Managing multiple Jira instances across teams or even organizations is a massive challenge. Critical updates get lost, dependencies go missing, and duplicate work clogs up the workspace.
To get rid of all this mess and streamline data exchange between Jira instances, you need integration solutions that fit what you’re trying to do.
Here are proven methods to unify your scattered Jira instances, from simple automation you can implement today to enterprise-grade integrations.
But first, let’s discuss some use cases for connecting multiple Jira instances.
Key Takeaways:
- Native integrations using Atlassian apps like Jira Automation
- Reasons to connect multiple Jira instances across teams and organizations
- Third-party automation tools like Zapier for simple, fire-and-forget workflows
- Custom connectors built with webhooks or REST APIs for tailored integrations
- Third-party script-based tools like Exalate for flexible, customizable integration
- The most flexible way to connect multiple Jira instances based on your use case
Why Connect Multiple Jira Instances?
Integrating Jira instances can enhance collaboration and improve efficiency by enabling seamless information sharing. It also helps managers maintain control over what data is shared and with whom.
Here are some quick summaries of how integrating Jira instances can benefit different use cases:
- Connect customer support and development teams so that developers will receive relevant data from support teams
- Help marketers share feature ideas with designers while maintaining control over their respective work
- Provide secure and autonomous communication with different suppliers so that sensitive information remains private during the collaboration.
- Help Managed Service Providers (MSPs) assign tasks to the correct team members and maintain confidentiality while sharing only relevant information with customers based on specific agreements.
- Onboard and monitor new employees by syncing their work items to management systems, enabling supervisors to track progress without overburdening the team.
- Help companies securely integrate with outsourcing partners, sharing only essential data and maintaining autonomy for each party.
With a better understanding of why teams need to integrate Jira instances, let’s go through the tools that make this integration possible.
1. Native Integrations (Atlassian Apps)
Atlassian provides several native apps and products for connecting multiple Jira instances. Let’s go over them to help you decide which one best fits your use case:
- Application Links for integrating and connecting Jira with other Atlassian products or external systems (Confluence, Bitbucket, Bamboo, etc.), enabling a seamless flow of information and improving collaboration across different platforms.
- Jira Automation for configuring automatic actions, conditions, triggers, and branching in order to reduce the need for manual intervention in closing stale work items and assigning work automatically. This feature is supported by default in Jira Cloud, but Data Center users might need to install Automation for Jira to get it to work.
- Jira Cloud Migration Assistant (JCMA) for migrating data from Jira Data Center to Jira Cloud. It’s a great choice if you’re looking to migrate large amounts of data and want to ensure a smooth transition with pre-migration checks. But it’s not an integration solution.
- Jira Cloud-to-Cloud Migration (Copy Jira Data): This tool allows you to transfer Jira Service Management (JSM) data to different Jira Cloud instances.
Each method has its advantages depending on your technical requirements, team resources, and the complexity of your use case.
However, they lack in customizability because you’re basically stuck with default integration options. That’s why you need something more flexible.
2. Custom Connectors (Webhooks or REST APIs)
Webhooks are user-defined callbacks over HTTPS that notify your app or web application when certain events occur in Jira. Custom connectors leverage these webhooks to create real-time integrations. They can be triggered by issue creation, updates, comments, and transitions.
By connecting to the Jira REST API, Atlassian developers can create integrations that are super flexible and tailored to your specific requirements, allowing you to sync Jira with other tools or instances the way you want.
However, while custom connectors offer full control and customization, they come with some downsides. For one, creating these connectors is time-consuming and requires a solid understanding of the API. It’s not as easy as using ready-made solutions like Exalate or built-in migration tools, which are quicker to set up.
Building custom connectors can also get expensive since it requires dedicated development resources, which can add up expenses in terms of both initial setup costs and ongoing maintenance.
If you’re looking for something fast, easy, and flexible, custom connectors might not be the most cost-effective option.
You need to go for third-party custom connectors that support Jira to Jira integration.
3. Third-party Jira Integration Tools (Script-Based – Highly Flexible)
Exalate
Exalate is an integration tool that helps you connect multiple Jira instances as well as other platforms like Salesforce, Zendesk, ServiceNow, GitHub, Azure DevOps, Freshdesk, and more.
It’s perfect for teams that need to sync Jira Cloud and Data Center instances, or work with a bunch of other apps in the mix.
Exalate is AI-powered, which means it lets you set up custom integrations easily using simple human prompts. Plus, it’s got multiple layers of security and is ISO 27001:2022 certified, so your data stays safe.
Some key features of Exalate include:
- Platform native triggers: Automate syncs with granular triggers and conditions.
- AI-assisted sync script generation: Use Groovy-based scripts to set up highly customized integrations. Add a layer of AI on top to help generate these custom scripts through prompts.
- Bulk operation support: Handle large data sets with ease and sync everything faster.
- Robust queuing mechanism: Keep track of syncs and monitor everything efficiently.
- Aida: AI-enabled to help you quickly find important info to guide you through setup, plan your integration, troubleshooting, and much more.
In short, Exalate is perfect if you’re looking for a simple but powerful way to integrate Jira with other tools, while keeping things customizable and secure.
ScriptRunner Connect
ScriptRunner Connect allows you to connect projects and workflows between different Jira instances and Atlassian tools like Bitbucket, Confluence, and Monday.com.
Some key features of ScriptRunner Connect include:
- Script Console Log for error-handling and debugging.
- Event Listeners and Scheduled Triggers to automate actions based on specific events.
