Hit the Road, Jack - the Atlassian Data Center Roadmap and More Accessibility in Confluence and Linchpin - News, tips & guidance for agile, development, Atlassian-Software (JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket, ...) and Google Cloud

Imagine this - your TV suddenly breaks. You decide to go to a thrift store and buy a used one, so don't want to spend too much money on a completely new set (or because sustainability is important to you, or both). You transport the enormous package on a cramped public bus through the city to your home - luckily without breaking anything. Last but not least, you manage to set up the TV, wire it properly, and connect it to your favorite game console and other devices. Phew!

Now you're ready to plop down on your sofa and try out your favorite streaming series on your “new” device… and then… disappointment: The picture resolution is worse than on your previous TV, the speakers aren't very good somehow, and the remote doesn't have its own Netflix button, so you always have to click through the menu before you can start binge-watching. But do you really want to return the TV after all that stress? Oh no, you'll manage somehow.

Often, you notice only later on that something's missing

Even if we would prefer to have known it before we bought it, we only realize when we've used something for a while that we are not completely satisfied with the product, that we are missing certain functions, or that the scope of services is not (or no longer) sufficient. And it is the same with software. Only when you use different systems or tools intensively do you notice which features you are missing, what their limitations are, or where they are simply outdated.

Nevertheless, this does not necessarily mean that you have made a bad purchase: Software has the great advantage that it can be constantly developed further (and that without you having to send the product somewhere or take it to a workshop). Bugs are fixed or new functions are made available with a simple software update.

Atlassian develops its functionalities for Confluence Data Center

Atlassian is also constantly developing and improving its software - including its Data Center products. In doing so, the company primarily focuses on its customers in order to align investments in data centers with their needs. As Atlassian announced in June 2022, the following three points represent the most important customer requirements at present:

Performance and scaling
Security and compliance
Infrastructure and operations

But how exactly are these needs addressed? Let’s take a look at the latest cross-platform and cross-product updates for Confluence Data Center!

This is new, part 1: Guardrails

Atlassian has released Guardrails for Confluence Data Center to help you manage your growing instances. Guardrails consists of documentation and strategic recommendations designed to help you identify at which point your instance performance is impacted. This makes it easier for you to maintain the performance of your software as you scale.

This is also new, part 2: Application Tunnels

Application Tunnels give you a secure path between Atlassian Cloud and Data Center instances beyond the firewall. Tunneling allows you to securely share data and functionality between products without opening the network to the outside world.

News, part 3: Accessibility and barrier-free accessibility

Accessibility is an incredibly important compliance requirement for organizations, and Atlassian is increasingly championing it. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA serve as guidance. Atlassian has already updated the VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates) documents for its products recently.

What's next for Atlassian? A look at the roadmap for Atlassian Data Center

But that's not all - the next improvements and new features for Data Center are already in the pipeline. Here's what you can look forward to:

Product diagnostics: Use the integrated Java Flight Recorder to capture performance and diagnostic data and implement self-diagnostics capabilities.
User migration improvements: Invalid and duplicate emails can now be detected more easily, which in turn streamlines user migration.
Emoji experience: Can't imagine working without emojis? In the editor, you can select and use your own or newly added emojis.
Import/export User Interface: Site and Space administrators get a better overview and more control over the import and export tasks of Sites and Spaces when moving data between Confluence instances.
Search index performance: Data can now be searched and indexed faster, and the indexing platform provides better performance, stability, and security.
Import and export enhancements: Data can be moved between Confluence instances faster and more reliably with improved import and export of sites and sections.
Java 17 support: Confluence can run on the long-term supported Java 17 release - allowing you to take advantage of new Java features and get access to bug fixes over a longer period of time.
Copy Space: Spaces and all their pages, permissions, and configurations can now be copied in one easy step.
Java 17 as default: Because Confluence ships with Java 17 by default, you benefit from optimal performance - including all the advantages of the new Java capabilities.
REST API (user management): A more robust REST API now exists that allows admins to automate critical user management operations - such as granting, reviewing, and revoking access rights. This safeguards admins with respect to employee access rights.
Eliminate access barriers for assistive technology users: Barriers that prevent users of assistive technologies (including screen readers) from completing important product tasks are removed.
Eliminate access barriers for visually impaired and keyboard-only users: Access for visually impaired users and those who work only with their keyboards is optimized, with an eye toward ensuring that they too can complete important product tasks.

Although the focus of the roadmap is on features that affect the category "Scaling and Performance", it’s obvious that Atlassian takes the compliance requirements of its customers seriously and wants to actively push the topic of accessibility for Confluence Data Center. Atlassian wants to gradually reduce access barriers for users of assistive technologies as well as for visually impaired and keyboard-only users. For example, work is underway to make sidebar navigation and profile page updates more accessible to users of screen reader devices.

Why the Linchpin Intranet Suite also breaks down access barriers

Unfortunately, there is a catch - Atlassian's efforts alone are often not enough. Because if companies also use tools compatible with Confluence, users with disabilities are still restricted in their use. It is therefore also the responsibility of developers of apps and tools based on Confluence to promote accessibility - this is the only way to actively promote inclusion. Otherwise, the painful truth is that if you don't think and develop software in an accessible way, you're excluding people - even if unintentionally - from using it to its full potential.

The Linchpin Intranet Suite, a social intranet for Confluence Server and Data Center, has always pursued the goal of connecting people, teams, locations, and tools. In doing so, Linchpin expands the pure wiki tool Confluence into an online social meeting place and a collection point of useful additional features. And to ensure that everyone really is part of this shared "digital workroom," we've also been working on making Linchpin accessible for some time.

We have already removed some access barriers. The focus here is on keyboard navigation: For example, you can already operate our social intranet in read-only mode using just your keyboard. Linchpin also has skip links that allow you to skip certain page content. With the help of focus frames, every element accessed with the keyboard is given a clearly recognizable frame.

Linchpin for screen readers - release in October

While keyboard navigation is a good start in making the Linchpin Intranet Suite more accessible - we know, of course, that this is only the first step. That's why, over the past few months, we've been working hard on making Linchpin screenreader compatible as our next major project.

Screen readers are programs that - as the name suggests - read texts aloud. They are used, for example, with alternative texts in images to inform visually impaired people about what is shown in an image. This already works in the versions Linchpin Intranet Suite 5.3 and Linchpin Enterprise News 2.19 - here you can easily deposit alt texts for news teasers.

To ensure that all users can use Linchpin fully via screen reader, we've taken a close look at the compatibility of the social intranet with screen readers and worked on it. It won't be long before you can try out the new feature for yourself, because the new update for the Linchpin Intranet Suite will be released in October.

Free room tour for your digital office

Are you interested in the topic "accessibility of software solutions" and would like to try out the accessible features of Linchpin? No problem - just log in at a11y.linchpin-intranet.com with the login details kholmes/kholmes to take a look at our current development status.

Do you not know what Linchpin is all about, but would you like to take a look around your potential digital workspace? No problem - you can easily test our social intranet for free (and see the interior design for yourself). Or take an informal tour with our experienced guides, who will also be happy to answer your questions!

Test Linchpin for free!

Hit the Road, Jack – the Atlassian Data Center Roadmap and More Accessibility in Confluence and Linchpin