I have been wanting to write on this topic for a little while, but it has been a topic that is ultimately escaping me. How can Atlassian admins both promote good Confluence database use for their users, as well as, how can they themselves get the most of it? Two vital questions! To get started, lets discuss what Confluence databases is and how users can use it.

What is Confluence databases?

Confluence database functionality came through an acquisition by Atlassian of K15t’s Orderly database app. it provides the ability to a table like structure with each line representing an ‘object’ that can contain many different ‘attributes’ that in this case are represented by the columns in the objects row.

why wouldn’t you just use tables? Well, this is an excellent question, and honestly, for some stuff, there is nothing wrong with a table whatsoever. What a database page offers over standard table-like functionality is the use of all of its different ‘attribute’ types, which allow you to better control the type of data entered into every cell for more accurate results.

If you have been using the page properties & properties report macros in Confluence, then how you can report & visualise the data across different pages will feel very familiar to you.

This post isn’t about what they are though. There are enough resources that already exist out there on this topic. I have linked some of them below for you. Let’s get into the real reason we are here!

Kolekti how to create a Confluence database

K15T’s Orderly databases for Confluence original landing page

Where can users get the most from it?

While I fully understand that the examples I provide will not suit everyone, I do hope it creates a spark inside you that allows you to find your own use.

Project Management

Project managers would be able to benefit from databases to be able to have a centralised landing page for all projects. The database would include things like lead contact details, company, project documentation, consultant etc. Companies may currently use the page properties macros in order to do a very similar thing. The benefit in the database is more interactivity between the cells and other functionality within the overall Atlassian platform.

Assets & Inventory

While there are in built tools like JSM assets or marketplace apps like Appfire’s Assets & inevntory plugin to help manage large scale IT assets & inventory. Where databases can lend itself too could be more around marketing assets, like useful branding materials, Swag inventory etc.

Events

There are often so many moving parts with events, that are often changing or need to be referenced in a lot of other places. Teams are also rarely just planning a single event at a time as well. Being able to see everything about events in one place can often be critical for fast paced teams.

But what about admins?

Admins work on projects, they have to design training, create how to and troubleshooting guides. You as unsung heroes are service agents, consultants, trainers, PMs and a bunch of other roles all in one. So can we find use cases for them? Of course we can.

Wether you are using it to document possible trainings, standardise configuration, helping with project manager or anything else Confluence databases can provide value alongside already existing Jira and Confluence functioanlity.

I asked fellow community leaders to also help answer this for me and here were the top three ideas for how you admins can make the most of Confluence databases.

Centralize governance & operational glossaries

As admins we need to document everything. Our future selves depend on it. We have all been there when we walk into a new instance for the first time and it is chaos. Having configuration documented and easily findable is key to helping understand decision making and future roadmaps on instance scaling.

Using databses to create knowledge can do two major wins for any team.

AI agents will now be able to help answer configuration questions, as well as update documentation to keep in line with chanegs
Make finding knowledge a lot quicker and easier when all settings are centralised in one place. Stop floundering your way through the settings menus.

This database is a simple collection of all of the different sections within Atlassian guard. Having on a single Confluence database allows us to track when change requests come in to have items updated or configured for the first time. But, more importantly, gives admins an easy place to help show executives that Atlassian data security is important and well documented should things change.

Any future you would love to see this level of documentation. Understand how, when and why all of these settings appeared can reduce incident times massively when things go wrong.

Creating standardised configuration documents

Everyone knows that creating standardised configuration between similar Jira projects and Confluence spaces is best practice. It enables a more uniform feel when moving between similarly themed projects. We can get more from reporting metrics, especially when in relation to engineering, and most importantly us as admins have an easier time trying to maintain a clean and scalable platform.

However, what a lot of people miss is the documentation of said configuration. Documentation is one of the most hated yet most important practices an admin can do. Specifying how standards are created, who would ‘own’ them for changes as well as just key documenting can help mitigate errors and speed up incident resolution. So how can databases help us. Lets’ build it!

Track site/space-level blueprints using database fields:

Template name, space scope, version/last modified
Owner, dependency (e.g., uses Page Properties Report)
CI/CD status, usage metrics

Admins can filter by scope or creator, link to docs, or capture change logs—all inside Confluence. This replaces spreadsheets or Jira tickets with a cohesive admin dashboard.

Using databases will allow you to track standard owners and then direct links to each item of the configuration for easy changes. Including images or documentation for how each configuration scheme got to where it is can also help your future selves love you.

Roll out and monitor features and automations

Last but very much not least is tracking possible upcoming features. Atlassian are rolling out new features and changes every day. So many it can be very hard to track and understand potential impact or just potential usage.

Confluence databases allows us to understand how each main new piece of functionality could be used by each department, whether we need to think about training, putting in guardrails or just understanding how we can develop and scale our ecosystem because of it.

Why put this in confluence though? Well I put it in Confluence because our Atlassian admin team’s backlog was already busy full of small changes from our users as well as agreed and planned work. Separating potential work and announcements allowed us to draw an easy line in the sand. Once we ‘accepted’ work, we were able to create the relevant Confluence project documentation and associated Jira work items with it.

So these are just a few ways on how Confluence databases can be used. They may not 100% fit your needs, and that is okay. But this was to spark the ideation and thinking within you as you understand functionality and potential uses.

Confluence Databases for Atlassian admins