At BCMS, weâve always done things a bit differently. While most teams gather in the same office daily, our crew only comes together when itâs time for something bigâlike when we attended conferences in Labin or the Web Summit in Lisbon.
So, when we launched our brand-new BCMS Cloud, we knew it had to be something special. This time, we decided to take our work off-site and head to Athens, combining our love for travel with our passion for building great software.
Why Athens
Athens wasnât just a random pick.
We like to travel and explore new destinations (and who knows, maybe find a new location for our office đ), plus, it is summer, and we couldnât resist deploying the cloud under a clear and sunny Mediterranean sky with ouzo in our hands.
Also, the view from our summer office was the decisive moment to pack up and fly to Athens.
Work hard, play hard
The days in Athens were a mix of intense focus and laid-back exploration.
We kicked off each morning by diving into the final stages of BCMS Cloud (or swimming pool.)
Whether tweaking the flexible input options, optimizing the new media management system, or refining editing tools, every detail mattered.
We knew that the improvements we were making werenât just about new features; they were about listening to the feedback weâd received from our users and turning it into something that truly made content management easier.
But we must admit, it wasnât all work. In the afternoons, we allowed ourselves to step away from our screens and explore Athens.
Exploring Athens: History, food, and fun
Since our accommodation was in the city center, we started our exploration by going through the historic places. From ancient Agora, the historic neighborhood of Plaka, Socrates' prison way up to the Acropolis.
Climbing the Acropolis was one of the highlights of our trip, and going up to the Parthenon felt like the same process of building BCMS Cloud.
Just like the climb, building BCMS Cloud wasnât easyâit was a process that required patience, persistence, and a lot of teamwork.
Every step up the steep path to the Acropolis reminded us of the challenges we faced during development. There were times when the path seemed daunting, but we kept going, driven by the vision of what we were building.
Just like how each step brought us closer to the top, each line of code, each design tweak, and every user suggestion brought us closer to launching a product weâre truly proud of.
After all that climbing and drawing comparisons, we got hungry so we turned into ancient philosophers pondering where to find the best souvlaki (okay, they were pondering mysteries of the universe, but finding great food is equally important).
Speaking of food, Greek cuisine did not disappoint. We indulged in everything from lamb gyros to mouthwatering moussaka, all washed down with a glass of ouzo (or two).
So if you ever go to Athens this is what you should try:
Chicken souvlaki
Lamb gyros
Moussaka (with a special cinnamon touch)
Giouvetsi (Greek beef stew with Orzo pasta)
Tigania
Dolmades (stuffed vine leaves)
And for a better aftertaste drink:
Ouzo
Metaxa
Tsipouro
Mythos (our fav beer)
As you can see we did our research thoroughly, and we did the same with your feedback.
Between exploring Athens and Greek cuisine, we also researched how to improve our CMS based on your feedback, and we need to admit the outcome is awesome: With drag-and-drop template creation (content type), you go from creating a project to a fully editable structured content, in a minute.
So thank you, because your feedback made our BCMS better.
Our team building: Athens at night
As much as we enjoyed exploring Athens during the day, the nights brought a whole new level of team bonding and fun. After the sunset, our focus shifted from work to play, and thatâs when the real team building began.
By team building, we donât mean organizing activities and forcing âfunâ. We just followed the flow.
We shared ideas, solved problems, and made decisions faster than we ever could have over Zoom calls. The moment we hit that "deploy" button, everyone felt a sense of accomplishment. (And celebrated with an unplanned poolside party).
But we also made time for funâlike the evening we spent playing board games (yes, even after work, we like to compete). So we played card games like Italian Briscola or Hungarian Lorum and kept following the score to see who would win.
There were a lot of hard words, but each night someone else was the winner - or everyone was winning at least once (some of us even more).
And then there was the nightlife in Athens. To be honest, not the whole team participated, but those who did (for example, the author of this article) had the opportunity to dance to Greek music (Sirtaki) and bouzouki, explore Athens pubs and beach clubs and even break plates on a Greek wedding (long story short, we weren't invited but still attending).
Okay, this now feels like an oversharing so we will stop here.
Athens week wrap: Bringing BCMS Cloud to life
As our week in Athens came to an end, we left with BCMS Cloud officially launched and a ton of great memories.
Monday in Serbia greeted us with new users already diving into BCMS Cloud, which made the return home even sweeter.
To keep the Athens vibe alive, we brought back a Greek radio station that now streams through our office speakers, reminding us of our time in Greece as we settled back into our routines.
This trip wasnât just about launching BCMS Cloud; it was about the journey, the teamwork, and the fun we had along the way.
If you havenât tried BCMS Cloud yet, nowâs the perfect time to see what weâve been working on. Weâd love for you to check it out and let us know what you thinkâafter all, your feedback is what keeps us moving forward.