Migrate from Jira Service Management to Zoho Desk

Jira Service Management requests map to Zoho Desk tickets. Standard fields — summary, description, priority, status, created/updated timestamps — transfer via Zoho bulk CSV import or REST API. Jira's request key (JSM-XXXX) is stored as a custom field jsm_request_key__c on the Zoho Ticket for cross-reference audit. Request type maps to Zoho Desk's ticket form via a pre-migration field mapping configuration pass.

Jira Service Management projects are the top-level organizational unit. Each JSM project maps to a Zoho Desk Department, which is the highest-level routing container in Zoho. Multi-project JSM instances produce multiple Zoho Departments. We configure department-to-request-type routing during import so that incoming requests land in the correct department based on their source project's request type mapping.

Jira request types (IT Help, HR Request, Facilities) define the intake form and associated custom fields. Zoho Desk uses department-scoped ticket forms with custom fields. We map each JSM request type to a Zoho ticket form, and request-type-specific custom fields become Zoho custom fields scoped to that form. Fields that have no Zoho equivalent are flagged in the scoping report for the customer to address pre-import.

JSM SLA goals, starting conditions, and pause conditions migrate to Zoho Desk SLA Policies on Professional and above. SLA metrics (First Response Time, Next Response Time, Resolution Time) map to Zoho's SLA policy targets. Note: Zoho SLA policies use business hours configuration that may differ from JSM's calendar settings — we document the delta and configure Zoho business hours to match JSM's before migration.

JSM Automation rules transfer as documented configuration only. We export rule logic (triggers, conditions, actions) as a written Blueprint specification with step-by-step Zoho equivalent instructions. Automations that reference Jira user actors require re-link to Zoho agents post-migration. Audit logs, performance insights, and global configurations do not migrate per Atlassian's documented migration scope.

JSM agents (licensed resolvers) map to Zoho Desk agents. We resolve by email match. Agent role assignment (admin, supervisor, agent) migrates based on JSM's role configuration. JSM agents without a matching Zoho Desk agent email go to a reconciliation queue for manual provisioning before ticket import begins, because Zoho requires a valid agent reference on imported tickets.

JSM customer portal users (non-agent, uncharged) map to Zoho Desk Contacts. Contact email, name, and organization fields migrate directly. Portal-only users with no Jira Software license do not require Zoho agent provisioning, keeping the contact pool separate from agent licensing costs.

JSM request comments and internal notes migrate to Zoho Desk ticket threads and comments. We preserve author, timestamp, body text, and visibility (public/internal). Attachments embedded in comments are handled as part of the attachment migration pass. Internal notes map to Zoho Desk's private comment visibility setting.

File attachments on Jira requests are downloaded from Atlassian's CDN and re-uploaded to Zoho Desk via the attachments API. Large attachment batches are chunked to avoid timeout. We preserve original filenames and MIME types. Jira-hosted attachments linked via external URLs are preserved as URL references in a custom field rather than re-hosted.

JSM knowledge base articles in Confluence spaces linked to a service project migrate to Zoho Desk Zia KB. We transfer article title, body content, category assignment, and publish status. CRITICAL: Zoho's Zwitch documentation explicitly states that article attachments will not migrate — we surface this limitation during scoping, export article attachments as a separate batch, and provide a pairing guide for re-attaching them to the correct Zoho KB article post-import.

JSM Assets (object schemas, object types, attributes) export via CSV. We import via Zoho Desk's Assets module. The JSM CSV export excludes import configurations and cross-schema object references including issue-to-asset linkages. We reconstruct these linkages by querying the issue-to-asset relationship API before export and re-applying them during Zoho import via a reconciliation pass. This adds a dedicated asset-linking step to the migration job.

Jira labels on requests transfer to Zoho Desk tags. Tag names map directly and are created in Zoho Desk during the import phase if they do not already exist in the destination department.

Jira's full change history — field changes, status transitions, assignee updates — exports via the issue changelog API and re-imports to preserve audit trail. Zoho Desk's ticket history log captures field-level changes with timestamp and actor. We map JSM changelog entries to Zoho ticket history events for a complete audit trail on the destination.