Big Switch Networks Reviews

Pros

Very open culture. Everyone had a clear understanding of the revenue goal each quarter company is trying to achieve.

Cons

Some more perks would have been nice.

Pros

good technology in the SDN space

Cons

SDN space is very competitive

Pros

- Incredible work flexibility. You are judged based on the speed and quality of your work, not on how many hours you sit in the office. - Management legitimately cares about the progression of your career as an engineer. - Most coworkers are highly intelligent and helpful. There are a couple of cranky folks. - Management will provide any resources that you need in order to do your job provided that you present a reasonable case. - Unlimited PTO. Never once had an issue taking time off. - Low touch environment where you will not be micromanaged. - Upward trajectory with no signs of stopping. - Culture minimizes wasting time in meetings. Bug scrub meetings are extremely rare. Meetings must have agendas and if you are in the meeting you must be mentally present or else you will be encouraged to leave. If you are a self starter that is eager to learn and tackle new problems the sky will be the limit here.

Cons

- Office location does not have high quality walkable eating options. This can make it frustrating to get food when lunch if not provided at the office. - Office interior is uninspiring. Feels like I'm in "Office Space" sometimes. Hopefully this changes during our next move. - No standing desks.

Pros

Enthusiastic, motivated team, all aligned on execution of the company vision. People really believe in what they are doing here, what this company is doing and understand the impact it will have on networking in the next 5-10 years. The ground work has been laid by Big Switch's brilliant engineering and product management teams. Excellent culture and leadership. Very, very smart group of people, and management is approachable, (absolutely an open door kind of environment) and listens to anything that anyone wants to discuss. Employees have a lot of autonomy, but this is also a very collaborative team environment, when heads need to be put together to solve exciting problems. Company has great culture, promotes a healthy work / life balance, this is not a place filled with drama and every employee has a voice. In this industry, change will not happen overnight, but the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into building and iterating on two very solid products over the past several years is about to pay off. This company is on a rocket ship to the moon.

Cons

Although a later stage startup, it's still a startup - teams run lean and you will wear many hats. In my book, not a con, it affords a ton of opportunity, room for growth and a ton of learning, but if you are someone who likes working on larger teams w/ more support, this might not be the ideal environment.

Pros

Big Switch has 2 excellent products, Big Cloud Fabric and Big Monitoring Fabric, which the customers love. Furthermore, Big Switch, with its continued exponential growth quarter over quarter has shown immense product market fit as well as its continued and consistent execution. All this is possible due to the awesome culture at Big Switch shown by immensely talented and focused people. Big Switch continues to win more and more customers and is on its way to achieving its vision of making networking and monitoring simpler, automated and scalable for its customers.

Cons

Big Switch Networks is a startup and as such has a fast moving environment. People work hard and play hard too. There is a good balance... but it is definitely not for someone looking for an easy 9-5 job.

Pros

I have close to 20 years of experience working in large and small organizations and have seen different cultures and leadership styles. I'm a big fan of Simon Sinek's approach to leadership and Big Switch leadership team and culture very much reflects a similar approach in the way they conduct themselves. The tone at the top is set by Doug Murray, CEO and Kyle Forster, Founder and the rest of the executive team, all of which act in a transparent, no-nonsense, practical matter. There are always pressures and deadlines in any work environment and Big Switch is a fast-paced, fast-moving stat-up-like environment that is similar to a number of companies in the valley. I think what sets the company apart is the leadership's support of its staff to own their work and to deliver products and services that are truly excellent. Can't ask for much more than that in a workplace.

Cons

I can't think of any at the moment.

Pros

Very strong engineering and product management teams form the nucleus of the company. Culture is centered around a strong conviction that the product strategy is very well-positioned for rapid growth in the years ahead. No drama - just lots of very smart people with a missionary-style focus. The proof points are being realized and the separation from pure-play competitors is happening. Exec team genuinely cares about the satisfaction, well-being and success of the entire employee base. Attrition rates are way below industry average and judging from the number of people who have been here 3-4 years there is alot of confidence about the ability to execute toward a bright future!

Cons

Big Switch's perception in the marketplace is still somewhat influenced by it's first 3 years of history and the product pivot after VMware bought Nicira in 2012. Also the company competes against some larger and more established vendors (but therein lies the opportunity).

Pros

Wow! Talk about jumping on a fast moving train! The 6 months have been nothing short of phenomenal. The culture at Big Switch really makes employees feel valued and respected. Team work is the name of the name of the game at Big Switch, everyone shares, everyone helps and everyone wins. People - everything revolves around people, internal, our customers, partners, alliances, family and friends. Pride - when I tell people where I work, many already know who we are, that's major progress from when first starting 6 months ago. Customers - they appreciate what Big Switch brings is delivering and just how much everyone pitches in to help make them successful. Add it all up and it's a winning team, culture and the place I want to be.

Cons

Small business always have growing pains, we like to think of them as hurdles and notches in our belt to represent progress. Can't solve everything in a day.

Pros

- As an engineer, the biggest pro is the technology. Big Switch is doing all the really cool things in networking - Doug Murray and the executive staff. They do a great job keeping the company focused on its goals while earning the trust of employees by being honest and transparent - The work culture. Do awesome, be awesome, share awesome is the company's motto and employees strive to uphold it - Company outlook and potential. I truly believe that the company can become a huge success

Cons

- The uncertainty of the entire market and the question whether the company will eventually 'make it' - The competition. Everyone is doing SDN now and the big incumbents like Cisco have the deep pockets to give Big Switch a hard time getting a large piece of the market. - The compensation. Big switch is quite cash conservative and that means that you can easily get higher salaries and benefits elsewhere.

Pros

Great products produced by really impressive dev/eng talent that are hitting at exactly the right time. The team from the executives on down is impressive in their experience, knowledge and character. The company is really responsive to customers and nimble while growing quickly. Opportunities abound to apply and expand your knowledge in the hottest areas of hyper-scale networking, SDN and DevOps. You get exposure to all parts of the business, and your input or ideas are valued. It has a great 'all-for-one' culture - everyone from the CxO level on down rolls up their sleeves, works together and gets it done. There's a shared sense of excitement and motivation from being in the right place at the right time.

Cons

It's a later stage startup: If ruthless time-management (you're super-busy with customers, a good problem to have!), self-direction, creativity and ability to self-learn quickly are challenges, this might not be the position for you.