Rally Vs Jira Software for Agile PPM
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Jira or Rally: Which One Fits Your Agile Goals?
Jira is great for starting Agile, while Rally is ideal for scaling agile.
Where Jira excels is in its team-level agile system. However, it hits limitations at enterprise scale. In contrast, Rally is purpose-built for large, complex organisations that need governance, compliance, alignment, etc. Jira also requires costly plugins to match what Rally does natively.
Rally is generally considered to have an advantage when it comes to ease of use and in-depth progress tracking, while Jira is thought to offer slightly better integration capabilities. However, when it comes to integration, Ignite is here to help make that part of the process much smoother.
Rally Vs Jira: Which Is Right for Your Enterprise?
Jira was originally designed as an issue tracking system for development teams. Rally is an end-to-end solution that meets the needs of users, out-of-the-box. That means no additional modules or add-ons are required.
While Jira is ideal for tech-focused teams, mid-sized companies looking for flexible project tracking with some Agile capabilities or large enterprises needing strategic alignment, governance, and delivery at scale are much better served by Rally software.
Rally vs Jira Comparison
Explore our Rally vs Jira comparison table to showcase the features and capabilities that each Value Stream Management (VSM) software solution has to offer. Designed to help you make an informed decision, our Agile ValueOps experts are also on hand to provide a demo and specialist advice.
| Feature / Capability | Rally Software (Broadcom) | Jira Software (Atlassian) |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose & Focus | Enterprise Agile Planning and Delivery. Built for large-scale Agile, SAFe, Value Stream Management, and portfolio-level alignment. | Team-level issue tracking and Agile boards. Initially built for dev task management, now extended with plugins for scaled Agile. |
| Scalability | Native support for enterprise-wide Agile planning across teams, programmes and value streams. Ideal for complex, regulated environments. | Scales primarily via plugins (e.g. Jira Align, Advanced Roadmaps). Can become complex and fragmented in large environments. |
| Framework Support | Full support for SAFe, Scrum, Kanban, and hybrid frameworks. Structured hierarchy (epics > features > stories > tasks) with built-in governance. | Supports Scrum/Kanban well at team level. SAFe/PI Planning only available via Jira Align (separate product/licence). |
| Hierarchy & Roadmapping | Multi-level planning with connected hierarchies and roadmap visualisation. Unified view across portfolios, programmes, and teams. | Basic hierarchy (epic/story). Advanced roadmapping requires separate tools or plugins. Often lacks true cross-team planning visibility. |
| Value Stream Management (VSM) | Built-in VSM capability as part of ValueOps. Enables end-to-end visibility, WIP tracking, OKRs, and outcome measurement across Clarity and Rally. | VSM is not native. Requires separate plugins, e.g. Jira Align or third-party tools like Tasktop, ConnectALL. |
| Reporting & Dashboards | Advanced reporting, burndown, velocity, custom KPIs, capacity planning. Integrated with Clarity PPM dashboards and Power BI/Tableau via OData. | Good team-level dashboards. Enterprise reporting limited without plugins. Requires extra tools for portfolio-level insights. |
| Integration with Portfolio Tools | Native, bidirectional integration with Clarity PPM. ValueOps enables real-time syncing between investment planning and Agile delivery. | Integrates with Portfolio tools via APIs or plugins. Jira Align provides more strategy linkage, but comes with additional cost and complexity. |
| Security & Compliance | Enterprise-grade. Suited for highly regulated sectors (finance, public sector, healthcare). Role-based access, audit trails, change logs. | Adequate for many organisations, but additional hardening may be required for compliance-heavy sectors. |
| Implementation Complexity | Purpose-built for enterprise Agile; implementation led by Broadcom partners (e.g. Ignite). Configurable but opinionated. | Quick for small teams. At scale, it requires substantial configuration, often leading to plugin sprawl or inconsistent practices. |
| Licensing & Cost Structure | Licensed via Broadcom. Designed for enterprise contracts and long-term transformation programmes. | Modular licensing. Jira is affordable for small teams, but enterprise-grade features (e.g. Jira Align) add significant cost. |
Solving the Enterprise Challenges Jira Can’t
To understand whether your enterprise is ready for Rally, it’s crucial to consider the pain points of Jira that many encounter when they make the switch.
Jira Pain Points:
- Fragmented and costly at enterprise scale
- Plugin sprawl creates governance, integration and reporting issues
- Lack of end-to-end visibility from strategy to execution
- Difficulties implementing SAFe® or VSM without expensive add-ons
- Tool confusion across teams, leading to poor alignment
- Compliance and audit risks in regulated industries
- Reporting stops at the team level
In comparison, with Rally, you get portfolio-wide visibility into OKRs, value streams. Not just a dev tool, Rally lets you connect strategic priorities to execution in one powerful platform. Rally enables organisations to plan, manage and continuously improve Agile delivery at scale and supports VSM.
Already have Jira and looking for an alternative?
See how Rally Software compares to Jira Software
Learn moreWhy Choose Ignite as Your Rally Partner?
As an Expert Advantage Broadcom partner, we can help streamline the integration process of Rally and provide ongoing notifications of new features that could benefit your business. If you’re ready to scale-up your Agile framework, we even provide Jira-to-Rally migration services.
We have integration expertise that spans across Clarity, SAP, Jira, and, of course, Rally. With our support, you can also combine systems to boost their functionality, including Clarity and Rally. Since 2002, our proven track record across regulated and complex industries, including finance and retail.
FAQs
Rally software, formerly known as CA Agile Central, is owned by Broadcom Inc., a global infrastructure technology leader in California backed by over 60 years of engineering excellence. As a Tier-1 Broadcom partner, we provide the specialist knowledge and support you need for the integration and beyond.
Jira software is owned by Atlassian, which was founded in 2002. The first cloud-version of Jira shipped in 2011, and they are now a global company, empowering teams around the world.
Rally comes with many helpful integration options to support customised ways of working, and ensure minimised disruption to the way you operate. By using Ignite Technology, you can reduce the time-to-integration significantly, ensuring a streamlined transition.
Yes, absolutely. We are well versed with migrating enterprise-level teams from Jira to Rally.
Rally is typically more expensive per user than Jira. However, that’s because Rally offers enhanced scalability features and functionality. To ensure you get the best value for money, it’s best to speak to a Rally software specialist, such as Ignite Technology.
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Finding the right Agile Software for your organisation
This guide will help decision makers by:
- Exploring some of the trends that are affecting companies of all types today.
- Offering a set of considerations to guide purchasing decisions.
- Examining the positive outcomes resulting from agile development methods