We’re 6+ months into 2023, and those recession jitters still abound. The year’s half-way point is a suitable time to pause and reflect on where IT budgets can get some relief, specifically around your Atlassian ecosystem.
Take a little time to fully assess your tool stack. Reviewing your licensing costs is one thing, but it’s more than that. Being an Atlassian customer affords you options for creative and smart ways to make the most of your buying power. We’ve pulled together seven ways to save. Take a look and tell us what you think.
1) Switch from month-to-month to annual billing
For example, the 100-user tier of Jira Software Annual billing is ~17% cheaper than the same tier on Monthly billing. Some businesses choose to purchase directly through Atlassian.com but you could also approach an Atlassian Solution Partner (like Trundl) for some exclusive additional buying benefits.
2) Consider what Atlassian can replace
Subscribing to PagerDuty when Opsgenie is included with Jira Service Management Cloud Premium means you’re paying for two Incident Management tools when you could just pay for one. Advanced Roadmaps is built into Jira Software, so there’s no need for a third-party portfolio management tool. By sharing your use case with a Solution Partner (like Trundl) they can help you uncover options and software combinations that are better suited to your needs and budget than trying to figure it all out alone.
3) Reduce add-on waste
Your stakeholders may not be using all the add-ons you’re paying for. So be sure to review your subscriptions and scrutinize their necessity. If you need help with auditing your current portfolio of add-ons, or you want to perform a usage audit, ask a Partner to help you.
4) Audit / review license counts on Atlassian core products
User logs can show who hasn’t used the tool in the last 6 months. This data can help validate and shift your subscription tier, lowering your overall costs. You’ll make great friends in procurement and finance if you uncover something big. Solution Partners can be a reliable source of answers to licensing questions like these. Take advantage.
5) Consider Atlassian’s free Jira options
If your current instance is close to bumping up a tier and you don’t have budget for it, see if a user subset of your instance can go on the entry tier of a new instance. They may not be integrated with the larger instance, but that’s something you can address later if times are tight.
6) Consider Atlassian Cloud Hosting
At face value, Cloud licenses may seem like the more expensive route, but if you bake in true costs of infrastructure hosting (FTEs, maintenance, hardware costs) cloud hosting becomes far more appealing. Further, Server will be no longer be supported by Atlassian after Feb 2024 anyway. When it comes to pricing out Atlassian Cloud, we highly recommend you ask 2 or more Solution Partners to give you quotes.
7) Consider third party Atlassian tool administration
FTEs can be re-allocated to more strategic, value-added work, and a Solution Partner can fill the gap on tool administration (setting up projects, managing accesses, integrations, workflows, and general configuration). Different Atlassian Partners have different support/administrative offerings (Trundl’s starts at 10hrs/month), so be sure to confirm which Partner best aligns with your needs.
What’s next?
Every Atlassian customer, no matter their hosting choice, can employ a strategic plan on ways to save in both the short and long term. Review the options with your IT, Finance, and Project Management peers.
Need more clarifications on these points? Or proactive support in researching options?
