Atlassian has recognized this by giving admins more control over how their Atlassian Cloud data is backed up. With the newly introduced Backup Policies, you can decide exactly what to back up, when to run the backup, and where the backup is stored. This means your critical Jira and Confluence data is always protected and readily available to restore if needed. It’s a significant leap forward that ensures nothing important falls through the cracks, keeping your teams confident that their work is safe.
Backup Policies are essentially a set of rules for safeguarding your Atlassian Cloud application data. They allow an administrator to define a customized backup plan for Jira, Confluence, or other Atlassian apps. In a backup policy, you specify the scope of the data that will be included. You also set the schedule for how often backups occur this could be daily, weekly, or any interval that suits your needs typically timed during off-peak hours so it doesn’t disrupt users. Finally, you choose the storage location for the backup files. Atlassian gives you two main options: you can use Atlassian’s own cloud storage, or you can connect your organization’s external storage to keep the backups in your own cloud environment.
This level of flexibility is a game-changer compared to the past, when admins had to rely on inflexible, whole-site backups or manual exports. With Backup Policies, you create targeted backups for exactly what you need, on an automated schedule. Atlassian Cloud Backup Policies let you define the what, when, and where of your data backups putting you firmly in control of protecting your information.
Select apps and entities: Choose precisely what gets backed up. You aren’t forced into an all-or-nothing backup; instead, you can include exactly the data that matters. This can include entire Jira projects, specific issue data or assets, Confluence spaces or pages, Jira Service Management help centers and customer lists, file attachments, user groups, and more. You define the scope so that only the relevant applications and entities are captured in the backup.
Custom schedules: Run backups on a schedule that fits your team’s workflow. Whether you need backups daily or prefer weekly snapshots, you can set it up accordingly. For example, many organizations schedule daily backups during late-night hours when system activity is low. The ability to pick a schedule means backups happen at a time that works best for you and won’t interfere with peak usage.
Flexible storage: Decide where your backup data lives. Atlassian Cloud provides its own secure storage for backups by default, which is convenient if you want Atlassian to host the backup files. Alternatively, you have the flexibility to connect your own Amazon AWS S3 bucket as the storage destination. By using an external S3 bucket under your control, you can integrate Atlassian backups with your company’s existing cloud infrastructure or compliance requirements. In either case, you maintain access to your backup files and can store them as long as needed.
Encryption support: Protect backups with robust encryption, either with Atlassian’s managed keys or your own keys. All data backed up through these policies can be encrypted to keep it secure. Atlassian can handle encryption for you automatically, but if your security team requires control over encryption keys, Backup Policies support Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) encryption. In a BYOK setup, you supply your own encryption keys to encrypt the backups. This extra layer of security ensures your backup files meet even the strictest internal or regulatory encryption standards.
Restore-ready backups: Simplify recovery with backups that are ready to restore when you need them. In the unfortunate event that you have to recover data, Backup Policies make the process straightforward. Because you have predefined exactly what data is saved and retained, restoring that data is faster and more reliable. You can also align your backups to your data retention policies meaning you control how long each backup is kept. Your organization might require keeping certain data for a set number of days or months; with Backup Policies, you can ensure backups are automatically cleaned up or archived according to those rules. Ultimately, this capability keeps your recovery process simple and in line with your governance needs.
For enterprises running Jira Service Management, Confluence, or Jira Software in the cloud, data protection isn’t just important; it’s absolutely non-negotiable. Atlassian Cloud operates on a shared responsibility model: Atlassian maintains the platform’s uptime and security, but you are responsible for safeguarding your own data from issues like accidental deletion or misuse. Backup Policies significantly reduce the risk of data loss by giving admins an automated, auditable system to ensure everything important is backed up. Once configured, these policies run in the background on schedule, reliably capturing your chosen data without you having to remember to do anything manually. Every backup event is logged, so you have a clear audit trail to prove your data protection measures a big plus for compliance and peace of mind.
Crucially, Backup Policies let you fine-tune what is preserved and for how long. Whether it’s user account details, service desk tickets, product development issues, knowledge base articles, or file attachments, you get to decide what categories of information are continuously saved. Nothing vital will slip through the cracks because you can include all the critical pieces of your operations in the backup. You also gain control over retention: for example, you might keep daily backups for 30 days, or weekly backups for 6 months, depending on your needs. That means if you ever need to roll back to a previous state or retrieve an old record, the data will be there.
