This forum gave me a real look inside NetApp culture, which is toxic and ugly with a bunch of jealous and petty children. I knew about the close minded stuck in the past thinking; but this forum illustrates wait happens when you have poor (or no) leadership and a lack of any vision.
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Worked at NetApp 2005-2010 and yes, they struggled with acquisitions but every big company I've worked at has and does. NetApp's biggest problem back then was it was THE place to work in storage, at a time where there was a lot of consolidation happening. So we would get startup CEOs and CTOs coming in as Directors and Sr Directors and trying to stamp their mark on the company instead of really trying to understand what we needed. An INCREDIBLE amount of talent, but also lots of big egos. That's when the politics started. And of course at that time the only delivery vehicle we had for innovation was ONTAP, and that created a lot of blind spots for the company. The hardest thing to do is be a naysayer when things are going well. But since leaving in 2010 the company valuation has essentially stayed the same. Stuck in the $40's for a decade after being one of the high flyers.
Worked there 15 years as SE/TAM/SE Mgr , left in 2014. Biggest issues I saw were too many acquisitions of the wrong technologies, poor/failed integration of the acquired technologies and a failure to deliver solutions that customers were asking for because of internal politics. There were also too many failed attempts to " build it instead of buying it ( ex- Project Mars) resulting in being late to the market with a solution. At one point I counted 15 acquisitions, none of which ever contributed substantially to the growth of the Company. The Solidifire acquisition is just another example of acquiring the wrong Company and/or technology that is now a deadend with a negative return on investment. There is clearly a leadership problem at the highest levels since they are responsible for M&A that has prevented growth and led to stagnation of the Company. Unfortunately, they have become the Company that they modeled themselves after in the early days, Sun Microsystems.
I left NetApp over 3 years ago, after over 7 years of service, on my own terms. GK tried talking me out of it, but it was time to move on. NetApp is one of the best run organizations and has done a stellar job transforming itself from on-prem to hybrid cloud. Rarely have I worked for a CEO that I have had as much respect for as with GK. Too many bitter people gripping about bad management. If your unhappy leave. Don’t blame it on management, take ownership for your own situation. Don’t be a victim, be a catalyst. Every organization has it’s on challenges, be the change you want. I’ve worked in many organizations, going on 35 years, including Microsoft, Motorola, and others (too many details tips my hand). GK is one of two top CEOs (over 20 to my name) I have worked for and would work for him again.
All those who whine and complain about management, out on your “big boy pants”, name a decision and move one. NetApp doesn’t need you.
‘Nuff said.
Not exactly true. I worked there for 10 years with no ax to grind, left on good terms. I've worked at several big companies and NetApp by far, had the most close minded thinking in leadership.
Granted, but to be fair, this forum is visited by many, but leveraged (quite often) by those who have the largest axes to grind.
NetApp is a big company, and it has the same challenges any big company has, and then some.
There are other companies with much better cultures and environments. Most are more relevant, and their stocks do better. Some even care about their employees. I don’t know why anyone would work at NetApp.