Hitachi Data Systems Reviews

Pros

Collaboration amongst employees
Proud to be part of a World class solutions based company
Opportunity for professional growth and advancement
The Culture:
Wa: Harmony, Trust, Respect
Makoto: Sincerity, Fairness, Honesty, Integrity
Kaitakusha-Seishin: Pioneering Spirit, Challenge
Supportive Management

Cons

Work life balance at times...mainly because there is so much to do and accomplish! But when you need flexibility and an alternative work schedule, no issues with most managers.

Pros

- Experience with enterprise class hw/sw cloud computing solutions
- Access to world class Hitachi hardware components
- Very collaborative organization
- Great mix of skill sets & personalities

Cons

- Current product offering is very MS focused
- Development process is still evolving
- Engineering culture is still emerging

Advice to Senior Management

Continue to hire rising stars and established "A" players. Work to evolve development processes to include best properties of agile and traditional methodologies.

Pros

Technology Co., Ethics, Great people

Cons

Aggression is less, Small product portfolio

Advice to Senior Management

Competitive and aggressive we need to be

Pros

Prestige - manufactures well-respected data storage hardware
Some of nicest high-tech workers I've ever worked with
High paying
Co-workers some of the best and brightest in industry
Promotes telecommuting

Cons

Managers I worked for were less than competent in their areas
Management was not supportive of subordinates
Matrixed structure where employees could report to different people depending upon project - created too many bosses (and people to please)
Contractors were released on moment's notice
Project management was a nightmare - too many stakeholders to please

Advice to Senior Management

Ensure that your managers are competent in their functional areas.
Allow employees to "think and act outside of their very narrowly circumscribed boxes.

Pros

Individuals are very nice to work with - they care about you as a person and you can find true friends here.

Cons

Everyone is Doing Multiple Jobs; stress is running high. Rewards are there for the few vs. the many. If you are in Sales, you rule.

Advice to Senior Management

Success comes from every part of the company doing their best. Bonus' are nice, but having the equipment, training and support to do my job would improve my performance.

Pros

Unique culture. Highly collaborative society. Everyone is very friendly and supportive. Good sized organization with enough structure in place to get things done, but not so much that the scope of your role feels limited.

Good amount of opportunities for growth. Flexible hours for commuters although in office time is highly preferable.

Cons

Work loads are high. Vacation time can be taken but everyone is still connected. Teams are kept lean so really having time completely out of pocket is rare.

Advice to Senior Management

Try to not be so reactionary and plan ahead for staffing needs. Burn out happens too often here.

Pros

Good pay, benefits and recognition
Plenty of training
Profitable company with high value products

Cons

Lack of opportunities for advancement or other roles
Poor procesess for work load scheduling, escalation of customer issues, engagement with managers by their staff
Lack of innovation - often late entry to mature market with undifferentiated offering

Advice to Senior Management

Invest more in marketing, still perceived as a product distributor for Hitachi
Move to a services model, expand professional services
Look at merging with innovative company

Pros

Recognizable company name.
Hardware products are good.
Very "wet" company - drinks flow freely at corporate functions.
Workplace drama so over the top it becomes comedy.

Cons

Extremely top heavy - probably 5:1 ratio of managers to W2 employees. Has been in a headcount freeze since 2005; retirement or death by a W2 is the only means of converting from a 1099.
Most of the actual work at the company is done by contractors who are rarely there for more than six months.
No one can understand the compensation and bonus structure. For a while, your bones was tied to three vague japanese terms. Yes, even as american employees you needed to understand japanese philosophy to satisfy your reviews.
Incompetent middle management promises impossibilities to Japanese mothership.
Refuses to acknowledge when organizational experiments fail, leaving employees stuck in them to wither into obscurity and resign.
Addiction to incomprehensible powerpoint slides as sole means of communicating with employees.
Totally beholden to executives of Hitachi Japan, who do not trust HDS at all. Good luck getting the documentation you need to do your job.

Advice to Senior Management

Go back to being a tax write-off for Hitachi Japan; the company was a great workplace when it was designed to lose money.

Pros

Flexiable hours, no one care when you come and go. Work with some great people.

Cons

Senior Managment to self centered. Thinks it is all about them. Makes cuts to all perks, but keeps there own. Requires me to live in Bay Area, but they are spread out all over the place. No raises, and review are done on a bell curve, not on merit.

Advice to Senior Management

Never will to a top company until you learn how to treat your employees. Just becuase you spend some money on your people does not mean you will not make a profit.

Pros

Lots of 20 years +, who will stay around, and do what they have always done. Good work life balance,

Cons

Lots of 20 years +
No Marketing, tech. oriented. Slow in change and adaptation to the market. (resistant to change)
Employee recognition is hard to get.
Negative, gosip culture

Advice to Senior Management

adapt to new structures, listen to other countries-organisations how they do it, and the implement it.