Data Center Migration FAQ

Atlassian has officially announced major changes to its product strategy, including the end of new Jira Data Center license sales as of March 30, 2026, and a long-term plan where Data Center instances will eventually become read-only by March 28, 2029.

Migrating to Jira Cloud ensures that your team continues to receive updates, security improvements, and full product support.

To better understand Atlassian’s cloud strategy and timelines, read more here:
👉 https://www.atlassian.com/migration/journey-to-cloud

Yes. Issue History data is migrated alongside Jira data using the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant (JCMA), as long as the app supports migration and is properly configured.
For a detailed explanation of how migration works and what is included, read Atlassian’s guide:
👉 https://support.atlassian.com/migration/docs/cloud-migration-methods-for-jira/

Yes, this is required. The app must be installed and active on your Jira Cloud instance before starting migration. Otherwise, JCMA will not transfer any Issue History data.
To see the exact setup steps, read our full guide:
👉 https://help.saasjet.com/ih_dc/migrating-issue-history-from-jira-data-center-to-jir

If Issue History data is not migrated, you will lose access to all historical changes such as status transitions, field updates, and activity logs. This can significantly impact reporting, auditing, and team visibility after migration.

Yes. Issue History is tightly connected to Jira issues, meaning it is migrated together with them. If issues are not included in the migration scope, their history will also be missing in Cloud.

Yes, but with caution. Issue History will only be migrated for the selected projects. If you exclude some projects, their historical data will not be available in Cloud, which may lead to incomplete reporting.

Issue History depends on core Jira entities such as issues, users, statuses, priorities, and custom fields. If any of these are missing, history logs may appear incomplete or incorrect.
For more details on what Jira data is migrated, see:
👉 https://support.atlassian.com/migration/docs/what-gets-migrated-with-the-jira-cloud-migration-assistant/

No. Migration adds data to your Cloud instance without overwriting existing data. However, running multiple migrations without proper checks may create duplicates.

Yes. If migration fails or some data is missing, you can re-run it within a limited timeframe. It is recommended to review logs and resolve issues before retrying.
More about managing migrations:
👉 https://support.atlassian.com/migration/docs/manage-and-view-the-details-of-jira-migration-plans/

Migration time depends on the number of issues and the volume of historical data. Since Issue History stores detailed logs, large datasets may significantly increase migration time.

Yes. Administrator access is required on both Jira Data Center and Jira Cloud to configure and run migration.

Before migration, make sure to:

• Install Issue History on Cloud

• Include all required Jira data

• Run pre-migration checks

• Validate users and projects

For a complete step-by-step guide, read:
👉 https://help.saasjet.com/ih_dc/migrating-issue-history-from-jira-data-center-to-jir

After migration, verify:

• Issue history logs

• Status transitions and field updates

• User activity tracking

• Migration logs for skipped records

Common issues include:

• Missing users or invalid accounts

• Skipped projects or incomplete scope

• App not installed on Cloud

• Partial data migration

Following best practices can help you avoid these problems.
👉 Atlassian migration overview: https://www.atlassian.com/migration/journey-to-cloud

User and group mappings are stored for a limited time (14 days). If this period expires, you need to re-migrate users to correctly restore Issue History data and associations.