Check Point Software Reviews

Pros

Work life balance very much intact

Cons

Micro management, senior execs are not aware of what's going on in the field

Pros

The field sales, inside sales and security engineers were good to work with. Support center seems to have turned around the operations for the better.

Cons

Senior Executive seemed unaware of how things worked in the field.
Everything seemed to roll up to Gil for approval.
Low pay = high turnover, inability to attract top talent.

Advice to Senior Management

I'm with others who think Gil should consider retiring. They also need to pay more to retain the best talent.

Pros

The senior management is very much involved in day-2-day running of the company. Decisions abt product strategy are made and implemented quickly.

Cons

Senior management lack the trust in employees' words. Decisions are enforced heavy handedly, with sometimes no explanation.

Pros

Check Point is definitely a place where you can spend time with family or focus on your free time. Excellent "work/life balance" to use the parlance of our time. This is the number one reason, people I knew, cited as the reason for staying. You also get a lot of autonomy, so you can structure your work-day very much as you see fit.

Cons

Everything goes through/comes from Israel. They have this enormous "not invented here" mentality. Even business cards and some office products actually came from Israel, like they don't have blue colored folders in the US? Management in the US has zero power to decide anything of importance. Much of the company is run like it's the Israeli Defense Force with all kinds of pointless secrets, no communication, and zero customer focus. I've never seen so many unhappy customers before in my life, and we have PG&E as our utility here in the Bay Area. Finally, there's no marketing or advertising to speak of. Your average customers knows only of the "firewall thing."

Advice to Senior Management

But, the biggest issue is that neither the CEO nor any members of the Executive Management team are prepared to lead a company of this size. The result is that the executive team doesn't actually lead at all, the company is run by indecisiveness and executive orders. (Other reviewers have addressed this specifically.) There's little communication, and it's really a testament to the products and employees that the company has done so well. It's been a good run for Gil, considering he helped found the company over 15 years ago. There's nothing wrong with handing over the reins now. He's an engineer, not an executive.

Pros

Good product, smart people, good leadership, great purchase of Zone Labs, good CEO, nice offices, Israel based, SF Bay Area based

Cons

Bad pay, bad middle management, bad admin processes, long hours, bad policies, lack of upward growth, mixed messages in leadership

Pros

Reputation
interesting, broad, very capable product line
Nice people (mostly)
nice espresso machines in the breakrooms 8^)
paid, catered lunches

Cons

micromanagement
underwhelming salary
weird culture
abysmal turnover
a feeling that the US office is a necessary evil to being successful
understaffed due to abysmal turnover

Advice to Senior Management

Hire a CEO with some people skills, or at least consider for a moment how to retain employees and give them a sense of shared company "ownership" and investment. Embrace a less Israeli-centric way of doing things.

Pros

International company and superior products

Cons

lack of autonomy among management

Advice to Senior Management

need to allocate more responsibility to management

Pros

The people are great. It makes working there easier.

Cons

Not a place to get complemented for working hard

Advice to Senior Management

Need better planning and to communicate the plan and not make last minute changes

Pros

make it easy to learn, decent social conditions,nice people, good location, work towards keeping the employees happpy, career path is good.

Cons

does not pay as well as other companies, the management deals with matters which are very low leveled (CEO has to confirm each and every employee)

Advice to Senior Management

Good company, keep up the good job. The trademark of the company has weekend during the last few years, need to reimbrace it.

Pros

There were interesting challenges and good people in the group.

Cons

Extreme micromanagement, ignorance of the software development process, no willingness to listen, didn't learn from their mistakes, did not value US employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't go international. You don't understand the world outside Israel.