that carry years of outdated or non‑compliant information forward. Sensitive data can slip through, audit trails can disappear, and regulators won’t accept “we moved to Cloud” as an excuse for falling short on SOC 2, ISO 27001, FINRA, or GDPR.
That’s why Content Retention Manager is essential. It delivers the rigor enterprises relied on in Data Center, rebuilt for Cloud. Automated policies manage retention and deletion. Classification keeps the right content in the right place. Detailed logs provide full audit transparency. The result: stronger compliance, lower risk, and higher value from your Cloud investment.
The ROI of clean, compliant content
Clean content goes beyond compliance, it drives results. Removing clutter helps teams find answers faster and act with confidence. Automating controls saves IT time and cuts overhead. And with trusted data, AI tools like Atlassian Rovo deliver sharper, more reliable insights. Less noise, more trust, better outcomes that’s real ROI.
Too many companies treat Cloud migration as a lift‑and‑shift. Ascend is a chance to do it differently. Make it a house‑cleaning project: audit content before the move, bring only what matters, and let Content Retention Manager track and refine from day one. Done right, migration isn’t just technical, it’s a reset that leaves legacy baggage behind and creates a cleaner, more compliant, more productive future.
Handled this way, migration becomes more than a technical project. It becomes a cultural reset: an opportunity to leave legacy baggage behind and step into a cleaner, more compliant, and more productive future.
Elevating compliance in the cloud era
With Atlassian Ascend signaling the formal sunset of Data Center, organizations have a choice. They can replicate the past, carrying everything forward into Cloud exactly as it is. Or they can treat this as a chance to modernize; leveraging new AI capabilities, meeting higher compliance standards, and building a future where collaboration is faster, safer, and more meaningful.
Content Retention Manager ensures that second path is possible. It turns migration into an upgrade, protecting sensitive data while boosting productivity and maximizing the return on Atlassian’s newest innovations.
Don’t wait until the deadline
The Ascend timeline may extend through 2029, but waiting until the last minute is a risky strategy. Migration projects are complex, compliance audits are unforgiving, and the longer outdated content lingers, the harder it becomes to untangle. Healthy Cloud governance should start on day one, not years later under deadline pressure.
Content Retention Manager should be the first app installed and configured on a new Cloud instance. By establishing automated policies, classification, and audit logging right away, enterprises ensure clean content governance from the start. This not only reduces compliance risk but also ensures AI tools like Atlassian Rovo work with accurate, trusted data from the very beginning.
Don’t just migrate, migrate with discipline. The organizations that start clean will be the ones who extract the most value from Cloud, the fastest.
Your Cloud ROI starts with clean data; Content Retention Manager for Jira and Confluence help you get there.