Elements, known for their suite of Jira and Confluence applications, has successfully enhanced Elements Connect’s cloud version by integrating Forge custom fields, improving native Jira integration and enabling more powerful data connections across platforms.
- Forge custom fields enable seamless Jira Software issue creation and editing integration.
- Hybrid Forge and Atlassian Connect framework approach retains legacy and new features.
- New custom fields support real-time data aggregation from various external sources.
What happened
Elements, a long-standing Atlassian Gold Marketplace Partner, has upgraded its Elements Connect app by integrating Forge custom fields to enhance Jira Cloud functionality. This enhancement addresses the technical limitations experienced when migrating from server to cloud environments. The original approach using Atlassian Connect relied on iframes for embedding apps within Jira, which restricted the creation and editing of connected custom fields and limited integration with Jira’s native UI components.
To overcome these constraints, Elements explored multiple development strategies and ultimately implemented a hybrid approach. They maintained the existing Atlassian Connect app while creating a Forge-based helper app to introduce new custom field capabilities. This integration now supports custom field creation and editing directly within Jira issues, improving user experience and enabling richer data workflows.
Why it matters
The shift to cloud-based Atlassian environments has challenged many partners to replicate the deep integrations they had on server versions. Elements Connect’s use of Forge custom fields represents a significant advancement in tackling these challenges by leveraging Atlassian’s newer development framework to expand what is possible within Jira Cloud. This move ensures customers transitioning to cloud retain key functionality while gaining new, more flexible features.
Furthermore, Forge custom fields allow users to aggregate and present data from multiple external sources within Jira consistent with native fields. This capability is critical for organizations seeking to modernize workflows and unify data management across tools, making Jira a central hub for diverse operational insights and processes.
What to watch next
Moving forward, Elements is likely to continue refining the synergy between their Atlassian Connect and Forge apps to maximize performance and feature availability. Monitoring their future updates will be important for users who rely heavily on Elements Connect for cross-platform data integrations and customized Jira workflows, as enhancements may further improve cloud adoption experiences.
Additionally, the broader Atlassian ecosystem will be closely watching how Forge custom fields evolve and whether other app developers adopt similar hybrid strategies to overcome cloud migration hurdles. These developments could shape the future of app integration patterns on Jira Cloud, influencing both marketplace offerings and customer migration decisions.