- ChatGPT 4o-based AI assistant
- Intuitive IDE with IntelliSense
- Connection templates and managed APIs.
It offers a range of no-code and low-code features that let you automate processes and customize your workflows easily with Jira Cloud and Data Center.
Although Exalate and ScriptRunner Connect both support scripting, they have key differences.
Exalate treats each Jira instance as a separate entity that maintains control over its own data. It’s peer-to-peer, so neither side is the “master.” Each Jira instance can have its own Groovy scripts for incoming and outgoing sync.
On the other hand, ScriptRunner Connect handles Jira to Jira integrations through REST API calls. This means that you’d write scripts that push/pull data between instances, but it’s more of a one-way “master-slave” approach where one Jira is actively managing the sync.
Also, with Exalate, you get unlimited access to the AI-assisted scripting, which offloads the script generation part to AI. With ScriptRunner Connect, the usage is limited based on the number of credits you have.
Exalate also provides a monitoring dashboard for visualizing active connections, while ScriptRunner Connect only has audit logs.
4. Third-party Jira Automation Tools (Fire and Forget)
Tray.ai
Tray lets you build AI-powered agents to seamlessly connect communication tools, work management systems, online databases, payment solutions, and more.
Here are some of Tray’s key features:
- Merlin Agent Builder: Build production-ready AI agents to automate tasks and improve efficiency.
- API Management: A visual, low-code development environment to create integrations, automations, or APIs without needing to code from scratch.
- Merlin AI-powered Chat: Use AI chat to help with automation and provide better user interactions across your tools.
With its Jira connector, you can automate data transfer and speed up ticket resolution by integrating Jira with other systems like ERPs, CRMs, and more.
Tray is designed to make connecting different platforms easy and efficient, using AI to enhance automation and streamline workflows across your tools.
Zapier
Zapier is an automation tool that helps you integrate Jira with a ton of other platforms like CRMs, work management tools, and databases.
Here are some features of Zapier:
- Zaps: Create triggers and actions to automate workflows between apps.
- Tables or Databases: Store and manage data for smooth automation.
- Interfaces: Build your own workflow pages without any coding.
- Canvas: Visualize and map workflows using AI to simplify the process.
- Chatbots: Automate customer support with chatbots that can handle questions.
Zapier offers a massive library of pre-configured connectors. However, it doesn’t allow for deep customization or advanced scripting, so it’s best for teams that need basic automation, rather than custom-built connections.
Make
Make is a visual-first integration solution that helps you synchronize data between Jira and over 2000 other platforms—social media apps, CRM tools, design platforms, databases, or communication tools.
Here are some of Make’s key features:
- Flow control and data filtering: Easily manage data flow and filter out unnecessary information.
- Smooth error handling: Handle errors efficiently, ensuring seamless workflow automation.
- Visual Workflow Editor: Use the drag-and-drop editor to create and configure scenarios with no code.
- 2FA and Company-Wide SSO: Enhance security with two-factor authentication and single sign-on (SSO) for your team.
With its drag-and-drop editor, you can visualize your integrations and set up triggers with no coding required. This no-code toolkit makes it accessible for anyone to set up and manage workflows, even if you don’t have a technical background.
n8n
n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform that allows you to automate tasks and integrate Jira Software with different apps, services, and systems. It allows users to create and execute workflows that can connect and automate processes across a wide variety of platforms without needing to write code.
Here are some n8n features:
- Visual workflow builder for setting up workflows.
- AI nodes and chatbots for mapping connections.
- Transformers for looping and filtering data and lists.
- Code-based automation using JavaScript and Python.
- Event triggers and webhooks for triggering workflows from services.
In n8n, different apps connect like puzzle pieces called “nodes” — each node represents a specific action, such as sending an email, updating a spreadsheet, or fetching data from an API.
What is the Most Flexible Way to Connect Multiple Jira Instances?
The most flexible way to connect multiple Jira instances is through the use of a customizable solution that allows you to write scripts for your sync.
This level of customization broadens the possible use cases for the integration and extends the scope of fields, entities, and objects your team can sync with other systems.
Although automation-based tools like Zapier are perfect for fire-and-forget scenarios, solutions like Exalate are your best bet because they use automated triggers as well as AI-enabled scripting engines to speed up the mapping process by eliminating manual, tedious work.
Here is a table of the tools discussed in this article and the functions they support as regards Jira instances integration:
| TOOLS | AUTOMATION | CUSTOM INTEGRATION |
| Exalate | Yes (Triggers) | Yes (Groovy-based scripting) |
| Scriptrunner Connect | Yes, but very limited | Yes (Typescript and JS-based scripting) |
| Zapier | Yes (Zaps) | No |
| Tray.ai | Yes (Workflows) | No |
| Make | Yes (Modules, Scenarios) | No |
| n8n | Yes (Nodes) | Yes (Python and JS-based scripting) |
| Automation Links | Yes | No |
| Jira Automation | Yes | No |
The Bottom Line
Connecting multiple Jira instances doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Pick the method that solves your biggest pain point today, then scale up as your integration needs grow.
- You can start with native integrations, but they often lack customization and can only be used for specific use cases.
- If you opt to build your custom Jira integration, you will end up spending a lot of money and resources on maintenance, licensing, and updates.
- Automation “fire-and-forget” tools like Make and Zapier can connect two Jira instances, but the data usually flows in one direction. The connection is also limited.
- Third-party integration tools like Exalate and ScriptRunner Connect allow you to customize your Jira integration at a granular level.
Stop letting fragmented instances slow down your projects. Choose your connector, sync your data, and get back to managing work instead of wrestling with tools.