Imagine a worst-case scenario: an administrator inadvertently deletes an important Jira project, or a synchronization error corrupts some Confluence pages. Without a backup, that data could be gone for good, impacting your business and clients. With Backup Policies in place, you could quickly restore the exact project or pages from a recent backup, reversing the damage with minimal downtime. This kind of safety net is invaluable. It ensures business continuity even in the face of human error, bugs, or cyber incidents because you know you have recent copies of your critical information ready to go. In short, Backup Policies give your organization confidence that no matter what happens, your Atlassian Cloud data is protected and recoverable.
Identify your critical data: Begin by determining which data in Jira, Confluence, or other Atlassian apps is truly mission-critical. Not every piece of data needs the same level of backup. Make a list of high-value projects, knowledge base spaces, customer support queues, or other vital data sets that would significantly impact the business if lost. By focusing your Backup Policies on these, you ensure that the most important information is always safeguarded.
Set a smart schedule: Choose a backup schedule that aligns with how often your data changes and your tolerance for potential data loss. If your teams are updating issues and pages constantly, a daily backup might be appropriate. For content that changes less frequently, weekly backups could suffice. Whichever frequency you choose, schedule the backups for an off-peak time to minimize any performance impact. The goal is to have regular restore points without disrupting your users.
Choose your storage wisely: Decide where the backup files will be stored based on your organization’s needs. Using Atlassian’s built-in cloud storage for backups is straightforward and requires no extra setup, which is great for simplicity. On the other hand, connecting an external AWS S3 bucket gives you greater control your backups reside in your own cloud account, which might be preferable for companies with strict data governance or regional data residency requirements. Evaluate factors like compliance rules, cost, and accessibility when selecting the storage location, and pick the option that fits best. Either way, ensure the chosen storage is secure and access to it is well-managed.
Enable strong encryption: Always make sure your backups are encrypted. By default, Atlassian will encrypt backup data using their managed encryption keys. If your company has its own encryption policies, take advantage of the BYOK option (Bring Your Own Key) to use your organization’s encryption keys. For example, you might integrate with AWS Key Management Service to control the keys that encrypt your backup in the S3 bucket. Using BYOK ensures that even the backups meet your enterprise security and compliance standards, giving you full ownership over data encryption.
Define retention policies: Determine how long your backups should be kept before they are rotated or deleted. This will likely depend on both business needs and compliance regulations. For instance, you may decide to retain daily backups for the last 30 days, and perhaps keep monthly snapshots for a year. Align these settings with any legal requirements and with your internal policies. Having clear retention periods prevents backup storage from growing without bound, and it ensures you can retrieve data from the appropriate time frames when needed.
Test your restore process: A backup is only as good as your ability to restore it. Periodically conduct test restorations to verify that the backup files are valid and that you know the steps to recover data. You might do this in a sandbox environment or during a maintenance window. Testing confirms that everything from selecting the correct backup file to the actual restoration of projects or pages works as expected. It’s much better to discover any issues during a controlled test than during a real incident. Regular testing also keeps your team familiar with the restore procedure, so if an emergency happens, you can act swiftly and confidently.
At Atlas Bench, we understand the ins and outs of Atlassian Cloud and how to build resilience into your setup. As a certified Atlassian Solution Partner, we help enterprises design, implement, and govern their Atlassian Cloud environments with reliability and best practices in mind. That includes working with you to set up effective Backup Policies tailored to your organization’s unique needs.
Atlas Bench can guide you through every step of rolling out Backup Policies for Jira, Confluence, and more: from navigating compliance requirements to integrating with AWS for external storage, and configuring encryption to meet your security standards. Our team has extensive experience with Atlassian’s cloud tools and the latest features like Backup Policies, so we can ensure everything is configured correctly and optimally. We’ll help you assess what data should be covered, establish appropriate backup schedules, and align the retention settings with your risk management and disaster recovery plans.
With the right strategy and expert support, you can sleep easier knowing your cloud data is not only backed up automatically, but also that those backups will be there whenever you need them. Atlas Bench is committed to helping you achieve that peace of mind in your Atlassian Cloud journey. Now is the time to take control of your cloud data protection. Don’t wait for a costly incident to realize the value of a solid backup plan. If you’re looking to bolster your Atlassian Cloud data backup and recovery strategy, our team is ready to help make it happen.