One of the valuable features is Confluence and JIRA integration. The most valuable integration feature between JIRA and Confluence was being able to easily link Jira tickets to Confluence pages and vice-versa. They felt quite seamless. This reduced work friction, and prevented jumping between systems. It is simple, but very useful. The more integration the better, such as the integration with Slack.
Tech Director at a tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
One of the valuable features is Confluence and JIRA integration.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
The tool improved team collaboration around a usable source of truth.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see an improvement in licensing so I’m not paying for inactive users. Basically, I’d like the “system” to count unique active users for the past month and only charge me for those, rather than me manually assigning licenses to users. That user management/subscriptions management was a bit painful, especially in larger environments.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution on and off for five years.
Buyer's Guide
Atlassian Confluence
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Atlassian Confluence. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There were no stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There were no scalability issues.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used SharePoint and Wikis. They were hard work and had poor integration.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy. We used SaaS.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Slowly release to users and add subscriptions. Keep on top of subscribers and remove idle/inactive users.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not evaluate other options.
What other advice do I have?
Just do it.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Advisor at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Team collaboration tool used for ten years for all activities related to the software development lifecycle
Pros and Cons
- "The ease of use has been one of the most valuable features. It has a very simple wiki."
- "The user interface is a little bit stale. The file attachments and how they work could be improved. There is also room for improvement when it comes to CDNs."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for all activities related to the software development lifecycle. We use it starting from product spec and product definition documents and release notes to any customer discussion documents, design or architecture documents.
What is most valuable?
The ease of use has been one of the most valuable features. It has a very simple wiki. The other salient feature is the search capability and association with Jira, which comes integrated with it that makes it convenient to use.
What needs improvement?
The user interface is a little bit stale. The file attachments and how they work could be improved. There is also room for improvement when it comes to CDNs.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a very stable solution. I would rate it a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a very scalable solution. I would rate it a ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
We have rarely needed any assistance from the support team. When we have needed support, they have been very helpful.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The Confluence pricing is good. The only challenge we have experienced is with Jira and the add ons we use that need to be paid for separately.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Atlassian Confluence
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Atlassian Confluence. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Scrum Master at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees
A linkable solution with a basic interface but could improve how tickets are handled
Pros and Cons
- "Confluence can link any ticket or task from JIRA to be included on the Confluence page."
- "The way Atlassian Confluence handles tickets could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
Our company is using Atlassian Confluence for all work related to documentation, calendars, notes, organization of processes, and workflows.
For example, if we have a new process, or we are updating a current process, we use Confluence Project and share it across the entire team. If we need to calendar a vacation, or an event, we use Confluence. The solution is also used to share best practices and release notes relating to the product.
What is most valuable?
The solution is valuable based on our company policy. It is easy to use. The interface is basic, with everything linkable. We also use JIRA, so Confluence can link any ticket or task from JIRA to be included on the Confluence page.
What needs improvement?
The way Atlassian Confluence handles tickets could be improved. This process should be easier, more flexible and more useable, such as the ease of creating a table.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Atlassian Confluence for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Atlassian Confluence is a scalable tool. We use the solution across lots of teams, not only on-premise but through remote access. We currently have approximately 100 users in the organization.
How are customer service and support?
Anytime we need to update or add something, we reach out to our administration team. That team can contact the maintenance team for any attention required to fix and close the ticket in a short period of time.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Atlassian Confluence is straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Atlassian Confluence to anyone considering the implementation of the solution into their organization.
Overall, I would rate Confluence a seven out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Business Analyst at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
A one-stop shop for all project documentation
Pros and Cons
- "It is just the fact that it is a one-stop shop for all project documentation. It is compared to storing things in files and directories and stuff like that. It provides the overall usability and accessibility of many projects and documents in one area."
- "It would be good if they can continue working towards making documentation and editing as quick and easy as possible. It has got a lot of capability, but I don't know how to use it. I don't find some of the things that intuitive. Sometimes, it doesn't seem obvious to me how to use it, but it is like learning any new tool. You actually need to get trained on the tool to get maximum out of it."
What is our primary use case?
