Migrating Elements Copy & Sync from Data Center to Cloud: the step-by-step guide

TL;DR

Atlassian has announced end of life for Data Center products, with full expiry on March 28, 2029. Here’s what you need to know:

• The core features of Elements Copy & Sync are fully supported on Cloud, including cross-instance copying, field mapping, and synchronization.
• Two features do NOT carry over: Confluence data panels and Velocity. Data Panels are replaced by Elements Overview; Confluence page creation by Elements Publish.
• Cloud brings new capabilities: workflow synchronization, full hierarchy copy, trigger recipes with Automation and audit logs.
• Use the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant (JCMA) to automate most of the migration. Always test first, then validate your recipes after cutover.
• The Elements team is available to help. If you need assistance, open a support ticket at support.elements-apps.com.

If you’re still running Elements Copy & Sync on Jira Data Center, you’ve probably already heard the news. Atlassian has officially announced the end of life for its Data Center products, and the countdown is on. Planning your Jira cloud migration now is not just a smart move; it’s becoming a hard requirement.

This guide walks you through everything you need to know: the deadlines, the feature parity between Data Center and Cloud versions of Elements Copy & Sync, the new capabilities waiting for you on the other side, and exactly how to execute the migration.

The deadline you need to plan around

Atlassian has officially announced the end of life for its Data Center products, with a three-year phased wind-down starting March 30, 2026. Here are the key dates to keep in mind:

• March 30, 2026: new customers can no longer purchase Data Center subscriptions or Marketplace Data Center apps.
• March 30, 2028: existing customers can no longer purchase new subscriptions, expand user tiers, or buy additional Marketplace apps.
• March 28, 2029: all impacted Data Center products and Marketplace apps expire and become read-only.

Until that final date, Atlassian will continue providing technical support and security bug fixes for critical vulnerabilities. But read-only means no new actions, no new data, no updates. For teams running ITSM workflows or cross-project synchronizations, that’s a risk that compounds the longer you wait.

Three years is a reasonable runway if you start planning now. The challenge, as most Jira admins know, is that a migration is never just a migration. Custom configurations, dependencies, and Marketplace apps all need to be mapped before you move. That’s especially true when a tool like Elements Copy & Sync is managing critical workflows across your projects.

What carries over: Elements Copy & Sync feature parity

One of the first questions teams ask during a Jira cloud migration is whether their existing workflows will survive the move. With Elements Copy & Sync, the short answer is yes. The core capabilities are all there.

The Cloud version works through an all-in-one recipe model rather than the separate operations, synchronizations, and field mapping configurations you manage in Data Center. The logic is different, but the outcome is the same. Whether you’re using the “Copy and synchronize Jira work items” recipe, the “Synchronize linked work items” recipe, or managing field mappings inside the Content tab, every major Data Center feature has a Cloud equivalent.

Cross-instance copying, which lets teams push issues from one Jira instance to another, is also fully supported.

If you currently rely on Jira data panels to surface related information directly on issues, that feature continues to work through Elements Overview on Cloud (more on that below).

Two features from the Data Center version are not available on Cloud: Confluence data panels and Velocity. If your team depends on either of those today, it’s worth flagging early in your migration planning so you can find the right workaround before cutover.

Read more about feature parity in our documentation

Two companion apps worth knowing before you migrate

If you’re coming from Data Center, two Elements apps on Cloud cover features that were previously bundled inside the DC version of Elements Copy & Sync.

Elements Publish handles the creation of Confluence pages directly from Jira issues. If your team uses this feature today inside Elements Copy & Sync Data Center, Elements Publish is its dedicated Cloud replacement, with a focused interface built specifically around the Jira-to-Confluence publishing workflow.

Elements Overview replaces Jira data panels on Cloud. It lets you embed contextual data from linked issues, sub-tasks, or related items directly on the Jira issue view, giving teams the visibility they need without leaving the issue screen. If data panels are a core part of how your teams work, installing Elements Overview before you migrate means there’s no gap in the user experience post-cutover.

New capabilities that come with the Cloud version

Here’s where the story gets more interesting. Moving to Cloud is not just a lift-and-shift; you actually gain capabilities that don’t exist in Data Center at all.

Workflow synchronization is one of the most significant additions. When a linked issue moves through a workflow transition on one project, the connected issue can automatically follow the same transition on another. This is particularly useful in scaled agile environments or service management setups where multiple teams track parallel work.

Automation-triggered recipes are another Cloud-only capability. Via a public REST API, any Jira Automation rule can fire an Elements Copy & Sync recipe as one of its actions, meaning you can trigger an issue copy when a comment is posted, an SLA is breached, a field value changes, or any other condition Automation supports. The recipe runs silently in the background, with no manual input required from the user.

The Cloud version also introduces the ability to copy a full hierarchy of work items, including epics, tasks, and subtasks, in a single operation. Combined with the manual bulk copy feature, this dramatically reduces the overhead of managing recurring project templates or spinning up new workstreams from existing ones.

Finally, audit logs give admins full visibility into every copy and sync operation that has run. When something behaves unexpectedly, or when a compliance review requires documentation, audit logs are the feature you didn’t know you needed until you didn’t have it.

How to run the migration with JCMA

The practical tool for executing your Jira cloud migration is the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant, or JCMA. JCMA is a free Atlassian tool that allows you to selectively migrate specific projects, users, and groups from your Data Center instance to Atlassian Cloud, giving you the flexibility to choose exactly what data moves.

Here’s how the process works for Elements Copy & Sync specifically:

Step 1: Install JCMA on your Data Center instance. Navigate to System > Migrate to cloud in your Jira admin panel. JCMA comes pre-installed on newer Jira versions, but verify you’re running the latest release before starting.

