Which gets new features sooner: JSD Cloud or JSD Server?

[Michael Woffenden]

We're evaluating JSD Cloud but think we want to use JSD Server. But if we go with JSD Server we don't want to be months or years behind in terms of features.

Therefore can someone please definitively answer the question:

• Which gets new features sooner: JSD Cloud or JSD Server?

[Jack Brickey]

Cloud almost always gets new features sooner but not always.

Cloud is a good choice if:

• your needs are fairly simple (yes that is subjective)
• your team small to medium (<2K)
• you don't have or wish to dedicate a system admin to manage the server details
• you don't mind things changes often and w/o notice
• you like to run w/ the latest and greatest (at some risk of early bugs)

Server is for you if:

• your users are or will grow beyond 2k
• you foresee the need/desire to leverage APIs
• you wan't access to a very large set of add-ons providing a great deal of flexibility and power in automation, scripting, reporting, etc.

Note you can alway move from one to the other so you aren't stuck. However, moving from Server to Cloud is much more challenging from what i have read/heard from others and you could easily loose functionality. So Cloud is a great place to start.

[Steve Thornhill]

Adding to Jack's Server comment

• Server is good if you wish to retain a base server build and evaluate any updates prior to deploying/upgrading

[Michael Woffenden]

Hi @Jack Brickey thanks for the reply. 

One glaring example I have seen that the new updated UI (which I rather like) exists for Cloud -- but have heard that it might never appear in Server.  No way to run a railroad, if you ask me.

We are leaning toward Server since we like to have full control and we need many add-on options.

Excluding the above example, in your experience, do new features in Cloud generally appear weeks, months, or years ahead of Server?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

It used to be weeks when Cloud was being seen as the lead, but as Cloud and Server are diverging, there's no answer any more.

Some features appear on Cloud and can take anything from a week to years to go to server.  Some features no longer go across at all (business boards have been on Cloud for well over a year for example)

And, now,

Some features appear on Server and can take anything from a week to years to go to Cloud.  Some features no longer go across at all

[Michael Woffenden]

So for all intents and purposes, they are two separate products, it would seem.

Makes deciding much more difficult.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Pretty much.  There is still a Core of Jira there, with the projects, issues, workflows and fields, but a lot of the rest of it is diverging.

You should make your choices based on scale and functionality - Cloud doesn't go above 2,000 users and 100Gb storage (there's talk of that going higher, but not any time soon).  Server allows you to go a lot higher (although eventually, when you've got tens of thousands of users and starting to talk about a million issues, you're looking at Data Centre). Add-ons in Cloud are very different beasts to add-ons for Server, and you are very limited in what you can configure in Cloud.

[Michael Woffenden]

Ok, that helps @Nic Brough -Adaptavist-.  Scale is not an issue for us, but having more configuration and add-on options is.  Looks like server wins in terms of configuration and control.