We have got our own private Confluence set up. In our department, we use Jira and Confluence a lot. These are our in-house go-to tools for managing the agile ways of working. We sort of follow a bit of both models: traditional and agile. We follow the traditional waterfall model outside of Confluence and Jira, so that's more like requirements, specifications, and documents. There's another team, with which I haven't been that involved, that writes user stories and allocates tasks in Jira. They use it quite heavily.
We use Jira more for agile type processing, like for Kanban boards and all that sort of stuff and allocating work tasks and two-week sprints. It supports the actual agile process. Jira is much more focused on the process of delivery.
What is most valuable?
It is just the fact that it is a one-stop shop for all project documentation. It is compared to storing things in files and directories and stuff like that. It provides the overall usability and accessibility of many projects and documents in one area.
What needs improvement?
It would be good if they can continue working towards making documentation and editing as quick and easy as possible.
It has got a lot of capability, but I don't know how to use it. I don't find some of the things that intuitive. Sometimes, it doesn't seem obvious to me how to use it, but it is like learning any new tool. You actually need to get trained on the tool to get maximum out of it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for the last two to three years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have our own engineers.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Atlassian Confluence an eight out of ten. It provides everything for our use cases.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Mgr, IT Development - Collaboration Platforms with 501-1,000 employees
Valuable features include editing and creating web based content. The interface and functionality is different for those used to legacy systems.
What is most valuable?
- Quick and easy editing/creating of web based content
- Content is easy to format and easy to share: You simply type and save in a web browser
- Atlassian is an AWESOME company
- Confluence is the BEST wiki on the market
How has it helped my organization?
- It gives our company a single place to document run books, procedures, and knowledge base articles
- It's quick and easy to edit
- It seamlessly integrates with other tools we use, like JIRA
What needs improvement?
- Some versions have annoying bugs from time to time. Doesn't all software?
- The interface and functionality is different for users used to legacy content management systems like SharePoint. However, spending a few minutes with Confluence and its intuitive interface will have them creating content quickly.
I also manage a SharePoint team, so I'm not biased. It’s just my opinion based on what I see.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used and administered Confluence for the past three years, over five versions. I am about to upgrade to the sixth version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
With earlier versions, such as 5.4.4, we did have stability issues. After upgrading, we've been stable and fast.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Stability issues were caused by an increased user load, i.e., scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support gets a rating of 5/5. We pay for Premier support. It covers ALL Atlassian products. If these products are in any way important to your company, it's worth the cost.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using TWiki. We needed an enterprise ready tool instead of freeware.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was straightforward and perfectly documented. Atlassian gives you a step-by-step guide. You would expect nothing less from a documentation platform.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Atlassian is dirt cheap when it comes to enterprise software. I would suggest limiting the number of plugins (a.k.a., add-ons), as they are an extra cost and many times you're dealing with third-party vendors.
At the very least, use the ones that say "Atlassian Verified" and "Supported".
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not evaluate anything else that I know of.
What other advice do I have?
- Hire someone with experience using Atlassian tools, if possible
- Don't implement organically
- Have a PLAN for how you want your information structured
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Program Mananger at a university with 10,001+ employees
Confluence vs. Blackboard Learn
Both Confluence and Blackboard Learn have the capability to utilize wikis for instruction. Depending on the features you need, one may be better for your course than the other. Wikis in Blackboard Learn have a direct tie in to all of blackboard’s features, especially the grade book. However Confluence has a greater overall feature set, thereby making it a much more powerful wiki tool.
Below is a wiki comparative grid between these two applications.
Features |
Confluence |
Blackboard Learn wiki |
Viewable to Public |
Yes, if wanted |
No (only to individual classes) |
Content hierarchy control |
Yes |
No |
Wiki lifespan |
Beyond life of course |
Only life of course |
Individual user access control |
Yes |
Yes, but must have admin. create |
Groups |
Yes, but must have admin. create |
Yes |
Wiki mark-up supported |
Yes |
No |
Rich text editing |
Yes |
Yes |
Direct BB grade book access |
No |
Yes |
History – Track users |
Yes |
Yes |
Student created pages |
Yes |
Yes |
Threaded -Commenting |
Yes |
Yes |
Embed video |
Yes |
Yes |
Embed PDF, Word, or PPT files |
Yes |
No |
Attach documents |
Yes |
Yes |
Blogging |
Yes |
Yes, but external to wiki |
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
DevOps Engineer Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Simple to set up, effective, capable of storing and sharing data
Pros and Cons
- "It is a very popular tool."
