What is our primary use case?
We are using it for IT service management and business process management. We are using it for the help desk to handle all internal requests. We have its latest version.
What is most valuable?
Customizations are most valuable. The customization of workflows is the main power of the Atlassian tools in general.
Functionality-wise, it is a great tool, and I have no problems with it. In terms of ease of use, ease of setup, and support, you can't go wrong with Atlassian tools.
What needs improvement?
Its UI is a bit overwhelming for new users. That has been the problem with Jira for a long time. If they could put some fields that we could use to simplify the UI, it would be good.
Transitioning from the server to the cloud has a learning curve. The pain point is again related to UI and not knowing where to look.
There should be an easier way to connect to an external database with special custom fields. It has been a pain point for me for such a long time. There are processes to do it, but I find them cumbersome.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Jira for over a decade.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In general, it is pretty stable, but sometimes, it has been sluggish. In a month, I have probably encountered this issue four times. It doesn't impede my work. It is just sluggish.
Sometimes, I get kicked out of the system. That typically happens when we're starting with some configuration.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability-wise, you can definitely scale your systems or integrate with other third parties. There are also plug-ins that you could use and evaluate. So, you do get the flexibility to install plugins.
Before moving to the cloud, I could use plugins for more than 30 days, and I just had to give a request for additional months, but it is not working anymore in the cloud. It is probably because of the company that creates the plugins.
We have 50 users. It doesn't require maintenance. We only maintain workflow changes, and the system runs on its own. Even upgrades are done by them. It is pretty easy as compared to the server version.
How are customer service and technical support?
For the cloud, I would rate their support a nine out of 10. I don't have to worry about the system. I haven't experienced anything like that before transitioning to the cloud.
If I have to troubleshoot a problem, there is a lot of online documentation. I can also connect with the community. Sometimes, it is faster to Google than contacting their support.
How was the initial setup?
It was straightforward. It happens at the click of a button. It is very easy as compared to setting up the server, which took a lot of skills.
Setting it up just takes a few minutes. It is fast. If a workflow is complex, it would take a day. It depends on the complexity of the workflows, but generally, it is really fast.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am using the free version, but my clients are paying for it. When they start, they evaluate it for 30 days, and after seeing the value, they move to its paid version.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I didn't evaluate other options. It is my favorite tool, but I am aware of ServiceNow and other ones. If you have Jira, you might as well get their whole ecosystem. If you're in development, you will get Bitbucket and Confluence as well for documentation. For Service Management, there is Jira Service Desk. I usually use their whole package. If there are integration problems, only then we would evaluate other solutions, but we could definitely connect with Jira by API. Atlassian products are very good. We always had Atlassian tools.
What other advice do I have?
I am an evangelist of Atlassian tools, so I usually engage with my clients in using them. Everybody is into digital transformation, and we have been engaging with clients, and we're promoting Atlassian for their digital transformation. One thing that I always tell my clients is that they should have a single source of tools. Atlassian is always at the top of my list with Jira, Service Desk, and Confluence. These are my top three products of Atlassian that I usually give them.
Based on my experience, you should go for the full Atlassian ecosystem if you are looking for IT service management and workflow management for your businesses. If you are into development, Jira is definitely one of the best tools out there. You can pretty much use the whole suite. Scalability-wise, you can easily scale your systems or integrate with other third parties. The only caveat is that you need to have someone who is actually an expert in Atlassian tools for you to be able to maximize it. It is very powerful if you know how to maximize it.
In the context of business process and workflow management, it would be impossible to implement good process management or workflow management in Jira if you haven't defined one. It is important to define the processes and then train people. If you don't train your staff using Atlassian Suite, you're not maximizing your investment.
I would rate Jira Service Management a nine out of 10.
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.