Atlassian’s FedRAMP Certification: What’s the Big Deal?
Mar 20, 2025
Atlassian’s announcement in early 2025 that its Government Cloud achieved FedRAMP Moderate certification is a major milestone. The certification means that Jira Software, Confluence, and Jira Service Management can now be used by U.S. federal agencies and contractors in a secure, compliant cloud environment.
TL;DR Takeaways
- Atlassian Government Cloud achieved FedRAMP Moderate authorization as of March 17, 2025
- FedRAMP is a government security standard that certifies cloud services for federal use
- Public sector teams can now use these tools, but the adoption will depend on the cloud migration hurdles they face
- Atlassian has plans for FedRAMP High and DoD IL5 certifications
What is FedRAMP and Why Does It Matter?
Essentially FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) is a U.S. government program that sets security standards for cloud service providers. The program is designed to ensure that cloud services are secure enough to handle federal data and comply with government regulations. There are three levels of FedRAMP authorization: Low, Moderate, and High, depending on the sensitivity of the data the service will handle.
Atlassian achieved “FedRAMP Moderate”, which should be suitable for most federal agencies but not necessarily for the most sensitive information like classified data (at least this is what the internet tells me, I’m by no means an expert). But if Atlassian plans to handle more highly classified or sensitive government data in the future, they’ll need to achieve FedRAMP High, which is apparently much more challenging and requires additional controls.
The ability for U.S. government agencies and their contractors to use Atlassian Cloud tools is a big win. For years, federal agencies stuck with on-premises tools because cloud-based offerings weren’t deemed secure enough. With FedRAMP Moderate, Atlassian’s Cloud services are now in play for a whole new set of potential customers.
What’s Next?
This is definitely a great first step, but it’s just the beginning. The company has already announced plans to pursue FedRAMP High certification, which would make its Cloud offerings suitable for even more sensitive government data. FedRAMP High is required for handling classified or critical data, such as law enforcement or healthcare information.
Atlassian has also expressed interest in obtaining DoD IL5 certification, which is needed for Department of Defense applications. DoD IL5 certification is particularly important for defense contractors and other entities working with the Department of Defense. But, much like FedRAMP High, this is a complicated and rigorous process that could take years to complete. But it’s not surprising, it makes sense if they’re trying to get everyone onto Cloud, which has been their obvious business goal for some time now.