Confluence vs SAP Jam

2023. Atlassian brings an AI assistant to Jira and Confluence



Atlassian has introduced Atlassian Intelligence, an AI-powered 'virtual teammate' that utilizes the company's proprietary models and OpenAI's large language models to create customized teamwork graphs. This technology enables various functionalities, such as AI-generated summaries in Confluence and test plans in Jira Software, as well as the rewriting of responses to customers in Jira Service Management. Atlassian Intelligence provides users with a chatbox similar to Chat-GPT, which is deeply integrated into different products and allows for the referencing of specific documents. For instance, to generate a summary of action items from a recent meeting, users can link the document with the transcript and request the summary inside Confluence. The tool then generates a list of decisions and action items from the meeting.


2021. Atlassian peps up Confluence with new graphical design features



Confluence, the collaborative workspace developed by Atlassian, has been a staple knowledge-sharing tool for over 15 years, widely adopted by companies for its versatility. In its latest update, Confluence introduces several new features to enhance user experience. Users can now customize their spaces with cover images, title emojis, and personalized avatars that represent different sections of Confluence. The addition of smart links allows for seamless integration with platforms like YouTube and Trello, automatically recognizing and displaying links in their native formats. Furthermore, users can schedule the publication of new pages and convert pages into blog posts, reflecting the increasing popularity of corporate blogging within organizations, particularly for internal audiences during the pandemic.


2020. Atlassian’s Confluence gets a new template gallery



Confluence, the content-centric collaboration tool by Atlassian, is simplifying the onboarding process for new users through the introduction of an enhanced template gallery, featuring 75 additional templates. This update signifies the evolution of Confluence from a specialized wiki primarily used by technical documentation teams to a widely adopted tool utilized across various organizations. The revamped template gallery offers improved search tools, filters, and previews conveniently located in the right-hand panel of your Confluence site. These enhancements facilitate the seamless discovery of templates that are most relevant to your business needs.


2014. Atlassian launches JIRA and Confluence for large companies



Atlassian has unveiled two new products designed specifically for large enterprises. In the upcoming week, Atlassian will release JIRA Data Center, a version of its project management software that supports running the service on multiple nodes. Additionally, later this summer, it will introduce Confluence Data Center, a collaboration service centered around wikis. With the Data Center versions, larger companies will enjoy improved support for scaling the services across multiple nodes, resulting in enhanced performance and scalability. Administrators will have the ability to route specific applications, teams, or geographies to designated nodes within a cluster, while additional nodes can be added in real time. The clustering technology and shared file systems are seamlessly integrated with industry-standard technologies, ensuring smooth operations.


2011. JIRA, Confluence available as SaaS services


Atlassian has launched the new SaaS service Atlassian OnDemand, which includes its popular tools for managing software development projects: JIRA (issue-tracker), Confluence (wiki), GreenHopper (Agile Project Management), Bonfire (bug reporter), FishEye (code manager), Crucible (code review) and Bamboo (integration). All products in the SaaS version provide the full functionality of the installable counterparts. There are only minimal restrictions on the tool integration and use of the custom plug-ins. You can turn on/off the tools as needed. The service pricing is traditional for Atlassian - "everything for $10 for 10 users." Recall that the company is also selling the 10-user leniences of the same installable products for $10. So you can either buy the product for $10, or rent it for $10/month. ***


2010. SAP launches StreamWork



SAP seems to be adapting to the SaaS world. Less than 2 months since the introduction of SaaS product 12Sprints public beta, the company is launching the commercial version under the new name StreamWork. Yes, there are already some bugs in it (i.e. it doesn't support Chrome) but this is the right SaaS strategy: you launch a service -> get feedback -> quickly fix the bugs. StreamWork is positioned as a service for online brainstorming and decision-making. It's like Google Wave, but more structured and specialized for a particular task. Good news is that SAP StreamWork tends to be open. It supports the Open Social and can get data from other applications through the RESTful services. ***


2009. Atlassian announced Confluence 3.0 and Plugin Exchange

Atlassian has announced the release of Confluence 3.0, an upgraded version of their enterprise wiki platform, with a strong focus on enhancing the social networking aspects. The new release introduces activity streams and Twitter-like status updates, marking a significant advancement for Atlassian. Users can now post status updates of up to 140 characters and choose to follow their colleagues' updates selectively or subscribe to entire activity streams through the web interface or RSS. While personal profiles and status updates are not groundbreaking in the realm of social software, these features enhance collaboration and communication within Confluence. Additionally, Atlassian has introduced the Plugin Exchange, a marketplace where users can download, rate, and review numerous third-party plugins. With this centralized site, Atlassian aims to create a more community-driven marketplace for Confluence plugin developers. As part of this initiative, Atlassian has acquired GreenHopper, an agile project management plugin for their JIRA issue tracking software, further complementing the launch of the Plugin Exchange.


2009. Confluence gets widgets from Widgetbox

Widgetbox has recently made its widgets compatible with Atlassian Confluence, a business wiki solution. By "componentizing" applications, Widgetbox widgets offer the ability to easily transfer and utilize them across various websites. This integration allows users to seamlessly incorporate Confluence into their workflow, simplifying the management of news feeds and data from other sites. The collaboration between Widgetbox and Confluence serves as a valuable addition behind the enterprise firewall, enhancing the functionality of Atlassian's utilitarian applications. With Widgetbox, users can go beyond the limitations of customization and integration with external applications and data, overcoming the obstacles that were previously encountered.


2008. Wiki Editing Just Got Easier: Atlassian Confluence Releases Office Connector

In their latest release, Confluence 2.9, Atlassian Confluence, renowned for their enterprise wiki solution, has unveiled integration with Microsoft Office and SharePoint. This integration eliminates the need for users to understand wiki markup or the rich-text editor provided, as they can now directly open Microsoft Office documents to make changes. The addition of the SharePoint connector brings Enterprise 2.0 capabilities to Microsoft's popular collaboration and document sharing platform, delighting end users. Moreover, Confluence addresses IT requirements with features such as LDAP integration and administratively controlled permissions tailored to enterprise needs. The Confluence Office Connector enables seamless editing of the wiki in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, streamlining the user experience and increasing adoption rates. By replacing outdated file sharing methods like network file shares and overflowing email inboxes, Confluence aids in transitioning to SharePoint and combating email overload. With the SharePoint Connector now available to all users, Confluence integrates well with SharePoint server and other systems via the API, allowing IT departments to build upon their existing solutions. Notably, Confluence boasts an impressive client roster, including major organizations like Bank of America, Sun, Adobe, Cisco, IBM, SAP, Intel, and Microsoft, with over 6000 enterprises currently leveraging the software. With pricing options starting at $1200 for 25 users (or $600 for academic institutions), Confluence remains accessible to smaller companies as well.