What is our primary use case?
We mostly use Atlassian Confluence to store information and share knowledge with a colleague.
What is most valuable?
It is a very popular tool.
What needs improvement?
Making integration with other tools easier would be beneficial.
I have found, for example, that Confluence and Teams may be integrated. It's a Microsoft tool, and I was having trouble integrating it the last time.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been with the company for one month.
I have been working with Atlassian Confluence for one month.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In my opinion, Atlassian Confluence is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Atlassian Confluence appears to be quite scalable based on the applications that I have seen.
It is difficult to estimate since we are an international company with, I believe, 2,000 employees in Belgium. It is possible that we have 100 users.
How are customer service and support?
I have not had any contact with technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I am familiar with New Relic and Dynatrace.
I am quite junior at Dynatrace, but this is the tool we use at work.
We use Dynatrace, Azure DevOps, and SharePoint. I'm considering all of my options. At the present, we largely use the tools I stated.
I did automate SharePoint, but it was in a previous mission. It was a previous job; it is not my present employment.
I don't use GitLab or BitBucket personally, but it's possible that in the future, we will have to implement those tools for the clients.
We are an Atlassian partner, BitBucket is an Atlassian product.
I'm also involved with DevOps. It depends on what the client requests, and we are highly likely to use such products.
We also work with JIRA. Some of our colleagues are JIRA administrators.
We used to store using text editors before, but nothing compared to Confluence.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am not aware of the pricing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
My organization has a partnership with Dynatrace, and I have created a small project to compare New Relic with Dynatrace. I downloaded a report, which was helpful in this regard.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend it to all developers as well as students. because I used it as a student in a team.
We are able to store all of the necessary information for all of the students, developers, and architects. All the individuals involved in our software projects.
Also, it is functional.
I believe we are a reseller and a partner, but I'm not sure since it's largely my colleagues.
For the implementation of Atlassian, some of them are already certified, and with the certification, they are a partner. They work with a limited number of Atlassian-certified individuals.
I would rate Atlassian Confluence an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
System Engineer at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Easy to use and set up, includes Wiki software, the support is good, but the need better third-party integration
Pros and Cons
- "What I like the most is the Wiki software that comes with Atlassian Confluence."
- "I would like to see integration with Slack."
What is our primary use case?
In multiple organizations, we have been using Atlassian Confluence as a knowledge base, and for development. Our developers use it alongside Jira.
What is most valuable?
What I like the most is the Wiki software that comes with Atlassian Confluence.
The interface is good and it's pretty easy to use. Most developers have some experience with Jira, which makes it pretty easy for people to pick up. We don't usually need to provide them a string.
What needs improvement?
They can easily take on some of the features from Slack.
They could try and copy Slack more and bring them into the market a bit quicker. That would be helpful for them.
I would like to see integration with Slack.
There could be improvements with the app ecosystem. For example, if we look at Teams, there is now an entire ecosystem. With Teams, you can essentially install any apps and do any integrations. Third-party, similar to Microsoft.
It's more about integrations with third parties. That is also something that could be better.
I think it can be more competitive, considering the competition they are now going to get from Slack and Teams. For example, if you look at Microsoft Teams, Microsoft is providing 365 for free with Slack.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have not had any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have 1100 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
The customer support is pretty good. If you reach out to them, they are very helpful.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward, I have never had any issues.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
When you purchase this solution you get some support.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Jira and Confluence go hand in hand. If it's for development, and if people have money to pay for one product only, they usually end up purchasing Jira, and not Confluence.
But at the end of the day, it's an ecosystem. It really depends on how much you want to integrate and how much you want to dive into it.
What other advice do I have?
It really depends on what ecosystem they invest in and what they're looking for.
You have to look at the use case and if you already have an application in your ecosystem which is fit for purpose, you have to ask yourself, why you want to go out and pay for another product?
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: November 2024
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