Once it’s accepted that a Jira Data Center to Cloud move is coming, the next question tends to show up fast: how should it actually happen? That’s usually where things start to speed up a little too much. Dates get floated. “Big bang” gets mentioned. And suddenly a decision that deserves real thought starts feeling like a race.

This post digs into the most common migration strategies — big bang, phased, hybrid, and even the occasional greenfield reset — and, more importantly, when each one actually makes sense. There isn’t a single right answer, because organizations, teams, and Jira instances aren’t interchangeable.

If you’re in the middle of these conversations right now, or know they’re coming soon, this one is about slowing things down just enough to choose intentionally instead of reactively.

Curious which approach feels most realistic where you are right now — or which one stakeholders are pushing for?