Jira and Confluence Migration Project
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Jira Software Server and Confluence Server will be coming to the end of life on February 15, 2024. In advance of this deadline, Enterprise Applications & Solutions Integration (EASI) and its partner divisions will transition to Microsoft Azure DevOps and Confluence Cloud by the end of January 2024.
DIVISIONAL IMPACTS
Independent Divisions:
- Divisions that are currently using Jira Server are encouraged to transition to Azure DevOps due to its increased security, alignment with U of T’s technical roadmap and future evolution with Microsoft. If your division would like to onboard to Azure DevOps, please fill out this form. Once onboarded to Azure DevOps, divisions will be charged back on a quarterly basis.
- If your division is transitioning to Jira Cloud, Jira Software Cloud Standard is recommended as the minimum due to security requirements.
EASI Staff and Divisional Partners (see list below for divisional partners):
- Partner divisions that work directly with EASI (e.g. testing, logging issues, new feature requests) will be transitioned to Azure DevOps with ongoing support. Licensing costs will be covered for users involved with EASI-related projects while non EASI-related projects can be moved to Jira Software Cloud Standard or Azure DevOps.
- Records from Jira Server will remain as a read-only online archive for at least one year with access limited to team leads.
- Specific Jiras can be copied from Jira to Azure DevOps manually on an as-needed basis.
- New work items should be created in Azure DevOps.
CONFLUENCE SERVER
Confluence Server will reach end of life on February 15, 2024. In advance of this deadline, we are working to migrate all current Confluence Server users and content to Confluence Cloud by January 29, 2024.
This change will make it possible for you and your teams to work more efficiently, enjoy a modern user interface, and get access to new features sooner.
During the migration from Saturday, January 27 at 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., wiki.easi.utoronto.ca will be unavailable. Please plan your work around this window.
Please note:
- Upon launch, wiki.easi.utoronto.ca will redirect to https://its-uoft.atlassian.net/ and bookmark links to individual Confluence Server pages will need to be updated manually. This new URL will only be activated upon launch.
- After the migration, you may notice some feature, terminology, and interface differences. Check out this quick start guide(s) for a preview of those changes: Quick start guide for Confluence Cloud
- You can view Atlassian’s curated list of training resources to help you get comfortable quickly.
- When logging in to Confluence Cloud, you will be prompted to sign in using the same credentials as Microsoft 365 (you will be prompted for Microsoft Sign in information and then for your UTORid).
BENEFITS
Azure DevOps
- Provides managers and users with more visibility into work effort, resulting in improved workload management, expectation management and improved insights for strategic decision making.
- Aligns with U of T’s technical roadmap and future evolution with Microsoft.
- Improves operational reporting.
DevOps Methodology:
- Improves ability to deliver working code and effective applications.
- Standardizes the code base and reduces the cognitive load for developers.
- Improves continuous workflow.
- Improves team cross-functionality to accommodate additional workloads.
CONNECT+LEARN PRESENTATION: INDEPENDENT DIVISIONS
View a past Connect+Learn session for independent Jira users that includes:
- An overview of the Jira Migration Project
- Highlights and advantages of Azure DevOps
- Why U of T recommends transitioning to Azure DevOps
- Onboarding and billing processes for Azure DevOps
- Type of support available and accessing resources
EASI PARTNER DIVISIONS
- Division of the Vice-President & Provost
- Division of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation
- Facilities & Services
- Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
- Faculty of Arts & Science, Office of the Faculty Registrar
- Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education
- Financial Services
- Office of Convocation
- People Strategy, Equity & Culture
- Planning and Budget
- Procurement Services
- University of Toronto Mississauga, Office of the Registrar
- University of Toronto Scarborough, Office of the Registrar
FAQs
Azure DevOps
On February 15, 2024, Jira Server will reach end of life and users will no longer be able to access this application. EASI and its partner divisions will be transitioning to Azure DevOps due to cost savings, alignment with U of T’s technical roadmap and future evolution with Microsoft.
For divisions working independently of EASI, we recommend that you transition to Azure DevOps due to increased security, alignment with U of T’s technical roadmap and future evolution with Microsoft. If your division is transitioning to Jira Cloud, Jira Software Cloud Standard is recommended as the minimum due to security requirements.
You can gain access to Azure DevOps by filling out this Microsoft Form.
Divisions working independently of EASI will receive a quarterly charge from Business Operations & Administration (BOA). BOA will perform a cost analysis and will request a funds transfer from divisional CAOs.
Azure DevOps licenses will cost approximately CAD $8/month per user (costs are subject to change per Microsoft’s discretion) and stakeholder licenses are free. Learn more about pricing options.
Stakeholders are users with free but limited access to Azure DevOps features and functions. With Stakeholder access, you can add and modify work items, manage build and release pipelines, and view dashboards. You can check project status and provide direction, feedback, feature ideas, and business alignment to a team.
Records from Jira Server will remain as a read-only online archive for at least one year with access limited to team leads. Specific Jiras can be copied from Jira to Azure DevOps manually on an as-needed basis.
Confluence Server will reach end of life on February 15, 2024. In advance of this deadline, we are working to migrate all current Confluence Server users and content to Confluence Cloud by January 29, 2024.
Please note:
- Upon launch, wiki.easi.utoronto.ca will redirect to https://its-uoft.atlassian.net/ and bookmark links to individual Confluence Server pages will need to be updated manually. This new URL will only be activated upon launch.
- When logging in to Confluence Cloud, you will be prompted to sign in using the same credentials as Microsoft 365.
- After the migration, you may notice some feature, terminology, and interface differences. Check out this quick start guide(s) for a preview of those changes: Quick start guide for Confluence Cloud
- You can view Atlassian’s curated list of training resources to help you get comfortable quickly.
TIMELINE
- A – Task: Planning / Discovery / Configuration, Starts August 2023, Ends October 2023
- B – Task: EASI Onboarding, Starts August 2023, Ends October 2023
- C – Task: EASI Divisional Partner Onboarding, Starts September 2023, Ends December 2023
- D – Milestone: Jira End of Life - February 15, Occurs February 2024
- E – Task: Continuous Improvement , Starts January 2024, Ends March 2024
- F – Task: Migrate Jira Server, Starts January 2024, Ends February 2024
- G – Task: Migrate Confluence Server, Starts January 2024, Ends February 2024
CONTACT
Laurel Williams, Project Lead, laurel.williams@utoronto.ca