Sun Microsystems Reviews

Pros

It was a great environment to collaborate with other teams. I had some great managers who kept their employees informed on the various projects we were working on.

Cons

Frustration with some of the decisions that upper management made. They didn't always seem consistent with longevity of the company.

Advice to Senior Management

Get a better idea of the whole picture. Reduce outdated product lines and focus on those products that are successful. Continue with research and development.

Pros

It's great if you want to hang out and cruise in your career. You can get really good at doing your job and be very comfortable and remain unchallenged.

Cons

For most it's a dead end. Little to no opportunities for promotion. Rumors of layoffs all the time.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop hanging out and get out and better your careers.

Pros

Flexible work environment allowing workers to work remote part of full time if there job allows. Engineering driven company with a strong desire for innovation and research.

Cons

It is an engineering driven company and not as focused on marketing aspects. It lost its way after the dot com bust and has struggled to get back its edge.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on the companies core strengths and spend more time understanding and marketing to the customer. Spend less energy heckling old adversaries.

Pros

engineer gets respect, have very good freedom on work.
flexible hours, work from home
salary is descent
work environment is good

Cons

growth options are limited
oracle aquisition has put a lot of uncertainty
management not good
many product future is still not clear

Advice to Senior Management

need to focus on solution
sales rep need to get in process to get better procuct
need to work on new tech

Pros

flexibility, some very nice collegues, international, cross border. Above average time for business development. Some really interesting stuff on the shelves to combine wth services.

Cons

No excecution, lack of strategy, product focused

Advice to Senior Management

too late

Pros

Family friendly. Co-workers are smart and great to work with. A very stimulating environment in all the technical areas. Everyone was very helpful with each others projects.

Cons

The senior management had evolved to a point of being extremely detached from the work force. Many things that they shared at all-hands meetings didn't make sense. No one could understand if they were really that far from reality or if they just didn't care what came from their mouths.

Advice to Senior Management

Too late now.

Pros

Some very good Products and some good people in the business. The overall benefits package was quite competitive I would say.

Cons

Senior Management seems to lack drive, enthusiasm and the necessary ability to manage the business effectively. However, now Oracle have takeover the business, hopefully we should see a great improvement in returning the business to profit

Advice to Senior Management

As per the above, now they are part of Oracle. Everybody is very hopeful, that with a much more professional business like approach, they should be able to return the business to profit

Pros

* great culture where people genuinely like each other & are passionate about innovation
* paid well for the industry
* can maneuver self onto interesting projects
* able to do new & interesting things if build a business case

Cons

* not good company for making money & surviving
* CEO not good at communicating to & inspiring employees. Just a major disconnect.
* unclear how open source focus can grow a business
* employees exhausted by RIFs and company spiral on business end

Advice to Senior Management

Open source doesn't propel a business forward. Cut off some of the company's portfolio & FOCUS. Learn to communicate real info to employees. Scott McNealy could lead employees anywhere, but after he stopped leading the company, sr management stopped focusing on employees.

Pros

Hottest technology in computer hardware and software. Sun wasn't a greedy money-grubbing sales machine, but that in the end, turned out to be its downfall. Culture was superb, many workplace options, work from home, drop-in, permanent office...Bennies and Pay was at least commensurate with other high-tech engineering companies.

Cons

Seems as if the Senior Management folks didn't always 'get it'. Lots of bad decisions were made over that last 5-10 years.

Advice to Senior Management

Not much advice except to the Board of Directors, or whoever is in charge at the top - You should have cleaned house when you had the chance.

Pros

Total flexibility in where you work and how you work, which promotes a strong work and home life balance.

Cons

Too much change and mismanagement. This created a chaotic work environment that ended up eroding the company year after year.

Advice to Senior Management

Know who you are as a company, and focus on what you do well in the market. Too many pet projects can destroy your credibility.