About the company

This success story comes from a multinational pharmaceutical company with more than 2000 employees, headquartered in Switzerland. The biopharmaceutical company is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people worldwide and is committed to research, innovation, and patient-centered care, thus playing a vital role in developing and delivering life-changing therapies.

About the Partner

catworkx is an Xporter Emerging Partner and one of the largest Atlassian Platinum and Enterprise Solution Partners, Authorized Training Partner and Marketplace app vendor. It has been one of the leading service providers in the German-speaking market since 2002. catworkx has reached all possible Atlassian specializations: Agile at Scale, Cloud, and ITSM.

As a part of TIMETOACT GROUP, catworkx provides a holistic range of services for the entire Atlassian toolchain, including process consulting and implementation, app development, platform solutions for operation, training courses, and comprehensive licensing services.

The challenge

The company’s immediate challenge arose when the need to merge a smaller Jira Cloud instance with the primary Jira Data Center instance became evident. Traditional data migration methods were deemed unsuitable due to their time-consuming nature. On the other hand, they could potentially disrupt ongoing research and patient care efforts.

While the majority of Jira project issues had been addressed, the data from the Cloud instance was essential for regulatory compliance, traceability, and as proof of evidence. The company required this data in a universally readable format, specifically, PDF/A. However, a direct migration would mean potential loss of data, increased downtime, and a considerable investment of resources.

The company was at a crossroads, needing a solution that could maintain the integrity of their data without the complexities and risks of a conventional migration process.

The pharmaceutical company needed help with this challenge, and catworkx, a valuable Xporter’s partner, suggested the implementation of Xporter, a flexible and user-friendly app designed to streamline data exports in Jira. The decision to implement Xporter for this customer was driven by several factors that made it the ideal choice.

The solution

When faced with the limitations of traditional data management methods, the global pharmaceutical company turned to catworkx, a trusted Xporter Partner, for a customized solution. Recognizing that the challenge extended beyond mere data merging, catworkx proposed a comprehensive approach: exporting all Jira issues into an archivable PDF format. This required the development of an extended export template, encompassing all individual issue data, including issue links, comments, sub-tasks, and attachments.

Using this template, the company conducted a bulk export of the issues and saved them in a searchable file share, ensuring accessibility and efficient data management.

Xporter is renowned for its flexibility and user-centric approach to data exports in Jira. catworkx’s recommendation wasn’t merely based on the tool’s popularity; instead, it was rooted in a detailed assessment of the pharmaceutical company’s requirements in comparison to what Xporter offered. This assessment led to the decision to extract the data to PDF/A format directly onto ShareDrive, eliminating the need for an extensive migration. Consequently, the data was never relocated to Data Center but instead was efficiently archived as PDF files.

The pharmaceutical company required a solution to meet its specific needs and provide a seamless data export experience.

In this particular success case, the implementation of Xporter provided a tailored and efficient solution for a one-time migration and merger scenario. The primary benefit of implementing Xporter was avoiding the need to migrate the entire cloud instance into the main DC instance. Instead, the team leveraged Xporter’s capabilities to export the necessary data in a PDF format. This approach perfectly met the customer’s expectations and requirements, making the migration process to share the Drive in PDF smoother and more streamlined.

By using Xporter, the customer experienced a seamless data export process, eliminating the need for complex and time-consuming data migration from the cloud to the main DC instance. The simplicity and user-friendly nature of Xporter allowed them to create a customized export template that precisely matched their needs. As a result, the team could successfully transfer the required data to the shared drive in a readable and accessible PDF format.

Furthermore, the implementation of Xporter showcased the value of choosing the right tool for specific use cases. In this migration/merger scenario, Xporter was the perfect fit, ensuring a successful data transfer without requiring extensive ongoing usage. This highlights the versatility of Xporter, which can cater to various migration and export needs in Jira instances, whether ongoing or one-time projects.

“The simplicity of using Xporter is impressive. The template management section is simple and self-explaining. Building the export template was not a big deal, so we could meet the customer’s needs with minor effort.”

Michael Bernhard, CEO at catworkx AG

However, even with a tool as dynamic as Xporter, challenges were inevitable. The scope of data to be exported was vast. It encompassed not just main tasks but sub-tasks, issue links, comments, and even intricate attachments like images. This was a non-negotiable requirement as any omission could potentially disrupt the company’s workflows or regulatory compliances.

To navigate this, the catworkx team worked in tandem with Xporter’s support, a collaboration that proved invaluable. Every challenge, be it minor template adjustments or bulk export strategies, was addressed proactively. The dedicated support from Xporter ensured that the pharmaceutical company’s team never felt isolated during the process. It was a testament to the strength of collaborative technology solutions.

The results

The customer is highly satisfied with the implemented Xporter solution. Indeed, Xporter has been a game changer, providing immense value in several aspects. Having all the issues in a searchable format has made the pharma company’s life much easier: the data can be easily accessed and it’s possible to present evidence whenever necessary without any hassles.

The most significant benefit was the smooth export process after the template was provided by catworkx.

With Xporter, the company can invest less effort and resources in migrating the configurations and data to the Data Center instance. This saved precious time, which can be now dedicated to other crucial tasks and projects. In addition, the cost savings have been remarkable. By carefully managing user licenses, unnecessary expenses could be avoided for users who didn’t need full Jira access in the new consolidated instance. This prudent approach significantly optimized the budget as well. The flexibility of the export template is another aspect the company very much appreciated. 

The company can reuse the Xporter implementation for similar use cases in other instances with minor adjustments based on the source configurations. This reusability has brought consistency and efficiency to their projects.

The presented improvements have translated into tangible results:

• Time efficiency: The company saved an estimated 10-20 workdays by sidestepping traditional migration processes.
• Cost savings: Financial resources were conserved by eliminating the need to maintain the cloud instance solely for archival purposes. Additionally, the company avoided costs associated with user licenses for those not requiring full Jira access in the consolidated instance.
• Data management: Approximately 1000 issues, mainly tasks, were effectively exported to the desired format using Xporter. This streamlined method allowed the company to access data easily and present evidence whenever required.
• Instant report generation: With Xporter’s seamless data export capabilities, the customer gained the ability to generate reports on demand instantly, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual report generation.

In conclusion, Xporter has been a true lifesaver for the customer, simplifying data management, saving time and money, and empowering them to handle future projects confidently. The customer is satisfied with the results and excited about Xporter’s further improvements and growth possibilities.