YouTrack, Jira, and Why We're Releasing an Unfinished App Now

With this post, I’d like to shed some light on what we’re currently observing, the momentum the YouTrack market is gaining, and what that means for companies in German-speaking countries. And I’d like to send a clear message to the community.

To all the companies out there looking for an alternative to Jira and Confluence: We’ve heard you.

There are alternatives that are GDPR-compliant, don’t force you into the cloud, and give you full control over your data. YouTrack runs on-premises, on your own infrastructure, behind your firewall. You decide where your data is stored and how you host it. For us, data sovereignty and fair licensing terms aren’t just marketing buzzwords—they’re the reason we do what we do.

We now assist many companies with this transition—from small to very large—and, to be honest, we’re currently a bit overwhelmed by the volume of inquiries in this area. We’re working on multiple migration projects at the same time, developing YouTrack apps in parallel, and looking for software developers to help us with this.

Why we are releasing Test Manager now

This is a special moment, which is perhaps why now is the right time for this post. We’ve released the Test Manager for YouTrack as an Early Access release. And I’ll be blunt: it’s not finished yet. In fact, it’s only halfway done, and as a test management app, it’s not nearly on par with X-Ray or Zephyr.

But that's not the point.

We are actively developing the software and working on Version 1.0, which we plan to release in the middle of the year. Even Version 1.0 won’t be comparable to X-Ray or Zephyr yet, and some compromises will be necessary here and there. But we’re working on it, and the real reason for this release is something else: We want to show you that we’re doing something. That we’re staying on top of things. And that we want to talk about what you need.

Try Test Manager for free right now directly through the JetBrains Marketplace.

What this is really about

Data sovereignty and control

For many companies, the ability to control their own data and work with a partner that operates openly and fairly is the deciding factor. The YouTrack Server license offers you exactly that: hosted on-premises or in a European cloud—whichever you prefer. No dependencies, no strings attached.

Fair and person-to-person

We see JetBrains (and the people there) as a partner we can talk to. They offer practical solutions and have a streamlined decision-making process. These are things we’ve built up over a long partnership. And JetBrains has clearly committed to the YouTrack server license as an alternative to Jira.

An ecosystem with potential

Check out the Jira Marketplace, and then check out the YouTrack Marketplace. You’ll see that there’s still a lot of potential there. We have an active community of app developers, and there’s regular interaction. If you’re thinking about developing your own YouTrack apps, get in touch with us. We’ll either hire you or tell you what you need to get started. We’re open to collaboration and want to ensure we allocate resources wisely so that the same features aren’t built twice. The market is big enough for everyone—that’s becoming clear right now.

What we need from you

We interact with new companies every day, and we need feedback from the market. We need to know which direction to take as we continue to develop. We need to hear from you about what you need and how we can support you so that YouTrack becomes your go-to alternative to Jira and Confluence.

• Tell us what you need. What features are you missing? What are your specific requirements? Get in touch with us.
• Give the Test Manager a try. Yes, it's still a work in progress. That's exactly why we need your feedback.
• Get in touch. Send us an email or give one of us a call. We’re open to hearing from you.
• Join us. Are you a developer looking to build YouTrack apps? We’re looking for people and are open to any form of collaboration.

Here’s another piece of information I’m not yet allowed to share publicly: We have another major enterprise app in the works that will be released later this year.

And what about AI?

Here, too, we see YouTrack as having the edge. At its core, YouTrack is a data product. Ultimately, it’s all about issues—structured, searchable data. And that’s precisely where the system’s strengths lie; by design, it leverages them better than Jira ever could. That’s a decisive advantage when it comes to integrating AI effectively. We see the future precisely there and are also working on how AI can help us become faster. That said, we’ve also realized that it’s not easy to maintain high quality standards in the process, and those are particularly important to us in the enterprise environment. Keeping a level head amid the current hype and not compromising the product’s quality in the process is proving to be a new challenge that would have been completely unimaginable just a few years ago.

To be honest

We’re launching an unfinished app. We know this is unusual. But this is about more than just a product. We want to show you that we’re here, we’re taking action, and we want to work on this together with you. Let’s get in touch and join forces.

Ultimately, it’s about more than just tools. It’s about preserving and regaining control over our data in Europe. It’s about keeping control of it. And it’s about being able to be sure that no one else is reading it who isn’t supposed to.