It all started with an introduction from AWS Hero Filip Pýrek, who connected me with Marek Čermák, Engineering Manager at STRV. That connection quickly grew into a collaboration that was much more than consulting; it became a journey of transforming architecture, empowering developers, and turning curiosity into real, running prototypes.
Rather than delivering a predefined architecture, our consultancies were structured as an ongoing exchange of knowledge and architectural best practices. Through this close collaboration, the team could explore modern AWS services in a real-world setting, understand architectural trade-offs, and gain the confidence to choose the right patterns for future challenges.
Over a few months, we explored modern AWS architecture together, looking at how STRV’s internal project could move beyond its monolithic Fargate setup and step into a more scalable, cost-efficient, serverless-first world. The goal was not only to redesign infrastructure but also to give the team a foundation they could immediately build on.
From Monolith to Momentum
Before the collaboration, the internal projects were running on a large Fargate container connected to Aurora and S3. This architecture is completely valid, works well, and remains the STRV’s go-to stack. However, for this specific use case, the team’s goal was to explore something leaner, faster, and easier to maintain. As Marek put it:
During our sessions, we mapped out how services like AppSync, Step Functions, Cognito, DynamoDB, Glue, and Athena could replace parts of their monolithic workload with purpose-built, fully managed components. The moment things clicked was when these ideas became practical. Not theoretical diagrams, but real workflows, real data pipelines, and real examples that fit STRV’s day-to-day work.
Hands-On Learning That Sparked an Idea
As we explored serverless patterns and data pipelines, the team started seeing possibilities everywhere:
- workflows simplified through Step Functions
- backend logic handled by AppSync and resolvers
- data analytics running on S3, Glue, and Athena with almost no operational overhead
This hands-on learning atmosphere led the STRV team to propose something bold:
“Why don’t we take all of this and turn it into a hackathon?”
And that is exactly what happened.
A Weekend Hackathon With Real Results
Two teams, one Saturday, and a room full of developers and whiteboards. The energy in the Prague office was electric from the moment the hackathon kicked off.
What made the event special was the freedom. There were no sprints and no tickets. Just creativity, experimentation, and a clear deadline.
One team went all-in on serverless, building a lightweight backend with AppSync and DynamoDB. The other team blended familiar tools with newly explored AWS Lambda, choosing a steady and incremental approach.
This contrast turned into one of the most insightful moments of the entire collaboration. It showed how flexible AWS can be and how the same challenge can be solved in completely different ways depending on what you value most, such as speed, familiarity, scalability, or simplicity. What made the event even stronger was the team experience. As Tomáš Kocman, Principal Software Engineer at STRV, shared:
It was a reminder that innovation often thrives in collaborative, encouraging environments.
From Weekend Prototypes to Real Projects
After the hackathon, the team did not just walk away with MVPs. They walked away with confidence. Within weeks, the team put their new skills into practice on an internal project. As they described it,
The impact was immediate:
- lower operational and maintenance costs
- much faster development cycles
- easier iteration
- improved scalability
Knowledge turned into prototypes, and prototypes turned into production improvements.
More Than Architecture, a Cultural Shift
Looking back at the collaboration, the most meaningful outcome wasn’t any single architectural decision. It was how quickly the team moved from learning new concepts to confidently applying them in practice. As Michal Klacko, Director of Engineering at STRV, reflected on the experience:
By working on a single internal project, the team gained hands-on experience with a wide range of AWS-native and serverless patterns. This experience now enables them to make deliberate, well-informed architectural decisions based on the context of each project.
Personally, for me, the real success wasn’t the new architecture. It was the momentum the STRV team built around learning and experimenting. I’m thankful to Marek and the entire team for the trust, openness, and great energy they brought into every session.
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