Atlassian and Salesforce are two of the biggest names in enterprise software, but they operate in different spaces. Atlassian focuses on collaboration and development tools while Salesforce provides customer relationship management (CRM) solutions.
However, there is some overlap in their target markets which leads many to wonder – is Atlassian a competitor of Salesforce? How do their product offerings compare? This comprehensive guide examines the key differences and similarities between Atlassian and Salesforce.
A Brief Comparison Table
| Category | Atlassian | Salesforce |
| Focus Area | Collaboration and development tools | CRM and sales automation |
| Main Products | Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, Trello | Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud |
| Key Features | Agile project management, content collaboration, code hosting, task management | Contact management, case management, email marketing, ecommerce |
| Ideal Users | Software engineers, product managers, IT teams | Sales reps, marketing teams, service agents, business users |
| Pricing Model | Time-limited license. Tiered based on number of users | User-based subscription. Multiple tiers based on features. |
| Implementation | Install on-premise or use cloud version. Configure workflows and permissions. | Configure objects, fields, views, and automations on cloud platform. Add apps from marketplace. |
| Customization | Very customizable but requires some development work | Click-based configuration, easy for non-technical users |
| Integration | APIs and hundreds of app integrations | Seamless integration between all Salesforce clouds and apps |
| Adoption | Over 200,000 organizations use Atlassian tools | Over 150,000 companies use Salesforce, especially for CRM |
Overview Of Atlassian
Founded in 2002, Atlassian is best known for its collaboration and devops tools like Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, and Trello. The Australia-based company develops products that help teams organize, discuss, and complete shared work.
Some of Atlassian’s most popular offerings include:
- Jira – Project management and issue tracking tool for agile software development teams. Allows creating user stories, sprints, reporting, and more.
- Confluence – Content collaboration platform where teams can create, organize, and discuss work together.
- Bitbucket – Git and Mercurial code repository hosting for teams to manage, review, and deploy code.
- Trello – Kanban style list-based project management. Great for managing tasks and workflows visually.
Atlassian tools are built for enterprise agile and DevOps initiatives, with a focus on helping IT teams develop and release software more efficiently. The company claims over 200,000 organizations use its products.
Overview Of Salesforce
Salesforce pioneered the cloud-based CRM software industry. Founded in 1999, it provides customer relationship management applications that unite sales, service, marketing, commerce, and more on a shared platform.
Salesforce’s core offerings include:
- Sales Cloud – CRM for sales teams to manage leads, opportunities, and accounts. Includes contact management, email integration, sales planning, and reporting.
- Service Cloud – Tools for customer service teams to track cases, solve issues faster, and exceed customer expectations.
- Marketing Cloud – Digital marketing platform with email, mobile, advertising, social media, and analytics tools.
- Commerce Cloud – Build customized ecommerce experiences across sales channels and integrate systems.
- Platform – Developer toolkit and API access to customize apps and extend Salesforce.
Over 150,000 companies use Salesforce for its industry-leading CRM and sales automation capabilities. It has grown into a massive ecosystem for managing customer data and interactions across departments.
Is Atlassian A Competitor Of Salesforce?
Atlassian and Salesforce operate in distinct spheres – collaboration/development Vs. CRM/sales automation. But there is some overlap between Atlassian’s project management tools like Jira and Trello with Salesforce’s sales, service, and task management features.
Both companies aim to improve team productivity and visibility. However, Atlassian focuses squarely on helping software teams develop and release products efficiently. Salesforce concentrates on managing customer interactions across the business.
Atlassian tools can integrate with Salesforce to share data between dev and business teams. Many IT organizations use Atlassian and Salesforce together to build tighter alignment. But the two don’t have significant direct competition in their core solutions.
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Comparing Jira And Salesforce
Jira is Atlassian’s most popular project management tool and competes directly with Salesforce’s issues, projects, and task management capabilities:
- User stories – Jira Software allows creating agile user stories with descriptions, attachments, tasks, etc. Salesforce also has user story management.
- Sprints – Jira provides sprint planning, task boards, burndown charts, and reporting for agile development. Salesforce Scrum projects offer similar sprint-based tools.
- Kanban boards – Visualize work in progress with Kanban-style boards in Jira Software and Salesforce Lightning.
- Roadmaps – Both Jira and Salesforce have high-level roadmapping to plan projects and releases. Jira focuses more on versions for software delivery.
- Approvals – Salesforce and Jira let you set up approval workflows with customizable business rules.
- Reporting – Robust reporting engines provide insights into team productivity and cycle times. Jira emphasizes delivery metrics while Salesforce looks at sales activities.
While Jira offers deeper capabilities for software project management, Salesforce provides solid issue tracking tailored for business teams. Salesforce may be preferable for non-technical users.
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Why Is Salesforce The #1 CRM?
There are a few key reasons why Salesforce has dominated the CRM market:
- Cloud pioneer – Salesforce popularized the cloud delivery model for enterprise software. It was among the first to provide a robust, scalable SaaS CRM platform.
- Sales focus – Salesforce solutions are designed specifically to help sales teams close more deals. The platform supports sales reps’ entire workflow.
- Ease of use – Salesforce provides an intuitive, customizable interface. Users can easily configure views, fields, and automations without technical knowledge.
- App ecosystem – Salesforce supports an enormous marketplace of third-party apps that extend functionality. Customers can build solutions for unique needs.
- Customer success – Salesforce has always focused heavily on ensuring customer outcomes and providing great support. The company consistently earns high satisfaction ratings.
- Innovation – Salesforce delivers major platform upgrades 3x per year. They continually add new capabilities to stay ahead of CRM market trends.
For enterprises seeking an industry-leading SaaS CRM, Salesforce remains the dominant choice that sets the pace of innovation. The company’s cloud-first approach and obsession with customer success underpin its leadership.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
No, Atlassian and Salesforce are not direct competitors. Atlassian offers collaboration and development tools for IT teams while Salesforce provides customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. Their products complement each other more often than compete.
Yes, Atlassian uses Salesforce internally for its CRM and sales operations. Salesforce often appears as a tech stack component for companies who make developer tools like Atlassian. The two platforms integrate well together.
Jira is focused on agile project management primarily for software teams. It offers robust tools for agile workflows like user stories, sprints, reporting, and software versioning. Salesforce is a CRM platform tailored for sales, marketing, service, and business teams.
Salesforce pioneered the cloud CRM industry. It’s known for its ease of use, ecosystem of apps, frequent innovations, and focus on customer success. Companies looking for a mature SaaS CRM platform see Salesforce as the enterprise standard and industry leader.
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Conclusion
Comparing Atlassian Vs. Salesforce shows that the two companies excel in different segments of the enterprise software market. Atlassian leads in collaboration and devops tools while Salesforce dominates the CRM and sales automation space. Both platforms aim to improve teamwork and productivity within organizations.
Using Atlassian and Salesforce together can help bridge the gap between IT and business teams. Each offers enterprise-ready solutions that rank at the top of their respective categories.