Step 2: Install Elements Copy & Sync on your Cloud site. The Cloud version needs to be live and licensed before your app data can migrate into it.

Step 3: Run the app assessment inside JCMA. JCMA will inventory the apps on your Data Center instance and flag which ones have Cloud equivalents. Select Elements Copy & Sync as “Needed in Cloud” during this step. If you’re also moving to Elements Publish or Elements Overview, add those to your plan here.

Step 4: Connect your Cloud site and run a test migration. JCMA supports testing migrations in a cloud sandbox environment, which allows you to validate the migration process before executing it in production. Always test first.

Step 5: Review the migration report. After the test run, review what migrated cleanly and what needs attention. Elements Copy & Sync recipes, field mappings, and configuration data should transfer as part of the app migration stage, which runs after your core Jira data.

Step 6: Run the production migration. Once you’re confident in the results, execute the full migration. The JCMA adds data to a Jira Cloud site without overwriting any existing data, so you can migrate to a new Cloud site or a site that already has content.

Step 7: Validate your recipes on Cloud. After migration, open Elements Copy & Sync on your Cloud site and walk through each recipe. Before activating, check that field mappings are intact and that cloning synchronizations behave as expected.

Check the step by step demo to migrate with JCMA

We’re here to help you migrate

Migrating a tool that sits at the center of your Jira data flows is not something you want to figure out on the fly. The Elements team has built a dedicated migration path with step-by-step guidance tailored to the most common use cases, and a support team available specifically to help Data Center customers through the transition. You can also monitor the security posture of your Cloud environment through the Elements trust center, which provides ongoing visibility into how your data is protected post-migration.

If you’d prefer to see the process in action before committing to a plan, demos and one-on-one booking options are available through support.elements-apps.com. Whether you’re just beginning to map out your Jira cloud migration or already mid-way through planning, the earlier you loop in the right resources, the smoother the cutover will be.

The Data Center deadline is firm. The feature parity is solid. And the Cloud version of Elements Copy & Sync has more to offer than what you’re leaving behind. Now is the right time to move.

FAQ

Is the migration fully automated or do I have to migrate things manually?

Elements Copy & Sync is compatible with Atlassian’s Jira Cloud Migration Assistant (JCMA). With JCMA you can automatically migrate most of your Operations, Synchronizations, and Fields Mapping, which become recipes with embedded mappings on Cloud.

A few important caveats:

• JCMA will adapt your configuration “as close as possible” to Cloud concepts.
• After migration, you should review and adjust recipes in Cloud to match your exact needs.
• Certain features (Data Panels, Copy to Confluence, Copy to remote instance with old link model, Velocity) are not or not fully migrated and will need manual handling.

What parts of my Data Center configuration won’t be migrated?

• Data Panels → beyond the scope of in Elements Copy & Sync Cloud. Use Elements Overview instead. Note that Confluence data panels are not available on Cloud.
• Copy to Confluence → beyond the scope of in Elements Copy & Sync Cloud. Use Elements Publish instead.
• Copy to remote instance → will not be migrated automatically. Cloud does support partial remote instance creation/sync, but the way instances are linked changed and is not backward-compatible. These configurations must be recreated manually.
• Velocity → not supported on Cloud. During migration, Velocity code is copied as a dynamic value but is not functional. You must replace it using Cloud configuration options (smart values, fields, etc.).

I see a warning about unsupported features in JCMA. What should I do?

Don’t worry. This message is a reminder that some features (Data Panels, Copy to Confluence, Copy to remote instances) are not supported. You can click “Continue without resolving warnings” and complete your migration if the warnings only concern Elements Copy & Sync. Once the JCMA migration is done, you can manually implement the unsupported features with Elements Publish and Elements Overview.

How does licensing and pricing work during and after migration?

• Data Center: You continue using your existing license until you stop using that platform. There is no automatic renewal or conversion.
• Cloud: Elements Copy & Sync Cloud is a separate Atlassian Marketplace subscription tied to your Jira Cloud site and priced per user tier.
• During migration: Atlassian provides Cloud migration trials and, in some cases, dual licensing. If you purchase an annual Cloud subscription, your Data Center license can be extended to the same period at no extra cost.
• After migration: Once fully on Cloud, you continue with the Cloud subscription. There is no automatic day-for-day conversion of DC license time, but migration programs help bridge the transition.

Will my fields still be synchronized after I migrate my issues from Data Center to Cloud?

Not automatically. Your synchronizations will be transformed into Synchronization recipes in Elements Copy & Sync Cloud, but you will need to perform a manual action to activate all the synchronizations after migration.

Can I still automatically create Confluence pages from a Jira ticket during the transition?

Yes, but you’ll need to install Elements Publish. With Elements Publish on Cloud, you can still automatically generate Confluence pages from Jira issues during workflow transitions.

Is there a native way in Jira Cloud to perform cloning and syncing instead?

Jira Automation is a powerful tool for straightforward scenarios. However, for more advanced workflows it may require multiple rules, be subject to execution limits, and become harder to maintain over time. Elements Copy & Sync is the right fit for complex scenarios requiring full issue cloning, continuous bidirectional synchronization, and scalable usage across projects or Jira instances.

Is there any support available to help me migrate?

Yes. The Elements team can actively support you during your migration.

• Open a dedicated support ticket at support.elements-apps.com and use it as your main thread for all migration questions (planning, UAT, go-live, troubleshooting).
• If you attach a Support dump from your Data Center instance, the team will review your current configuration, explain what JCMA will migrate automatically, and flag what needs to be recreated manually (e.g. Data Panels → Elements Overview, Copy to Confluence → Elements Publish, remote instance configs, Velocity).