The Hidden Side of Atlassian Cloud Consolidation: Lessons from Real-World Admin Experience

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Cloud consolidation sounds simple - merge instances, unify users, and enjoy centralised management.
But if you’ve ever actually led one, you know it’s closer to open-heart surgery than a plug-and-play migration.

Over the past few years, I’ve worked on several Atlassian Cloud consolidations, and I wanted to share some lessons learned, especially the small details that don’t show up in documentation but make all the difference when you go live.

Start with the “Why,” not the “How”

Before diving into automation rules or migration tools, get crystal clear on why you’re consolidating.

• Is it to simplify license management?
• Centralize governance?
• Improve collaboration across brands or subsidiaries?

Each objective affects your design decisions. For example, if cost optimisation is your goal, user deactivation and cleanup should be your first milestone, not the last.

Tip: Define measurable success metrics (e.g., “Reduce duplicate user licenses by 25%” or “Consolidate 5 instances into 1 within 3 months”). It keeps your project grounded.

Identity & Access: The Silent Complexity

This is where most consolidations hit friction.
If you’re using Azure AD or Okta for SSO and user provisioning, sync configurations before migration.

Make sure:

• You mirror existing groups (site1-users → site2-users).
• You confirm group-based permissions and product access.
• You test pilot users to catch SSO or provisioning issues early.

Lesson learned: Always pilot with a handful of users first. You’ll find permission mismatches long before they become blockers.

Don’t Ignore Personal Spaces in Confluence

This one causes unnecessary panic. During a merge, personal spaces don’t automatically carry over neatly, users think they’ve lost their content.

Clear communication helps:

• Their pages will remain safe.
• They can transfer ownership to their new accounts.
• Personal spaces will be migrated or archived, not deleted.

When users understand this upfront, you’ll save yourself countless “Where’s my space?” tickets.

Team-Managed vs. Company-Managed: Choose Wisely

Everyone loves the freedom of Team-Managed projects… until they realize shared workflows, fields, and automations don’t transfer.

If your org values standardisation, governance, and scalability, Company-Managed projects with reusable schemes are usually the better choice.

Rule of thumb:

“Team-Managed for autonomy, Company-Managed for consistency.”

Plan for Post-Migration Support

After go-live, the support queue often spikes: “missing field,” “workflow mismatch,” “can’t find my project.”

Plan a two-week office-hours window for hands-on support. It’s a simple gesture that builds confidence across teams.

Also, publish a one-page migration summary, what was moved, what changed, and where to find help. It becomes your internal “go-to” guide for weeks.

Final Thoughts

Atlassian Cloud consolidation isn’t just a technical task, it’s an organisational realignment.
Handled well, it simplifies processes, reduces waste, and unifies collaboration.

Remember:

“A successful consolidation is one where users barely notice the change, but admins feel the difference.”

Over to You

If you’ve been through an Atlassian Cloud consolidation:

What was your biggest surprise or lesson learned?

How did you handle user communication and governance?

Drop your insights below - someone’s next migration might just go smoother because of your experience. 

[Dave Mathijs]

Thank you for sharing these useful insights @Suraj Aderogba