use case:
Migration
tools:
Jira Server - Jira Cloud
150K
Issues migrated
Zero
User downtime
~25 days
Migration duration
Data cleanup
During migration
When Stellantis inherited a Jira 7 Server instance from a joint venture, they didn't want a lift-and-shift. They wanted a clean start. ACA Group used Exalate's live sync to migrate 150,000 issues over 25 days. Transforming dirty data in transit and delivering a go-live weekend that required almost no effort.
About
Stellantis e-Transmissions NV & ACA Group
Stellantis e-Transmissions NV is a multinational automotive group that recently took over a joint venture running its operations on an outdated Jira 7 Server instance. The inherited environment came with legacy processes, duplicated configurations, and outdated structures that no longer served the business.
To accelerate development cycles, adopt modern capabilities like Jira Plans for portfolio management, and leave the old joint venture processes behind, Stellantis mandated a move to a fully supported Jira Cloud environment.
ACA Group is Exalate Atlassian Platinum Partner in Belgium. Deep specialization in cloud migrations and cross-instance synchronization.
The Challenges
A tight deadline, 150,000 issues, and a greenfield requirement
Standard migration tools weren’t an option: the instance was running Jira 7, which is too old for Atlassian’s Jira Cloud Migration Assistant (JCMA). Using JCMA would have required upgrading through two major versions and purchasing a temporary Data Center license. And it would have brought all the legacy configurations across, defeating the greenfield goal entirely.
Stellantis wanted a clean environment. That meant dynamically merging issue types and consolidating duplicate custom fields while the data was moving, not before or after.
Dirty data and duplicated configurations
The old Jira had duplicate custom fields per project rather than shared fields, inconsistent workflows, and years of accumulated configuration debt.
Aggressive timeline
Stellantis set a strict go-live target, originally aiming for December 1st, leaving little room for delays or rework.
125,000–150,000 active issues
All work items needed to move with their full history intact: attachments, comments, work logs, and linked issues included.
JCMA was incompatible
Using the native Atlassian migration tool would have required two major version upgrades and a temporary Data Center license, And wouldn't support the greenfield approach.
The decisive advantage
Data cleanup during migration: not before or after
The most compelling reason to choose Exalate was its ability to transform data as it moved. Exalate’s Groovy scripting engine allowed ACA to merge duplicate issue types, consolidate custom fields, map old workflows to new ones, and clean up years of configuration debt. All as part of the migration itself. Stellantis didn’t have to choose between speed and quality.
Go-live
A permission switch. That was it.
Because Exalate had been continuously syncing live data in the background, the actual go-live over the weekend of January 10–11 required virtually no effort. ACA disabled write access on the old Server, enabled read/write access on the Cloud, and turned on outgoing emails. No big-bang migration. No data transfers running through the night. No war room.
Users arrived Monday and simply started working in the new environment. The migration generated essentially no complaints about data. End-user feedback from the Stellantis project team said it all:
results
150,000 issues. Clean environment. Zero disruption.
- ~150,000 issues migrated to Jira Cloud, including all attachments, comments, work logs, and linked issues.
- Zero user downtime. Teams worked uninterrupted in the source environment throughout the entire migration period.
- Go-live required only permission scheme changes and enabling outgoing emails. Completed in minutes.
- ~25 days of continuous synchronization at ~5,000 issues per day.
- Issue types merged, custom fields consolidated, and workflows redesigned during the migration itself . No separate cleanup phase required.
- Old keys, assignees, reporters, and timestamps preserved in custom fields for ongoing historical reference.
Facing a Complex Migration?
Talk to the team about how Exalate handles migrations, data transformation, and zero-downtime go-lives.