The Master Guide: Atlassian Data Center End of Life (EOL) 2029

The "Cloud-First" era has officially evolved into the "Cloud-Only" mandate. In September 2025, Atlassian announced the final sunset for its Data Center (DC) products. For enterprises running Jira, Confluence, or Bitbucket on-premise, the countdown has begun.

By March 28, 2029, the Data Center deployment as we know it will cease to exist. This master guide provides the exhaustive technical and strategic roadmap required to navigate this transition, mitigate risks, and optimize your eventual move to Atlassian Cloud.

1. The Official Atlassian Data Center EOL Timeline

Understanding the timeline is the first step in risk mitigation. Atlassian is winding down support in three distinct phases:

Phase 1: End of Sale — March 30, 2026

As of March 30, 2026, Atlassian will stop selling new Data Center subscriptions to new customers. If your organization is not already on the platform, you will no longer be able to purchase a Data Center license for Jira, Confluence, or Jira Service Management.

Phase 2: Expansion Cutoff — March 30, 2028

For existing customers, the window to grow your infrastructure closes on March 30, 2028. After this date, you can no longer increase user tiers or purchase new Marketplace apps for your Data Center instance.

Phase 3: Final End of Life — March 28, 2029

The final Atlassian Data Center end of life date is March 28, 2029 (23:59 PST). On this date:

• Subscriptions officially expire.
• Support for Jira Data Center end of life and Confluence Data Center EOL enters its final stage.
• Systems transition into read-only mode.

Also read our blog on: Deep Dive into the 2026 End of Sale & Licensing Strategy

2. What Happens After March 28, 2029? (The Read-Only Reality)

A common question asked is: “Will Data Center go read-only after March 28, 2029 — what happens to writes?”

The answer is a hard yes. Once your license expires post-EOL, your environment will enter a Data Center license expiry read-only mode.

• No New Content: Users can view historical tickets and pages but cannot create, edit, or comment.
• Security Vulnerabilities: Atlassian will stop providing security bug fixes for critical vulnerabilities.
• Compliance Failure: Running unpatched, EOL software is a direct violation of most compliance and audit frameworks (GDPR, DORA, HIPAA).
• Marketplace Breakdown: Marketplace apps compatibility will vanish as vendors focus 100% on Cloud-native development.

3. Critical Business Risks & Compliance

“What does Atlassian Data Center end of life (March 28, 2029) mean for our company?”

Beyond the technical hurdles, the business risks are substantial. Staying on a legacy system after the Data Center EOL impact on compliance and audits becomes clear leads to:

1. Security Risks: Unpatched instances are prime targets for zero-day exploits.
2. Operational Stagnation: You lose access to AI-driven innovations like Atlassian Intelligence and Rovo.
3. Data Sovereignty Issues: For regulated industries, moving to Cloud requires careful assessment of Atlassian data residency and Isolated Cloud options.

4. The 4-Phase Migration Roadmap

Successfully migrating from Data Center to Cloud is not a "lift-and-shift" event—it is a transformation. 

Step 1: Assessment & Inventory

Audit your Marketplace apps. Identify those with no Cloud equivalent and determine if you can move to a native Cloud feature instead.

• Resource: Atlassian Cloud Migration App Assessment Guide

Step 2: Cleanup

Minimize migration risk and complexity by offloading technical debt. Delete inactive users, archived projects, and redundant attachments that are no longer business-critical.

Step 3: The Proof of Concept (PoC)

Initiate a Cloud migration trial to test your existing workflows. Use this phase to validate SSO, LDAP configurations, and network restrictions.

Step 4: Execution & Cutover

You have two primary paths for the final move:

• The Manual Path: Use the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant (JCMA) and Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant (CCMA). While functional, these tools often require significant manual intervention and troubleshooting.
• The ClonePartner Managed Service: For organizations requiring accuracy and zero downtime.
• • Custom-Scripted Precision: Our engineers develop bespoke scripts tailored to your specific environment, offering limitless customization that native tools can’t match.
  • Rapid Turnaround: While timelines are influenced by data volume and API rate limits, our optimized processes typically complete migrations in days, not even weeks.
  • Risk-Free Validation: We provide unlimited sample migrations, ensuring you are completely satisfied with the data integrity before the migration starts.

5. Strategic Exceptions: Bitbucket & Alternatives

While Jira Service Management Data Center EOL and Confluence are set in stone, there are exceptions:

• Bitbucket Hybrid License: Atlassian understands the sensitivity of source code. They are offering a Bitbucket Hybrid License, allowing you to keep code on-prem while leveraging Cloud collaboration.
• Jira Align: Currently, the self-hosted version of Jira Align follows a separate support policy.
• The "Refusal" Path: Organizations that legally cannot move to a public cloud may need to evaluate on-prem alternatives to Jira/Confluence like OpenText or GitLab.

Final Strategy: Don't Wait for the Deadline

With over 750 successful migrations, ClonePartner has perfected the "High-Speed Transition" model. Whether you are worried about Data Center to Cloud migration cost estimates or the technical complexity of moving 10,000+ users, we are here to help.

Official Resources for Further Reading

• Atlassian Data Center End of Life Policy
• Jira Cloud Migration Assistant (JCMA) Documentation
• Atlassian Cloud Trust & Security Center