Atlassian has rebranded its core cloud security products under a new name—Atlassian Guard—bringing together user management and threat detection into a unified framework.
In this article, we’ll explain what Atlassian Guard includes, compare the Standard and Premium tiers, and highlight key considerations for both Cloud and Data Center customers.
We’ll also explore an alternative solution, the Data Protection & Security Toolkit, which offers more advanced protection and automation—especially for those needing immediate or more flexible security options.
What is Atlassian Guard?
Atlassian Guard is the new branding for two of Atlassian’s existing cloud security tools:
- Atlassian Guard Standard (formerly Atlassian Access)
- Atlassian Guard Premium (formerly Atlassian Beacon, previously in beta)
Atlassian Access was primarily used for identity and access management across Atlassian Cloud products, while Beacon focused on threat detection and response.
With the launch of Atlassian Guard, these tools are now consolidated under one umbrella to strengthen cloud security for Jira, Confluence, and other Atlassian products.
How the Rebrand Affects Cloud and Data Center Customers
For Cloud users, this rebrand is mostly a seamless transition. Those already using Atlassian Access will see it renamed to Guard Standard, with the added benefit of some upcoming enhancements like enforced single sign-on (SSO) for external users and expanded security policies. Enterprise Cloud customers will find Guard Standard already included in their plan, just as Access was before.
It’s worth underlining that Atlassian Guard is a cloud-only product. Data Center customers are not affected by this change. Their user management continues through existing means such as Jira, Atlassian Crowd, or integrations with external directories like Active Directory and Azure AD. Security responsibilities in Data Center environments remain entirely in the hands of the customer.
» Looking for powerful remediation and automation capabilities—especially in Atlassian Data Center environments? Check out the Data Protection & Security Toolkit as a cost-effective, feature-rich alternative.
Atlassian Guard Features – Comparing the Standard and Premium Plans
The primary difference between Guard Standard and Guard Premium lies in the depth of security coverage and automation.
Guard Standard focuses on authentication and user access controls. It integrates with identity providers for SSO, supports SCIM and two-factor authentication, and includes basic tools for detecting suspicious login activity. It helps ensure only authorized users have access to Atlassian Cloud products.
Guard Premium introduces more proactive data protection capabilities. It allows you to classify sensitive data, apply policies to prevent unauthorized sharing or exporting, and detect suspicious behavior through content scanning and automated alerts. These features are particularly valuable to teams with compliance or regulatory requirements, or those handling sensitive intellectual property.
Guard Premium is not limited to users on Premium versions of Jira or Confluence—it’s available across all cloud tiers.
Just because Atlassian Guard Premium has “Premium” in its name doesn’t mean it’s only available for Jira Premium or Confluence Premium. Guard Premium is available for the standard versions of Jira and Confluence as well.
Our Quick Breakdown of Atlassian Guard Standard vs. Premium
|
Feature |
Atlassian Guard Standard |
Atlassian Guard Premium |
|
Former name |
Atlassian Access |
Atlassian Beacon (beta) |
|
SSO / SCIM / MFA |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Threat detection |
Basic |
Advanced |
|
Data classification |
No |
Yes |
|
Automation/remediation |
No |
No |
|
Limited availability |
No |
Yes |
Atlassian Guard Pricing: What You Need to Know
Atlassian Guard is available in two tiers: Standard and Premium, priced at $4 and $8 per user per month, respectively (based on annual billing for a team of 100 users). Monthly billing is available, though at a slightly higher rate.
Expect to pay annually from $4,000 for the Standard Plan, based on a team of 100 users, and $8,000 for the Premium Plan. Guard Standard is also included at no additional cost in Cloud Enterprise plans.
Guard Standard includes core identity and access management features such as enforced single sign-on (SSO), SCIM user provisioning, mobile application management (MAM), API token controls, and an organization-wide audit log.
Guard Premium builds on this by adding data classification, anomalous activity detection, alert investigations, content scanning, SIEM integrations, and remediation recommendations—making it a more comprehensive, enterprise-focused security solution.
Limitations of Atlassian Guard Premium
While Guard Premium introduces significant improvements in cloud security posture, it comes with several limitations.
Its restricted availability means many organizations cannot adopt it right away, but it has been generally rolled out to the public for purchase. The product also lacks built-in remediation capabilities—it will detect and alert users to threats, but it doesn’t automatically take action to resolve them.
Additionally, Guard Premium scans an entire instance indiscriminately, which may put unnecessary load on your system and prolong scan times. There is no way to exclude specific fields or data types from scans.
The most critical limitation has been that Guard Premium was unavailable to Data Center customers, leaving a gap in native threat detection and response—security remained entirely your responsibility.
However, Atlassian has introduced a connector for Data Center, which somewhat eliminates that limitation. To use this integration, you’ll still need both a cloud site and a Guard Premium cloud subscription. This hybrid setup helps bring some Guard Premium protections to Data Center environments but does not provide a fully native solution. More details are available in Atlassian’s official documentation.
Our Alternative to Atlassian Guard: The Data Protection & Security Toolkit
The Data Protection & Security Toolkit (DPT) is a powerful, flexible security app available via the Atlassian Marketplace for both Cloud and Data Center users.
Why choose The Data Protection & Security Toolkit?
- Threat detection + automated remediation
- Anonymize, redact, restrict access automatically
- Works with Jira/Confluence automation, Teams, Slack, Grafana, etc.
- Customize which fields to scan or ignore for better performance
- Supports both Cloud and Data Center
- Much more affordable than Guard Premium
Unlike Guard, The Data Protection & Security Toolkit can scan historic data, clean up sensitive content, and trigger actions using integrations or native Jira/Confluence automations.
For example: Tagging content with sensitive labels → Automatically create a JSM incident or notify stakeholders via Slack.
Atlassian Guard vs. Data Protection & Security Toolkit Compared
|
Feature |
Atlassian Guard Premium |
Data Protection & Security Toolkit |
|
Threat detection |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Automated remediation |
No |
Yes |
|
Scan customization |
No |
Yes |
|
Historical data cleanup |
No |
Yes, but only on Data Center |
|
Works in Data Center |
No |
Yes |
|
Cost-effective pricing |
No |
Yes |
Migrating to Atlassian Cloud? What You Need to Know
Security concerns are often a sticking point for Data Center customers considering a move to the cloud. Guard Premium addresses some of the biggest blockers to migration by introducing three core capabilities: detailed audit logs, control over API tokens and service accounts, and the ability to detect and remediate sensitive data leaks. These features are essential for organizations in regulated industries or handling sensitive data.
Beyond these protections, migrating users can gain an additional advantage by using the transition period to clean up their Data Center instance(s)—including historical content—before making the move. This proactive approach enables a “worry-free” migration to the cloud, ensuring that only compliant and necessary data is transferred.
The Data Protection & Security Toolkit (DPT) continues to play a valuable role in this process. It provides cost-effective scanning capabilities during the cleanup and post-migration phases.
Final Thoughts: Is Atlassian Guard Worth It?
Atlassian Guard provides a welcome rebranding and feature consolidation—but it’s not without drawbacks:
- Features like automated remediation are missing
- Data Center customers are left out
- Limited rollout of Premium causes adoption friction
If you’re seeking enterprise-grade security, threat response, and automation now—whether you’re on Cloud or Data Center—the Data Protection & Security Toolkit may be a better fit.
Want advanced Atlassian security and threat detection/remediation now? Schedule a demo or try the Data Protection & Security Toolkit free for a month.