When considering the installation of Jira one of the first decisions is choosing Jira Cloud or Jira Server. We’re going to break down the strengths and weaknesses of each, so you can make the best decision for you.
Where Jira Cloud Wins
There are massive benefits for cloud based solutions. The pros of Jira Cloud are the fairly universal selling points of all cloud based solutions. The 3 key benefits to Jira Cloud are:
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No infrastructure requirements
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Affordable (especially for small business)
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Automatic software updates
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The servers are automatically maintained so you’ll get regular updates to both the software and the servers, including security updates. This means you don’t have to waste time maintaining them, and your team will have more time to focus on things that matter.
Where Jira Cloud Loses
The largest con of working with Jira Cloud is certain Admin restrictions. For example, at our company, we were unable to sync our project with another remote instance using some popular add-ons as they were not compatible with our Jira Cloud instance. Connectors for Google drive integration were also not available for our cloud installation.
Another con of working with Jira Cloud is not being able to access databases directly. Jira’s API is fairly robust, however, it does not expose 100% of all the functions you may need if you plan on doing deep application integration with Jira. For example, currently, there is no way to copy an existing agile board via the API if one were to try to stand up a new board using a previous board’s settings.
Where Jira Server Wins
If you need to sync multiple Jira installations, need more robust options for customization, or have larger disk space requirements than what is offered out of the box with Jira Cloud, than you may want to give Jira Server a look. Please bare in mind, however: Jira Server caps its users at 2,000 -- which is more than enough for the vast majority of cases.
Further, you may work for an organization with sensitive data where you may not choose to use a SaaS business to host your data for you. It is often corporate policy that such information not be exposed beyond the internal networks. In such an instance, Jira Server would be the way to go.
When deciding between installing Jira Cloud or Jira Server, it’s all about what your needs are. Jira Cloud will offer more integration and easier maintenance and use. Jira Server will allow more control and security but at the cost of simplicity. Whatever you decide we’re here to help. Let our team of Jira experts work with your company to implement and integrate Jira into your workplace.
