Topic
- Content & Knowledge Management
- Cross-Team Collaboration
Industry
- Banking
- Healthcare
Featured Apps
The problem
For teams operating in regulated environments, Confluence Cloud migration introduces an additional layer of complexity. Beyond moving content and supporting collaboration, teams must ensure that documentation remains accurate, traceable, and defensible throughout the migration process.
During a hybrid phase, when Confluence Cloud and Confluence Data Center are both in use, maintaining audit readiness becomes difficult. Content updates may occur in parallel, changes may not be consistently reflected across environments, and teams may struggle to demonstrate which version of a page was authoritative at a given point in time.
What begins as a migration challenge can quickly become a compliance risk.
Who this affects
This challenge primarily affects Confluence Admins, IT teams, and compliance or governance stakeholders responsible for maintaining controlled documentation. It also impacts project leads and business teams operating in regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, energy, or the public sector, where documentation accuracy and traceability are critical.
Even when audits are infrequent, the expectation of audit readiness shapes how content must be managed day to day.
Real-world migration scenarios
Using Atlassian’s Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant (CCMA)
Many regulated teams use Atlassian’s Confluence Cloud Migration Assistant to move content from Data Center to Cloud. CCMA supports one-time migration, but once a space is migrated, it does not provide ongoing synchronization or traceability across environments.
If regulated teams continue operating in both Cloud and Data Center during an extended migration, changes made in one environment are not reflected in the other.
Over time, it becomes difficult to demonstrate content consistency or establish which version of a page was current at a specific point in time.
When hybrid operation is unavoidable
In regulated environments, hybrid usage often lasts longer than planned.
Some teams may be required to remain on Data Center due to compliance reviews, validation processes, or integration dependencies, while others begin working in Cloud.
Despite this, shared Confluence spaces continue to be used for policies, procedures, and reference documentation. Without alignment, teams risk inconsistent documentation and reduced confidence during internal or external reviews.
Native controls and manual governance
Before introducing additional tools, regulated teams often rely on native Confluence controls and strict processes. This may include page restrictions, approval workflows, change logs, and manual review cycles.
While these controls are important, they do not address the underlying challenge of content divergence across environments. Manual reconciliation increases operational overhead and makes audit preparation more difficult over time.
How regulated teams address this at scale
As hybrid operation continues, regulated teams recognize that audit readiness requires consistency, traceability, and control across environments. They need a way to ensure that critical documentation remains aligned without relying on manual processes or freezing updates entirely.
The goal is to support migration progress while maintaining confidence in documentation integrity.
Space Sync for Confluence (Data Center)
Space Sync for Confluence (Data Center) is used to synchronize selected Confluence spaces between Cloud and Data Center during the hybrid phase, focusing on documentation that must remain audit-ready.
Admins typically identify spaces that contain regulated content, such as policies, procedures, or reference materials, and apply synchronization selectively. Space Sync works alongside CCMA for migration and existing governance controls for access and approvals.
Rather than replacing compliance processes, Space Sync helps ensure that approved content remains consistent across environments, reducing the risk of divergence during migration.
For a detailed walkthrough, see: How to Monitor and Audit Confluence Content Synchronization in Hybrid Environments
