Why Atlassian Is Killing Server Licenses and What It Means for Chinese Enterprises

Background

Jira, Confluence and other Atlassian tools are the most widely used software‑development management platforms in tech companies, handling daily task management and documentation.

Announcement

Atlassian announced that, effective February 2, 2021, it will stop selling new self‑managed (on‑premise) deployment licenses and cease development of new features for self‑managed products.

The affected products include not only Jira and Confluence but also Crowd (single sign‑on), Bamboo (continuous delivery), and Bitbucket (code repository).

In addition, starting February 2, 2022, Atlassian will raise the price of premium plans for its main products.

Reason for Discontinuation

According to Atlassian, more than 90% of its customers already use the cloud version, and on‑premise users are gradually moving to the cloud. The company is therefore adopting a “Cloud‑First” strategy and will invest further in cloud development while phasing out on‑premise support.

Impact on Users

In China, the majority of enterprise customers still rely on self‑managed deployments—about 90% of Server users are Chinese companies. Consequently, the discontinuation will affect a large number of Chinese enterprises.

Teams Under 500 No Longer Get Server Versions

For startups and small‑to‑medium businesses, costs will surge. A 10‑person team that previously paid $10 per year could face a price of $20,400 per year for a private‑cloud service, effectively discouraging small‑scale adoption.

Enterprise Data Security Concerns

Moving to the cloud raises questions about how to protect sensitive enterprise data that was previously kept on‑premise.

Plugin Replacement Solutions

Switching to the cloud version means many server‑only plugins will no longer work, forcing teams to find alternative ways to meet custom management needs.

Conclusion

The announcement is sudden, but there are a few months to adjust. Chinese companies must decide whether to adopt the cloud version or switch to other domestic management tools.