Quest Software (California) – “It was a nice ride...”

Pros

Quest's core competency is growing by acquisition. This creates lots of variety and a fun, dynamic environment. It also creates a global presence for a relatively small company where a surprisingly large number of people actually know each other on a face-to-face basis.

Cons

Not a well-paying company for technical contributors or anyone who is not management. It's common for very bright people to come in through acquisition and get weeded out in this manner. Lot's of companys have a knack for casting off talent, but Quest exceeds in it's capacity for this behavior.

Advice to Senior Management

The running joke among the rank-and-file is that "Quest has many cultures, and you get to pick the one you like." At some point this issue will need to be addressed. :)