Introduction
Michael Roberts:
Hello everyone. My name is Michael Roberts, Vice President of Sales and Marketing here at SPK and Associates. Welcome to today’s vlog, “Solving the ‘Not Enough People or Time’ Challenge with Atlassian Tools.”
If you’ve ever felt like your team just doesn’t have enough people or enough time to get things done, you are not alone—this video is for you. It’s one of the most common challenges we see across engineering, IT, and business teams: the pressure to deliver faster, do more with less, and still maintain product quality. It can feel impossible.
There are actually many ways to improve efficiency with the resources you have today, and others you can add over time. Today, we’re talking specifically about how Atlassian tools can support better outcomes. From Jira and Confluence to Jira Service Management (JSM) and automation, Atlassian gives teams the visibility, collaboration, and efficiency they need to scale their impact—even without adding headcount.
Joining me today is Carlos Almeida. Carlos, feel free to introduce yourself.
Meet the Speakers
Carlos Almeida:
Thanks, Mike. I’m the VP of Engineering with SPK. I’ve spent my career in software development—many years at an EDA company, Cadence Design Systems, and the last 15 years at SPK working not only with Atlassian but the entire DevOps ecosystem.
We work with so many customers in so many verticals, and I’m really excited to talk with you today.
Michael Roberts:
Thanks, Carlos. Carlos has a lot of practical examples of how teams are using the Atlassian ecosystem to streamline processes, reduce manual effort, and make smarter use of the time and talent they already have.
So let’s dive in and talk about how we can start solving the “not enough people or time” problem with Atlassian tools.
Common Workload Challenges We See
Michael Roberts:
Carlos, a lot of companies struggle with having too many priorities and not enough people to manage them. From what you see with the clients we work with, what are the most common challenges teams face when it comes to managing workloads effectively?
Carlos Almeida:
Yeah, thanks Mike. That’s something we see all the time. Teams have way too many priorities and just not enough people to handle them.
It’s not that folks aren’t working hard—they are. The problem is they’re spending too much time chasing information instead of actually getting work done.
We had one client, for example, a mid-sized medical device company, dealing with exactly that situation:
- Their engineering team was in Jira.
- Their IT group was tracking assets in spreadsheets.
- Their documentation was scattered all over the place.
I remember meetings that turned into scavenger hunts—everyone trying to track down information just to pull together an up-to-date status.
Case Study: Unifying Tools on Atlassian Cloud
Carlos Almeida:
The first thing we did was move them onto Atlassian Cloud because they were still on Server. And if you’re on Data Center, you’re probably next.
We didn’t just move engineering—we also onboarded:
- The IT group
- HR
- Facilities
We kept marching through the company because Atlassian’s infrastructure provides value in all these areas.
Jira became their central hub for all work.
Confluence handled documentation and context.
Asset management gave them visibility into equipment, test systems, and devices— all connected back into Jira issues or Jira work items.
Now, with Atlassian’s AI assistant (Rovo), they can literally ask:
- “What’s the status of our next release?”
- “Which assets are tied to this project?”
- “How do I onboard a new employee?”
…and get instant answers pulled from Jira, Confluence, and their asset data.
So I absolutely feel the pain. It’s not just about having more people. It’s about using the right tools, removing noise, and surfacing the right information so teams can focus on real work.
How Atlassian Tools Help Stretched Teams
Michael Roberts:
Yeah, having information readily available is powerful, and that alone can go a long way toward efficiency.
When teams are stretched thin, tools like Jira, Confluence, and—as you mentioned—Rovo can really make a difference. Carlos, can you explain how those tools help companies streamline work, improve visibility, and focus on what matters most?
Carlos Almeida:
Absolutely. This is where the Atlassian magic happens.
When teams are stretched thin, the last thing they need is another disconnected tool to manage. What they really need is a connected system that works for them—and that’s what Atlassian does so well.
- Jira gives you structure:
- All your work is visible, organized, and prioritized.
- Everyone knows what’s happening and what’s next—across IT and software development.
- Confluence ties right into that:
- I like to say Confluence is the story behind the work—the why and the how.
- It’s your SOPs, your collaboration platform, your project context.
