Atlassian Administration terminology change from “products” to “apps”

[Jon Wilson]

Could someone please run all the comments on this announcement through some sentiment analysis? I'm not sure that there's a clear pattern emerging :->

[Kristian Klima]

@Jon Wilson 

I asked ChatGPT. Two conclusions emerged:

1. The obvious one
2. ChatGPT does not understand sarcasm

[Paul Stallworth]

Well done focusing on things that don't matter while feature requests and product improvements stagnate in JAC. 

Atlassian moving in a similar direction as a company like MS doesn't give the warm fuzzies. I don't want to think about how many hours company-wide were spent on this that could have been spent on JAC tickets for bug fixing, feature requests, etc. This feels like it's related to when Steve Jobs talked about a company no longer being run by product people but instead by sales and marketing.

[Darryl Lee]

@Jon Wilson alas, no Summarize button here. But with a bit of copy and pasting, we can ask Atlassian (Intelligence)!

[Darryl Lee]

Ok, now let's remove the original post and just analyze comments!

Heh. Here's the full text. Oooh, Wiki Markup - what a throwback, AI!

### Terminology Change Concerns
- Users express confusion and dissatisfaction with the change from "products" to "apps."
- Concerns about the lack of distinction between Atlassian apps and Marketplace apps.
- Some users feel the change adds unnecessary complexity and confusion.

### User Reactions and Feedback
- Mixed reactions with some users expressing sarcasm and humor about the change.
- Requests for more information on the benefits and rollout timeline of the change.
- Some users suggest focusing on more impactful improvements rather than terminology changes.

### Technical and Strategic Implications
- Questions about the impact on development time, costs, and potential security issues.
- Concerns about the implications for pricing and the potential exclusion of smaller businesses.
- Suggestions for a more logical naming structure, such as using "modules" instead of "apps."

### Community Engagement and Sentiment
- Calls for sentiment analysis to understand community reactions.
- Some users appreciate the updates but emphasize the need for clarity and stability.
- Discussions on the importance of clear terminology for effective communication and user understanding.

[JD Smith]

Adding to the sentiment that this is a reduction in clarity with no benefit whatsoever, especially because it's in the admin console. 

You don't need to be hip or buzzy or modern in the admin console - you need to be clear, practical, and safe.

It blows my mind that the company touts their improved commitment to accessibility while violating the most fundamental rule of Simplified Technical English: "One word, one part of speech, one meaning".

[Siobhan Flynn]

My biggest question, like others here, is why? 
Surely there are bigger fish to fry when it comes to updating the platform. But if this is important, please tell us - your customers - WHY? If there's a good reason we are all ears.

[CamB]

IMO the word "app" here is inappropriate - it is a poorly thought out, fashion-following term, that will cause confusion and delay. There is no need, no benefit, and plenty of downside to this change.

Atlassian - please re-think and don't go ahead with this change.

In future, please build a more clear use-case and demand clear overriding benefits be proven, before any terminology change.

[Ajay _view26_]

Until now Apps referred to Marketplace Apps ..and now Atlassian Apps ( Platform Apps) adds to the confusion...

[Louis Spieckerhoff]

Do you have a timeline, when apps get renamed to products?

[Mpho Christina Roomane]

Hello @Bhavya Nag 

Please can you advise what will the current Apps under Jira Setting administration be titled to as administration terminology change from “products” to “apps”?

Kind regards

[Ingmar Drewing]

Haters gonna hate, I guess - but this will bring massive productivity boosts.

Instead of 7 characters you only need to type 3. Yeah!

[Chris Cralle]

Of course this is a stupid decision and has no value. But...

[content removed as it is against Community Guidelines - Be Respectful]

[Jens Schumacher]

@Chris Cralle I get that this decision might be frustrating, but @Bhavya Nag is merely the messenger here. No need to call him out like that. 

[Chris Cralle]

I only pointed out the hypocrisy and nonsense.
While you actually 'called' two people out directly, using a 'plugin' 'app' if you will.
And with zero context in regard to the subject.
A Product or an App, is a pretty severe 'defining' thing. Words matter, as everyone else has already explained.

It's also that I've used Atlassian since before the 'cloud', and to see this level of disregard to it's "Product" is not a surprise given the past years in the overall market and the 'direction' since the Great Migration. But it still pains me.

[Chris Cralle]

Well done Jens. Now community admins have removed my comment.

Is it not allowed to point out that Product Management is not called App Management? Even by the Author of the Article to tell us that a Product is now an App?

[Jens Schumacher]

@Chris Cralle not sure what you blame me for. 

You know pretty well that the job title has nothing to do with what Atlassian calls their software. You won't see software companies that develop for the Apple app store hiring "App managers". 

You have a right to find this decision stupid. But @Bhavya Nag most certainly didn't make the decision. 

For the record, I agree that the change seems rather unnecessary. But sometimes these things are part of a bigger change. In this case, most likely related to Collections. 

[Rob Pimlott]

One thing that Atlassian really needs to sort is the cost centre for Marketplace app users. As an example, we use Tempo time tracking.

We have around 41 users in our Atlassian account, yet only 8 users of those need to use Tempo time tracking. Annoyingly, we get charged for 41 users. It's making us explore other options at the moment, as it's just not cost-effective.

[Jens Schumacher]

@Rob Pimlott Marketplace apps have always been priced per user, and as a result, the prices have normalized around that model.

