How BERNINA uses the Atlassian Cloud to build a secure and scalable foundation for the future
BERNINA International AG is a traditional Swiss family-owned company with over 130 years of history – and at the same time, a company that remains at the cutting edge of technology. With high-quality sewing, embroidery, overlock, and longarm quilting machines, BERNINA inspires creative people around the world who value precision, durability, and innovation.
This commitment to quality doesn’t stop with their products. Internally, BERNINA also strives to make work processes efficient, transparent, and future-proof. Jira and Confluence are key tools in this — especially in product development, where they are essential for sprint planning, documentation, and collaboration. However, the Jira instance in use was based on an outdated version that was causing increasingly high maintenance costs, had functional limitations and no longer kept pace with modern requirements. When Atlassian also announced the end of support for its server products, it was clear that a technological renewal was unavoidable - with the aim of creating stable, scalable and future-proof systems in the long term.
When a company with this history and this understanding of quality modernizes its digital infrastructure, it is about more than just a system change. It is about setting a strategic course: for security, compliance, growth and sustainable innovation. For BERNINA, the migration to the Atlassian Cloud was therefore not just an IT project, but a logical step towards the future.
The challenge: outdated Jira instance, growing risks and the end of Atlassian Server
Until the migration in 2024, BERNINA used an on-premise installation of Jira and Confluence on software versions from 2019. The systems were basically working, but the technical and organizational burdens were constantly growing: security risks due to missing patches, considerable manual effort for updates, increasing performance problems and severely limited scalability.
The protection and availability of sensitive product data also became an increasing challenge – not due to a lack of control, but because of the growing maintenance effort and technical limitations. As updates and security fixes had to be applied manually, there were regular delays or missed bug fixes – with a corresponding risk to system stability.
In addition, when Atlassian's support for server products expired, it was clear that without further updates, secure, external access to the systems could hardly be guaranteed. For an international company like BERNINA, this would have been a clear step backwards, especially in terms of collaboration with external partners.
"The outdated Jira version regularly led to updates being postponed and security-relevant bug fixes only being applied with a delay or sometimes not at all. With the Atlassian Cloud, these risks are finally a thing of the past," says Andi Zaganjori, Project Manager at BERNINA.
External access was also severely restricted, as the on-premise solution could only be used via VPN for security reasons – a clear obstacle to modern, cross-location collaboration.
When Atlassian finally announced the end of support for server products, it was clear that the risks outweighed the benefits and a move to the cloud was inevitable. Even though BERNINA recognized the opportunities of the cloud, the move was primarily a necessary reaction to Atlassian's decision.
The solution: a controlled migration focused on security, availability, and compliance
From the very beginning, BERNINA was clear: this migration could not be rushed. It had to be clean, secure, and well-structured. Zero data loss, minimal downtime, and full EU compliance were non-negotiable, along with seamless integration into the existing IT landscape, particularly the Azure AD-based identity management.
At the same time, BERNINA saw the migration as an opportunity to optimize its systems. Outdated projects, unused custom fields, and unnecessary apps were targeted for cleanup during the move.
Why BERNINA partnered with Eficode: experience, structure, and trust
The Atlassian Cloud offers many benefits, but getting there can be complex — especially when legacy systems are heavily customized or outdated. BERNINA deliberately chose not to take a risky DIY approach but instead partnered with Eficode, an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner with extensive migration expertise.
Right from the first conversations, Eficode impressed with its structured, realistic approach. A Cloud Readiness Assessment examined the technical requirements, data integrity, and organizational context. This was followed by updating the legacy systems, a comprehensive analysis of all apps, fields, and projects, and the design of a step-by-step migration plan.
Test migration and clean-up
A key element of the project was the test migration, which allowed the team to identify critical dependencies early, such as cross-referenced attachments or specific app conflicts. For particularly complex issues, Eficode worked closely with app vendors to develop custom fix scripts — something BERNINA would not have been able to produce internally within the required timeframe.
The test run also marked the start of a thorough clean-up process. Outdated projects were archived, redundant configurations were removed, and unused apps were retired. As a result, the actual production migration could be completed during a short maintenance window with zero data loss, zero downtime, and no surprises.
The result: stable processes, flexible collaboration, less effort
Since the successful migration, BERNINA has been operating entirely in the Atlassian Cloud and benefiting on multiple levels. Automated security updates ensure the system is always up-to-date without manual intervention. Performance has noticeably improved, there is no longer any need for hardware maintenance or server upkeep, and administrative effort has been significantly reduced.
The cloud environment is seamlessly integrated with Azure AD, including single sign-on and multi-factor authentication. This not only makes user management more secure and efficient but also allows external partners to be onboarded without the need for VPN access, enabling far more flexible and productive collaboration.
"In the past, every system update required significant effort. Today, much of it happens automatically — securely, reliably, and without time loss. This gives us space to focus on the truly important tasks in product development." says Andi Zaganjori.
The way BERNINA uses Atlassian tools has also evolved: automations for repetitive tasks in Jira and structured documentation in Confluence have significantly eased daily work. New features such as Atlassian’s integrated AI unlock further efficiency gains, for example in ticket analysis, content generation, or knowledge management.
Long-term benefits: compliance, scalability, and innovation
For companies with high demands around data protection, traceability, and compliance, the Atlassian Cloud offers clear advantages. Thanks to EU data residency, BERNINA reliably meets regulatory requirements without the need for additional measures. At the same time, the infrastructure scales dynamically with the business. Concerns about storage limits, manual scaling, or costly hardware expansions are a thing of the past.
Identity and access management are now fully integrated: Atlassian Access combined with Azure AD enables centralized role and permission management across all cloud tools — secure, auditable, and efficient.
Conclusion: a project that sets standards
For BERNINA, this migration was not just a technical success. It was a strategic step toward a digital future with less risk, greater agility, and more freedom to innovate. Careful preparation, a clear vision, and a strong partnership with Eficode were key to that success.
"Eficode guided us safely through the complexity of the migration with clear communication, deep technical expertise, and a realistic perspective on effort and benefits." summarizes Andi Zaganjori.
Today, the new cloud instance runs stable, high-performing, and low-maintenance, providing a future-ready platform for BERNINA to continue growing and innovating.
