Atlassian Access - Getting Started

In late July 2023, Information, Technology and Consulting (ITC) will be implementing Atlassian Access.  This new access management component will have implications for Atlassian sites administered by someone using their Dartmouth email address.

Table of Contents

What is Atlassian Access?

  • Atlassian Access is an organization-wide feature that connects our Atlassian cloud products (e.g. Jira, Confluence, Trello, Bitbucket) to Dartmouth's identity provider. It allows Dartmouth to enable enterprise-grade authentication features, and additional oversight, across Dartmouth.

Why are we implementing Access?

  • ITC is implementing Atlassian Access to streamline and secure user access to Atlassian cloud products.

    • SSO: Site administrators of cloud products will be able to request Single Sign-On (SSO). With SSO, users can log in to Atlassian cloud products using their existing Dartmouth credentials, reducing the need for multiple usernames and passwords.  SSO improves user convenience and enhances security by eliminating the use of weak or duplicate passwords.  Initially, Advancement IT will be the only department to use SSO with their Atlassian site.  Please note that switching a site to SSO is an option for site administrators - it is not a requirement at this time.

    • Centralized user management: Atlassian Access allows Dartmouth to centrally manage user accounts across multiple Atlassian cloud products. This means that Atlassian Access administrators can easily provision and deprovision user accounts, control access permissions, and enforce security policies consistently across Atlassian tools.

    • Audit logs and reporting: Atlassian Access administrators will have access to logs to identify potential security breaches and investigate suspicious activities which helps Dartmouth maintain accountability and meet compliance requirements.

When will the implementation occur?

  • Atlassian Access is slated to go live at the end of July, 2023, and is anticipated to take less than two hours to implement.

As a user, will anything change after implementation?

  • Non-SSO enabled site - No, you will continue to log in to your site using your Atlassian-specific username and password.
  • SSO enabled site - Yes, you will log in to your site using your Dartmouth SSO credentials instead of your Atlassian-specific username and password.  Depending on which Atlassian products you use, you should receive a 'Heads up' notification or email from Atlassian alerting you that your account uses a Dartmouth email and is now managed by Dartmouth.

As a site admin, is there anything I need to do to prepare for implementation?

  • SSO and Non-SSO enabled sites - No.

What will implementation look like for an administrator of a cloud site?

  • Non-SSO enabled site - There should be no change or disruption to your site during the implementation of Atlassian Access.  Initially, Advancement IT will be the only department to use SSO with their Atlassian site.  After implementation, you can request that ITC enable SSO on your site as well.  
  • SSO enabled site - You will receive an email stating that your site is managed by Dartmouth.  You will still be able to add users to your site.

What do I need to do to have SSO added to my site or if I have other questions?

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