Pros

Great co-workers, product excellence, viable challenge to larger competitors in the industry. Leadership solicits and listens to employee feedback.

Cons

Large company, with large company policies and procedures.

Advice to Senior Management

allow a little more flexibility in the policies and procedures. One size does not fit all.

Pros

Tools automation group is good
Lab is well thought out
Bug tracking and source control systems are very good tools.

Cons

Management appears to not know how to organize their groups
Management doesn't appear to do a good job hiring ... management
Bonuses are given out more-or-less arbitrarily

Advice to Senior Management

Huge behemoth organizations are tough to control and organize. Brocade hasn't seemed to make the jump from a smaller company to a larger one successfully, yet.

Pros

Fast moving technology initiatives which larger organizations like Cisco would take time and diligence
Pay is good
Last 6 bonus payouts good

Cons

Bootlicking would take you up the corporate ladder
Performance reviews highly subjective to the relationship with your manager
Non-existent HR redressal policies

Advice to Senior Management

Do not try to beat Cisco punch for punch.
Innovate. What is the last big innovation from Brocade? Cisco beat you to the 512 port director.
Low power consumption alone is not a big selling point

Pros

It's a stable company with good long-term prospects.

Cons

It has a aggressive and sometimes brutal corporate culture.

Advice to Senior Management

Not all employees are the same as the executive management and may be motivated by different things than them.

Pros

Fast paced. Pretty challenging work. Short projects (max 2 years). Good pay.

Cons

Career advancement is next to impossible especially if you joined in the last 2-3 years.
Folks who have spent 5+ years seem to have an advantage.

Advice to Senior Management

Career advancement should be merit based.

Pros

Relentless focus on product roadmap. Excellent execution. Startup like culture that rewards risktaking. Excellent compensation and benefits package The work culture in Engineering is more like a startup company. The Engg. team works like a well oiled machine. The company still has the agility to react quickly and launch tactical product initiatives.

Cons

Not many opportunities for career advancement. Nepotism and politics in promotions. There is a clique in management that controls all major decisions including hiring and promotions. Promotions are not given on merit but for political reasons. This has alienated several employees. There is a class of employees that is regarded as "untouchable" due to their political onnections.

Advice to Senior Management

Award promotions based on merit only. Make sure there is adequete resource allocation when persuing aggressive schedules.

Pros

Technology of course.
Down to earth people( not the management ) around who are highly technically equipped.
Passion for work among the employees.
'On the face' , 'no beating around the bush' communication from employees.
Personal little office.
Good compensation.
Assignment of responsibilities without thinking much about if the employee is ready yet or not. This is positive for me since it makes you believe that they believe in you and you would want to keep to the reputation.
Good location, work from home, stock options, stock purchase plan, tt table, flexible time work are other handy benefits.
Colleagues are very helpful.

Cons

Technical Managers at one extreme and People managers at the other. What is needed is something in between.
Not much communication between manager and the employee.
Work pressure just too much at times and nothing at all other times. If there is a personal issue when there is too much work, you better forget the personal issue. You wouldn have room to breathe when there is much work ( generally just before the release times). You are lucky if you have a personal issue when there is no work. You tend to get so lazy during these times that its difficult to get back to work ( transition difficult :) )

Advice to Senior Management

Technical Managers are very highly technical and know their stuffs well. However, make them realise the importance of managing people. The people managers who are not equipped technically survive because of their diplomatic skills which some of us

Pros

Brocade pays above market for job grades. For persons who need a stable job with low turn-over concerns, a person can coast here for years. I did observe people get let go in my time at Brocade, however most people had a tenure of eight or more years.

Cons

The work provided was mundane, boring or non-existent. Employee satisfaction or engagement was not of interest to management. As most employees were in their job roles 8+ years, the prevailing attitude I observed was apathy and disinterest. Nonetheless, some people did work hard. Overall however, the workplace was an uninspiring place to work. If you are a go-getter and interested in career growth, this is probably not the employer for you.

Advice to Senior Management

Decide what kind of workforce you need. If you want energetic and innovative employees in your team, you need to provide them with interesting work and the ability to have an impact to the company.

Pros

Engg is aggressive in nature and high is expected off of employees. Bonus program has been very good inspite of having competitive salaries. Rewards performance very well. The technical talent is abundant and you really get to work on products to completion and no dragging or outright cancellation of projects. It is a good place to learn, excel and grow.

Cons

Pressure is high. Performance bar is high. Always gears itself to utilize resources (people) as best as they can and it could involve more group changes, work assignment changes etc. You should be willing to jump in and delivery when asked.

Advice to Senior Management

Just stop making stupid acquisitions and concentrate on company's strengths.

Pros

Well run organization. Support structure is better than most so it isn't too hard to get things done.

Cons

Not a very "fun" environment. Seen as a boring part of the tech industry. Past stock scandal still casts a shadow even thought the company is now VERY careful to do everything the right way.

Advice to Senior Management

Tell the company's story better so that we know what we are doing and why we should be excited about it.