Progress Software Reviews

Pros

Their are many great people here a Progress and I think we have some great ideas for taking the company forward.

Cons

WIth several different product lines there can be a bit of a silo effect. However, that is changing in some areas.

Advice to Senior Management

Think through all decisions and make sure we completely understand the down stream affects of those decsions.

Pros

Strong Work Culture
Good people to work with
Freedom and Space at ur Job

Cons

Bring in new technology
A large set of potential products handled very badly

Advice to Senior Management

Bring in leading technology

Pros

Field people are nice and hard working to satisfy customers.

Cons

Management team lack ability to build the customer-centric strategy.

Pros

smart people; good salary and casual environment

Cons

having serious growing pains; need to step back and look at the strategy

Pros

Friendly management
Good environment to work
Knowledgeable people

Cons

Losing talent cuz of average Salary and Benefits lesser than Market Rates.
This could be better to avoid losing talent/resources

Advice to Senior Management

none

Pros

Good Products
Middle Management knowledgable
Lots of good employees
Good Benefits

Cons

Many products in different horizontals

Pros

Anyone who has worked at Progress knows the salaries are some of the best in the industry. We often said it was a case of "golden handcuffs" because we knew that such salaries would be difficult to find outside in the real world. Also, flex scheduling, the ability to work from home, and feeling respected by direct-report managers added to the experience of working there.

Cons

The biggest downside to working at Progress was the constant threat of layoffs, an annual event that in the last few years now happens at least twice a year. The company's FY ends Nov. 30 and the months of October and November were a nerve-wracking experience because you never knew if your job was going to be next. And management continues to deny that "reductions in force" are outsourcing because the jobs are going to Progress-India. The company is now losing people with years and years of institutional knowledge and Progress customers are going to be that much worse off for it. Also, because of the layoffs, it is understood at Progress that it doesn't matter how well you do your job, no one's job is safe. That makes for a very stressful atmosphere in which to work.

Advice to Senior Management

Management needs to understand that in order for the company to survive, it needs to pay attention to employee morale (which is virtually non-existent now). The people left behind after yet another layoff are forced to do more and more with less and less and that simply cannot continue if the company is to survive. The practice of shipping jobs to India isn't saving money as is touted and management needs to acknowledge this. Projects are no where near completed on time (let alone being done the right way) and such failures are costing Progress more money than it is saving by doing business in India.

Pros

there are some good people

Cons

executives have no respect for employees

Advice to Senior Management

go find another job

Pros

Progress has a bunch of Interesting products and lots of smart people who know their area well. Plenty of opportunity to learn new technologies.

Cons

Progress is missing a unified vision for how the products fit together and what value will be provided to customers. Product emphasis and resource allocation is overly political and not based on revenue generation or revenue potential.

Advice to Senior Management

Determine which products are going to drive revenue for the future and invest in the teams to make them successful.

Pros

Products are technically advanced (at the moment)

Cons

Progress operates in highly competitive markets and does not understand how to build and maintain a strong sales-force.
On Mid-and Long-Term this does not work and the company will be a takeover candidate - at best.
Many people (important key people as well) has left the company. Unsure how R&D can compensate this...
The mood amongst the customers is getting worse. Many are looking for alternatives.

Advice to Senior Management

Sell the company as long as you can. Building up a new sales-force that can be successful is no more possible after killing most of it.