Migration from Zendesk to YouTrack

Prerequisites

Before initiating the migration, ensure the following:

• You have administrator rights in both Zendesk and YouTrack.

• You must have a YouTrack instance ready for migration.

• You must Create a Helpdesk Project for each brand being migrated.

• You have access to Zendesk APIs as you'll need a Zendesk API token for the migration process.

• Analyze Zendesk projects (tickets, users, comments, custom fields, etc.) and decide what data you want to import into YouTrack.

• We strongly recommend you create a backup of your Zendesk data before starting the migration process.

Understand Your Current Zendesk Setup

Make sure to document your existing Zendesk setup, including brand configurations, ticket fields, groups, and tags. Take note of any integrations, plugins, or custom scripts that are currently in use.

Check the following configurations at the system level:

• Consider all the ways that users access your Zendesk installation and where their accounts are managed. Do they log into Zendesk directly, or are they logging in through a third-party service, like LDAP or Okta?

• How do users receive notifications for updates to issues in your Zendesk installation? Are you using Zendesk's internal mail service, or are you using your own mail server?

• What kinds of roles and permissions are used to grant different users the appropriate level of access in Zendesk? Are you using the default permission scheme, or do you provide customized levels of access to different groups?

You don't need to worry about any custom fields used in your Zendesk installation. These will be created automatically during import.

Check the following configurations at the project level:

• If there are any Zendesk brands you want to keep but are no longer in use, remove the brand's support email address and stop routing tickets to that brand via through triggers or automation.

• For each active brand, check for:

  • Custom access profiles — take note of any users or groups who have been granted permission to perform specific actions that don't conform to the standard access model.

  • Workflows — document the path your issues take from creation to completion in each brand. Pay careful attention to workflows that are highly customized or enforce critical behavior.

  • Automation — document your existing Zendesk automation rules. Identify the triggers, conditions, and actions used in each.

    Take some time to become familiar with the default workflows that are provided by YouTrack. You may find that the automation used in one or more Zendesk projects is easily replicated by activating or tweaking existing workflow rules in YouTrack. For a detailed description of each workflow that is bundled with YouTrack, see Default Workflows.

  • Integrations — look for active integrations with version control systems and build servers.

  • Time tracking — find out which projects are actively using time tracking in Zendesk. This feature can be switched off at the YouTrack project level or deactivated system-wide.

Install YouTrack

Set up a YouTrack site where you can transfer data from Zendesk.

• If you plan to use our hosting service, register an instance in YouTrack Cloud.

• Should you need to host the application on your own hardware, download and install YouTrack Server.

  For specific instructions, see Installation and Upgrade.

Before you start your migration, you need to make sure that your current YouTrack license supports the same number of users that have access to your Zendesk site. If not, user accounts created during import after your user license limit is reached will have their access banned

Create a Helpdesk Project

One of the best things you can do to facilitate the process is to create a helpdesk project in your new YouTrack site. This lets you become familiar with the differences between YouTrack and Zendesk.

As you learn how common operations are performed differently in YouTrack compared to Zendesk, you can start to compile a list of key points to share with users during the onboarding process.

To learn how to create a helpdesk project in YouTrack, see Create a Helpdesk Project.

After you are familiar with the basic operations of a YouTrack helpdesk project, create new helpdesk projects for each brand you plan to import from Zendesk.

Replicate Your System Settings

Once you've set up the YouTrack site where you want to migrate your data, configure it so that it's similar to your Zendesk setup.

• If you want users to continue to use their Zendesk accounts during the migration, you can set up an authentication module like OAuth 2.0 Auth Module.

  For a full list of authentication options, see Auth Modules.

To ensure that your users have access to services that are only supported over email, make sure your YouTrack site is connected to an email server.

• With YouTrack Cloud, you have access to our hosted email service by default with no additional setup required.

• For YouTrack Server installations, you have to set up a connection with your own email server.

  For instructions, see Enable Email Notifications.

Check the default roles that are supported in YouTrack to make sure they match up with the permission profiles that you're using in Zendesk. If the default roles don't meet your needs, create your own roles with custom permissions. For details, see Roles.

Set Up Customer Inquiry Channels

Zendesk and YouTrack both use the term channels to describe how customer inquiries enter the system.

YouTrack supports both email and online forms as methods of communication from customers.

For details on setting up channels in YouTrack, see Channels.

One type of channel supported by Zendesk is converting social media requests into helpdesk tickets. While YouTrack doesn't support these types of channels natively, it may still be possible to build these channels with YouTrack's extensive API.

For details on setting up channels using YouTrack's API, see Channel.

Import Pilot Projects

If you've already taken inventory of the brands that you want to import from Zendesk, you may have noticed that some of them are more complex than others. For the first import, pick as many brands as you like, but you might want to start slow before you go fast.

Select one brand that is relatively basic compared to others and another that has more complexity. Try to avoid brands that are mission-critical. Save these for later when you're more experienced with the process.

Once you know which brands you want to start with, configure the import in YouTrack. For detailed instructions, see Import from Zendesk.

• If you import any brands during this phase that are integrated with version control systems, build servers, or other external services, configure these integrations before you invite users to participate in the migration.

• If any of your pilot brands projects depend on a specific workflow scheme, you can replicate it using a state-machine workflow in YouTrack. Otherwise, you can import the pilot brands and let the project administrators decide whether they really need to replicate the workflows or not.

Here is the list of entities that are imported from Zendesk and their mapping to YouTrack entities:

The following entities are not imported and must be replicated manually:

• Knowledge base articles

• Dashboards

• Reports

• Channels

Once you have imported tickets from your pilot brands, invite your teams to log in to YouTrack and start working with the imported data. Check in with the managers responsible for the brands included in your pilot and take note of the changes needed to ease their transition.

Import The Rest of Your Data

Once you're sure that you can migrate the rest of your brands without causing disruption, migrate your remaining projects using the same procedure you took for participants in the pilot program.

Consider importing data for different departments in waves to avoid overwhelming yourself or causing too much disruption. By focusing on one department at a time, you may be able to consolidate repetitive tasks to complete them more efficiently. For example, importing all brands that require integration with version control so you can focus on restoring these integrations with fewer distractions.

Restore Your Automation

For teams to continue working with YouTrack similar to how they were before, you'll need to restore the business logic supported by Zendesk automation.

Workflow automation rules in Zendesk are similar to what we also call workflows in YouTrack.

• If the automation used in your Zendesk is supported by a default workflow in YouTrack, you need to make sure it is activated in the affected projects. To learn how to manage workflows in a YouTrack project, see Manage Workflows.

• If you need to re-create specific business logic not supported out of the box, you can write your own workflows using the no-code Workflow Constructor or script more complex interactions using JavaScript. To learn more, see Workflows.

Replicate Your Issue Views

After migration, project managers may need to restore their knowledge bases. This requires careful reconfiguration to make sure they continue working with YouTrack in the same way they worked with Zendesk.

For more information, see Knowledge Base

Decommission Zendesk

Once you are confident in the stability of YouTrack and have addressed any post-migration issues, decommission the Zendesk instance. This can include the following actions:

• Inform stakeholders and users that the system will no longer be available.

• Uninstall the software from the system where it resides.

• Deactivate the license or cancel the subscription.