Atlassian ending Data Center as GitLab maintains deployment choice

Change is never easy, especially when it's not your choice. Atlassian's announcement that all Data Center products will reach end-of-life by March 28, 2029, means thousands of organizations must now reconsider their DevSecOps deployment and infrastructure. But you don't have to settle for deployment options that don't fit your needs. GitLab maintains your freedom to choose — whether you need self-managed for compliance, cloud for convenience, or hybrid for flexibility — all within a single AI-powered DevSecOps platform that respects your requirements.

While other vendors force migrations to cloud-only architectures, GitLab remains committed to supporting the deployment choices that match your business needs. Whether you're managing sensitive government data, operating in air-gapped environments, or simply prefer the control of self-managed deployments, we understand that one size doesn't fit all.

The cloud isn't the answer for everyone

For the many companies that invested millions of dollars in Data Center deployments, including those that migrated to Data Center after its Server products were discontinued, this announcement represents more than a product sunset. It signals a fundamental shift away from customer-centric architecture choices, forcing enterprises into difficult positions: accept a deployment model that doesn't fit their needs, or find a vendor that respects their requirements.

Many of the organizations requiring self-managed deployments represent some of the world's most important organizations: healthcare systems protecting patient data, financial institutions managing trillions in assets, government agencies safeguarding national security, and defense contractors operating in air-gapped environments.

These organizations don't choose self-managed deployments for convenience; they choose them for compliance, security, and sovereignty requirements that cloud-only architectures simply cannot meet. Organizations operating in closed environments with restricted or no internet access aren't exceptions — they represent a significant portion of enterprise customers across various industries.

The real cost of forced cloud migration goes beyond dollars

While cloud-only vendors frame mandatory migrations as "upgrades," organizations face substantial challenges beyond simple financial costs:

• Lost integration capabilities: Years of custom integrations with legacy systems, carefully crafted workflows, and enterprise-specific automations become obsolete. Organizations with deep integrations to legacy systems often find cloud migration technically infeasible.

• Regulatory constraints: For organizations in regulated industries, cloud migration isn't just complex — it's often not permitted. Data residency requirements, air-gapped environments, and strict regulatory frameworks don't bend to vendor preferences. The absence of single-tenant solutions in many cloud-only approaches creates insurmountable compliance barriers.

• Productivity impacts: Cloud-only architectures often require juggling multiple products: separate tools for planning, code management, CI/CD, and documentation. Each tool means another context switch, another integration to maintain, another potential point of failure. GitLab research shows 30% of developers spend at least 50% of their job maintaining and/or integrating their DevSecOps toolchain. Fragmented architectures exacerbate this challenge rather than solving it.

GitLab offers choice, commitment, and consolidation

Enterprise customers deserve a trustworthy technology partner. That's why we've committed to supporting a range of deployment options — whether you need on-premises for compliance, hybrid for flexibility, or cloud for convenience, the choice remains yours. That commitment continues with GitLab Duo, our AI solution that supports developers at every stage of their workflow.

But we offer more than just deployment flexibility. While other vendors might force you to cobble together their products into a fragmented toolchain, GitLab provides everything in a comprehensive AI-native DevSecOps platform. Source code management, CI/CD, security scanning, Agile planning, and documentation are all managed within a single application and a single vendor relationship.

This isn't theoretical. When Airbus and Iron Mountain evaluated their existing fragmented toolchains, they consistently identified challenges: poor user experience, missing functionalities like built-in security scanning and review apps, and management complexity from plugin troubleshooting. These aren't minor challenges; they're major blockers for modern software delivery.

Your migration path: Simpler than you think

We've helped thousands of organizations migrate from other vendors, and we've built the tools and expertise to make your transition smooth:

• Automated migration tools: Our Bitbucket Server importer brings over repositories, pull requests, comments, and even Large File Storage (LFS) objects. For Jira, our built-in importer handles issues, descriptions, and labels, with professional services available for complex migrations.

• Proven at scale: A 500 GiB repository with 13,000 pull requests, 10,000 branches, and 7,000 tags is likely to take just 8 hours to migrate from Bitbucket to GitLab using parallel processing.

• Immediate ROI: A Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact™ study commissioned by GitLab found that investing in GitLab Ultimate confirms these benefits translate to real bottom-line impact, with a three-year 483% ROI, 5x time saved in security related activities, and 25% savings in software toolchain costs.

Start your journey to a unified DevSecOps platform

Forward-thinking organizations aren't waiting for vendor-mandated deadlines. They're evaluating alternatives now, while they have time to migrate thoughtfully to platforms that protect their investments and deliver on promises.

Organizations invest in self-managed deployments because they need control, compliance, and customization. When vendors deprecate these capabilities, they remove not just features but the fundamental ability to choose environments matching business requirements.

Modern DevSecOps platforms should offer complete functionality that respects deployment needs, consolidates toolchains, and accelerates software delivery, without forcing compromises on security or data sovereignty.

Talk to our sales team today about your migration options, or explore our comprehensive migration resources to see how thousands of organizations have already made the switch.

You also can try GitLab Ultimate with GitLab Duo Enterprise for free for 30 days to see what a unified DevSecOps platform can do for your organization.