In other words, the pricing accounts for the fact that not every user uses the marketplace app. If the model was to change, you simply would see the prices go up accordingly. 

Let's take Tempo for example. If you compare per-user price to other time-tracking SaaS apps, you will find that they are easily 3-4x the cost of Tempo on a per user basis. 

[Vamshi Akula]

Not really sure this is for the good or worse but better make sure to let your large customers know before hand. Organizations will need to update internal documentation, onboarding materials, and user training materials. 
Also it takes a lot of build a product at scale and i personally feel like it is a bit of an oversimplification from Atlassian’s side, especially when you consider what goes into building, scaling, and operating an actual Enterprise product like Jira, Confluence or Service Management products.
There is no doubt consumers like me will get used to the change but calling Jira or Confluence just an "app" is a bit of a semantic downgrade for the SDLC teams behind those products—and could water down their perceived value.

[Jess Seitz]

Hey all, Jess here from Atlassian Platform Product Marketing. Thanks for the thoughtful questions and feedback on this thread. Many of you have similar questions, so we’ve addressed the top themes below to provide clarity.

Why the shift from 'products' to 'apps'? 

We recognize that terminology changes have downstream implications for you, so let's dig a bit deeper into why we’re making this shift. This transformation is more than just a name change—it’s a strategic move to enhance how we build and deliver innovation.

The trend we’re seeing is that knowledge workers have been increasingly using more apps to do their work. This often leads to challenges like context switching and information silos. Our vision is to create a System of Work that seamlessly connects all teams—both business and tech—so they can maximize their impact on the organization.

Throughout the years, we’ve consistently improved the user experience for Atlassian apps by modernizing UI, building tighter cross-app integrations, and improving accessibility. However, achieving this vision requires a more uniform user experience across all apps, whether developed by Atlassian, available in the Marketplace, created in-house, or produced by third-party providers such as Slack or Figma. It is crucial that all apps function within a cohesive system.

We believe that using a single consistent term will foster clarity and reinforce a unified user experience. That is why we are collectively referring to them as “apps.” 

What are the benefits? 

As we work towards building a more cohesive System of Work, you will notice more consistency in user and admin experiences across various apps. Our goal is to simplify the experience for users, enabling them to easily locate and transition between apps so that they can build important connections through their work.

For example, consider this forward-looking illustration of an enhanced app switcher that allows users to navigate smoothly between different apps (as shown in the final screen of the GIF). Please note that this is a conceptual representation, and we will conduct extensive user testing to ensure it meets your workflow and configurability needs prior to the official rollout.

Take a look here:

What are the different types of apps? 

We categorize different types of apps as follows:

• Atlassian apps: Previously known as Atlassian products, these include apps like Jira, Confluence, and Loom. Atlassian apps come with built-in Platform apps designed to enhance visibility and alignment across your organization. Currently, this includes Home, Goals, Teams, Analytics, and Rovo apps: Chat, Search, and Studio.

• Marketplace apps: These are built on Atlassian development platforms and sold through the Atlassian Marketplace.

• 3rd-party apps: These are applications that are not built on Atlassian development platforms but can be integrated to enhance workflows, such as Slack, Figma, and Workday.

• Custom apps: These are apps you build, designed to address the unique needs of your organization and used exclusively within it.

As we progress through this transformation, you will continue to see updates in our apps and documentation that reflect these changes.

What does this change mean for the Atlassian Marketplace? 

These changes do not affect Marketplace apps. Marketplace apps remain critical for customers, empowering you to enhance and extend the functionality of Atlassian apps.

On our journey to make apps more integrated, we previewed at Team '25 how Forge apps hosted on Atlassian infrastructure will soon be more discoverable in the Marketplace, marked by the Runs on Atlassian badge. We are also investing in Forge capabilities that will deepen integration with our platform, including custom data connectors for Teamwork Graph and cross-app experiences. Long term, we envision Atlassian apps interconnecting and collaborating with increasingly powerful Forge apps developed by the ecosystem.

What does this change mean for pricing and packaging? 

With these announcements, we introduced the concept of curated collections, each consisting of a carefully selected set of apps and agents designed to address specific challenges for specific teams. For those of you who wish to purchase standalone Atlassian apps, formerly Atlassian products, you can continue to do so.

Learn more about how the Teamwork Collection and Strategy Collection can help your organization break down team silos and achieve better outcomes.

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If you have any more questions or need further clarification, please don't hesitate to continue the conversation. Feel free to leave a comment below.

[Matt Doar]

Jess,

"carefully selected set of apps and agents"

please can you define "agent" in this context.

And I'm not sure what the terms 1P, 2P, 3P add to the definitions?

[Jess Seitz]

Hi @Matt Doar , In addition to the ability to create your own agents, Rovo comes with more than 20 agents out-of-the-box, created by Atlassian. This page has more details to help you learn more about their capabilities. 

Re: app definitions - understood, will remove for clarity. Thanks. 

[__ Jimi Wikman]

@Jess Seitz could you clarify what the Atlassian definition of an "app" is? From my understanding the definition of the word App, as in Application has always been that it is a singular piece of software that you download and install on your mobile or computer?

You also missed that Atlassian have multiple apps on both Android and Apple Store that you need to include in this list as the definition of an app includes this:

"application or application program: a small computer program that you can download onto a mobile phone" - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/app

[Jaden Minix]

STOP RENAMING THINGS AND FIX BUGS!