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MARS Atlas: Frequently Asked Questions

Written by Contegix | Jan 22, 2024 7:55:23 PM

Atlassian tools are renowned for their flexibility—including their capability for extension and integration using the Atlassian Marketplace. Through the Marketplace, more than 6,000 third-party plug-ins are available for Atlassian users, offering valuable functionalities plus new tools and interfaces. 

Contegix experts often recommend trusted Marketplace apps to our clients. Now we’re making that field experience available to the public, in our new tool: MARS Atlas. 

What is MARS Atlas?

MARS Atlas is a browser-based, AI-fuelled tool built to simplify navigating the Atlassian Marketplace. It brings together important information about each app, collected in the Marketplace Analytic Research Service (MARS) database, along with Contegix experts’ recommendations. 

Users not only gain insight into popularity, usage, growth, pricing trends, and more, but they can also see recommended solutions and explore the database by categories like business type and use case. MARS Atlas enables IT professionals to immediately see the solutions that are right for their business rather than spending hours or days parsing through thousands of applications. 

An AI chatbot asks a few quick questions before making personalized recommendations, while a benchmark assessment can identify gaps in a user’s toolstack and provide trusted suggestions. While these conversational interfaces are best for most users, apps can also be browsed by category or use case. 

Why did Contegix create MARS Atlas? 

For two decades, Contegix has helped Atlassian customers get the most from their tools. Our experts know that third-party plug-ins can help supercharge an Atlassian toolstack, and often recommend trusted apps to clients. 

To offer clients even more in-depth insights into Atlassian Marketplace apps, Contegix has been tracking app data in the Marketplace Analytic Research Service (MARS) database for the past five years. Making the dizzying array of information in the Atlassian Marketplace easily accessible and navigable, MARS has helped Contegix customers identify critical gaps in their toolstack and select the best apps for their unique needs. We developed MARS Atlas to make that data available to the public for the first time.

What is MARS Atlas used for?

MARS Atlas helps users discover new Atlassian Marketplace apps, compare their existing apps to other options, and consider new functionalities that apps could provide. MARS Atlas can assist users who are looking for a specific category of app, or identify opportunities for strategic improvement of an existing Atlassian toolstack to help users gain more value. A conversational interface and instant benchmark analysis make all of these insights easily accessible to all kinds of users. 

Where does the data come from?

We’ve been tracking application performance, adoption, and updates for the past five years, in the Marketplace Analytic Research Service (MARS) database. We collect this data from the Atlassian Marketplace as well as from individual app developers. While we’ve published insights from this database in the past, this is the first time that its full power is being made generally available. 

What kind of data can you search?

MARS Atlas collects crucial information about each app in one easily navigable place. Users can search to see things like:

• Adoption rate: a growing userbase suggests app performance and longevity
• Critical vulnerability patching: responsive security teams keep users safe
• Price changes: forecast potential price changes after adoption to stay within budget

How does the AI recommendation engine behind MARS Atlas work?

The MARS Atlas interface is trained on years of data on Atlassian Marketplace applications and customer usage, and informed by Contegix’s decades of professional services expertise. It considers app performance, adoption, price changes, security practices, and compatibility with other apps when making recommendations.

Does it collect data or information from me when I use it?

No, it does not. Learn more about Contegix’s data handling practices in our privacy policy. 

How will you expand MARS Atlas in the future? Will there be more capabilities? 

In the future, MARS Atlas will incorporate natural language queries. This will unlock the ability to ask more conversational, nuanced questions of the platform, so you can receive even more sophisticated recommendations.

Do I have to be a paying customer? Do paying customers get more access?

MARS Atlas will remain completely free to use indefinitely. 


If you’re ready to take the next step with the information you gained from MARS Atlas, chat with a Contegix expert today.