- Instead of digging through emails or slides, teams can see everything in one place.
- Rovo (Atlassian AI) takes it to another level:
- Instead of building filters or dashboards, you can just ask,
- “Which projects are off track?”
- “Show me what’s blocking Release 3.2.”
- It spiders through your information and pulls the right context together.
- With the Rovo Connector, if you have content in SharePoint or other knowledge bases, you can stitch that together as well—creating a single point of truth.
In a nutshell, that’s where SPK comes in. Connecting these tools to real business goals is not trivial.
It’s not just about setup or automation (though, side plug—check out our Automation webinar). It’s about giving leaders visibility into what teams are doing, where their time is going, and helping them focus on what truly moves the business forward.
The Power of Automation and Atlassian AI
Michael Roberts:
You mentioned the Automation webinar—I’ll plug it again, because I think that’s where a lot of reclaimed time comes from. When you automate things in the background, that’s a lot of manual tasks that simply don’t have to happen anymore.
Let’s talk a bit more about that in the context of “not enough people or time.”
Carlos Almeida:
Exactly. Automation and AI can:
- Eliminate repetitive, manual steps
- Enforce process consistency without extra effort
- Reduce context-switching between systems
Whether it’s auto-assigning work, updating statuses, syncing fields between systems, or surfacing insights via AI, those small time savings compound into hours and days reclaimed. That’s huge when your team already feels maxed out.
Why Work with a Partner Like SPK?
Michael Roberts:
Last question, Carlos. You mentioned SPK as a partner with experience. Implementing and optimizing Atlassian tools can be overwhelming, especially if you’re short on time and resources.
So, why work with a partner like SPK to implement Atlassian tools and get real ROI out of that investment?
Carlos Almeida:
Great question.
Yes, you can do it yourself. But in my experience, your teams are already running flat out trying to get their core work done. So Atlassian rollout becomes a “backlog project” that never really gets moving—or it moves so slowly it doesn’t deliver value when you need it.
Rolling out or optimizing Atlassian tools on top of everything else can be a real challenge. That’s exactly where SPK can make a difference.
We can be:
- Your extra pair of hands
- We’ve done this across industries: medical device, automotive, aerospace, financial services, and more.
- Your strategic guide
- It’s not just about installing or using Jira and Confluence.
- It’s about understanding how these tools fit your people, processes, and compliance needs.
- (Quick plug: we have webinars on compliance as well!)
Where we help:
- Set up Jira, Confluence, Rovo, and asset management the right way
- Apply best practices from other verticals
- Tune workflows to be optimal
- Create automations to remove friction and gain back hours
- Layer in AI for intelligent insights and faster answers
- Build metrics and dashboards so leaders get clear visibility
And importantly, we don’t just walk away after the setup.
We:
- Stick around to coach teams
- Fine-tune workflows
- Make sure you’re getting continuous ROI as your business evolves
It’s not “one and done.” It’s about continuous improvement—being agile, scaling, and adjusting as things change.
Maybe you acquire a new company, maybe teams move around—we’ve seen it all, we’ve done it all, and we can be there to help you adapt your Atlassian environment along the way.
So if you’re looking to build from scratch, or if you already have Atlassian running and want to tune it to get more value from your investment, please call us. We’d really love to help.
Closing and Next Steps
Michael Roberts:
Awesome. Thanks, Carlos. I appreciate you being here, and I’m absolutely going to plug our Automation webinar again. I feel like everybody should go watch that webinar, regardless of what you’re doing.
Thank you for the conversation.
Carlos Almeida:
Thank you, Michael. Take care, everyone.
Michael Roberts (Closing):
So folks, I hope this conversation has sparked some ideas about how your team can overcome the “not enough people or time” challenge by using Atlassian tools.
If you’d like to learn more about SPK and Associates, and how we help organizations:
- Optimize their Atlassian investment
- Streamline operations
- Accelerate delivery
…visit our website at spkaa.com or reach out via our contact page to schedule a conversation with experts like Carlos and the rest of our team.
Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next episode of our vlog series.
Again, I’m Michael Roberts with SPK. Thanks for joining, and we’ll see you next time.
