In this special episode of the Bring Your Own Directions (BYOD) podcast, Björn takes us behind the scenes at Team ’25 Europe in Barcelona, fresh off one of Atlassian’s biggest conferences to date. From groundbreaking AI announcements to the highly anticipated Data Center End-of-Life program “Ascent”, this episode unpacks it all – including interviews with Alex and Rodney, who share their unfiltered thoughts and emotions from the show floor.
Inside the Episode
The End of an Era: Data Center to Cloud Migration
The Atlassian community had been anticipating it for months – but now it’s official: the end of Data Center is here. The Ascent Program gives customers three years to migrate to Cloud or isolated solutions like the new Government Cloudand Isolated Cloud deployments.
Björn breaks down what this means for enterprise customers and why, for many, three years might be too short a window to make the transition.
“I understand Atlassian’s motivation – but for heavily regulated or complex organizations, this timeline is tough,” he says.
Alex and Rodney weigh in on how this move impacts solution partners and the wider ecosystem – and why some Data Center-based businesses might even close their doors as a result.
Björn’s takeaway: The change was inevitable, but Atlassian could have balanced urgency with flexibility.
Rovo AI Takes the Stage
AI was everywhere in Barcelona. Atlassian’s Rovo AI – now available across Standard, Premium, and Enterprise plans – showcased a complete ecosystem of tools like Rovo Search, Chat, Studio, and Agents.
Rovo’s new Skills feature lets users connect Atlassian’s Teamwork Graph to external MCP servers, expanding its intelligence and customization. Yet, Björn and his guests express cautious optimism: the demos look great, but real-world testing will tell the full story.
“Rovo still hallucinates,” Alex notes. “It’s confident – but not always right.”
Björn agrees: while AI can supercharge productivity, it must earn trust through reliable performance and transparency.
The Pace of Change
From new UI updates to continuous feature rollouts, Atlassian’s speed of innovation was a hot topic – and not always in a positive way.
Rodney calls for “quarterly release waves with mascots and excitement” instead of constant micro changes that overwhelm admins and users alike.
“Every button change can paralyze a team,” Björn adds, quoting Alex’s Pixar analogy from A Bug’s Life – where one small obstacle (a leaf) brings an entire line of ants to a halt.
Key message: Innovation is great, but organizations need breathing room to adopt it.
Customer Service Management (CSM): A New Face for JSM
Atlassian introduced Customer Service Management (CSM) – a fresh take on the beloved Jira Service Management (JSM).
It brings omnichannel communication, customizable portals, and AI-powered support under one umbrella.
Rodney speculates that the move might be more strategic than technical: separating pricing tiers and capabilities between internal ITSM and external customer service.
Björn remains intrigued:
“It’s a logical evolution – but I’ll need to see how deep the customization goes before I’m impressed.”
Pricing and Value
No Atlassian event is complete without pricing chatter. Rodney humorously predicts the traditional October price increase, and Björn dives deeper into the real issue – value perception.
As Rovo AI becomes standard and overall costs rise, organizations must ensure adoption keeps pace with spending.
“When only 10% of your users truly adopt the new features, every price increase feels heavier,” Björn explains.
He draws parallels to the streaming industry, warning Atlassian not to repeat its mistakes:
“Raise prices too often without clear value, and customers will look elsewhere.”
Final Thoughts
Team ’25 Europe showcased Atlassian’s ambitious vision – an AI-powered system of work connecting teams, tools, and data like never before. But with ambition comes complexity.
Björn closes with a grounded reflection:
“Atlassian’s success depends on its customers’ success. Innovation must go hand-in-hand with accessibility and value.”
The episode ends with a promise – deeper dives into Atlassian’s AI features, real-world experiments, and ongoing conversations about how organizations can stay agile in a rapidly evolving ecosystem.
🎧 Listen now: Bring Your Own Directions – Team ’25 Barcelona Recap
Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by User Manager & License Optimizer for Jira and Confluence – your essential toolkit for mastering user management, controlling costs, and preparing your Cloud migration blueprint.
