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    SolarWinds Reviews

    Updated June 23, 2017
    321 reviews

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    Full-time Part-time
    3.0
    Star Star Star Star Star
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    SolarWinds President, CEO, and Director Kevin B. Thompson
    Kevin B. Thompson
    195 Ratings

    321 Employee Reviews

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    Pros
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    1. "Data Infrastructure Engineer"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      Current Employee - Data Engineer in Cambridge, MA
      Current Employee - Data Engineer in Cambridge, MA
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at SolarWinds full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Fast paced, small team, agile, good tech stack, challenging

      Cons

      I do not have anything to say

    2. "Software Account Executive"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Account Executive in Austin, TX
      Former Employee - Account Executive in Austin, TX
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at SolarWinds (More than a year)

      Pros

      Great location in Austin. Free lunches on Tuesdays and Fridays.

      Cons

      Salespeople leaving the office before 6pm is frowned upon. Taking a day off is often questioned. If you hear somebody say SolarWinds is like Dell used to be, they're probably referring to the Dell Sweatshop days. Salespeople are considered disposable and not valued much by SolarWinds.

      Advice to Management

      SLOW DOWN and take care of your customers first. Prioritize your employees and customers above the quarterly number (and your bonuses).

      3. Join the SolarWinds team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. Helpful (3)

      "Job felt like torture"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Finance in Austin, TX
      Former Employee - Finance in Austin, TX
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at SolarWinds full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Free food twice a week. Free drinks and snacks. Free internet. Gym on site. Nice building. Some of the people there are really great. Some.

      Cons

      This place is big on drinking the kool-aid. Being successful at SW is about being a follower and doing what you are told. If you like to think outside the box this is not the place for you. If you like challenging yourself and giving 110%, this is not the place for you.

      This is the place for people who are OK with subpar work and subpar ideas. This place is the "this is how we have always done it" of businesses. Management is absolutely terrible. No guidance, no support, no knowledge of how other parts of the business work, no willingness or drive to improve or be more efficient.

      This is a place people go to get a check. They all are EXCELLENT at pretending like that's why they aren't really there, they sit up straight when the CEO walks by and stay late on days when they know he'll be walking around to see who is still in the office. It's all a fake show to keep him happy.

      You will be micromanaged to death. They watch when you come and go and hound you about being in the office 8 hours even though there is only maybe 1 or 2 hours worth of work to do. When you ask for more work so you don't want to jump off the building out of boredom, there is nothing to give you to do.

      I watched so many brilliant, talented, passionate people come and go at Solarwinds. It made me realize that I didn't want to be one of the ones who settled for mediocre and stayed.

      Advice to Management

      Take a good look at your management skill level and staffing needs. You paid me for almost two years worth of salary to do as close to nothing as possible. I did my work in about 1-2 hours per day. I begged for more work to do on a weekly basis. Begged to help other departments. You could have saved 2 years worth of salary just by hiring a more competent manager in the department i worked for.

      For CEO: As much as i didn't care for your "god is great" e-mails, your all hands meetings were great and motivating and gave me hope. It's just a shame nobody I met in management shares that enthusiasm about your company.

    4. Helpful (12)

      "Worst place I ever worked"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Product Manager in Austin, TX
      Former Employee - Product Manager in Austin, TX
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at SolarWinds full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Maybe the lunches? I don't know, I just feel like 2+ years of my life were wasted here. But... since my manager was border-line incompetent at estimating how long things would take, I did all my work early and work seldom required my attention for more than 1/4th my day. Not really a pro, but if you just want to coast you can do so really easily here.

      Cons

      Where to start? Massive favoritism and bonuses not given by merit or results but by how liked you are. Dishonest managers. Horrible strategy because 2/3rds of the people in charge are bad at what they do and would never get hired at the same level anywhere else. (How long did it take them to catch on that AWS was the future? Yeah... that's what happens when you put idiot marketing people in charge of product -- you're at best reactionary.) So many layers and layers of politics. And a CEO that just runs around cheering and trying to high-five people. "Woo-hoo!" That's how you know Kevin is on your floor. Not much of a future here... since I left I've been an infinitely happier person.

      Advice to Management

      Fire 1/2 the people in charge and focus on becoming a Results Only Work Environment, where managers don't just play favorites.

    5. "Great place to work"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Territory Sales Representative in Austin, TX
      Former Employee - Territory Sales Representative in Austin, TX
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at SolarWinds full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Great compensation plan, Terrific technology your prospects WANT to purchase.

      Cons

      At the time, the territories would change every quarter. This did encourage quick closure, and the thought was "win some/lose some" with deals that were then sent over to the new rep. Sadly, I lost more than I won (like to think it was because I teed more up than most). I did not like the lack of ongoing customer relationships.

    6. "Great products, great employees and awesome energy."

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Sales Executive in Austin, TX
      Current Employee - Sales Executive in Austin, TX
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at SolarWinds full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      Passion for growth AND profitability. Startup-like adaptability. Rly talented, passionate and diverse employees that are hungry for success and career paths.

      Cons

      Our success is a secret! It takes courage and confidence to take on the big enterprise vendors. SWI has the talent and products to succeed in all markets.

    7. Helpful (6)

      "Kill me now"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Inside Sales Representative in Austin, TX
      Current Employee - Inside Sales Representative in Austin, TX
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at SolarWinds full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      The swag and team outings are nice

      Cons

      SCARE TACTICS! Heavily used by management.

      Advice to Management

      Stop the scare tactics to your employees and customers.

    8. Helpful (1)

      "It's Fine"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Inside Sales Representative in Austin, TX
      Former Employee - Inside Sales Representative in Austin, TX
      Doesn't Recommend
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at SolarWinds (More than a year)

      Pros

      Free lunch twice a week, free sodas. Good launching pad into something better or more lucrative. Made a lot of friends there. The 'culture' isn't great, but a lot of the people are.

      Cons

      If you're reading this, you probably read other reviews as well. So I won't belabor what's obvious based on the existing reviews. Good sales people will probably do well, bad sales people won't. There is some favoritism, but I suppose that's the case everywhere. It's not as bad as others may say, but it's not that great either.

      Advice to Management

      Positivity > Negativity

    9. Helpful (23)

      "Comical is not even the correct word"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Inside Sales Representative in Austin, TX
      Current Employee - Inside Sales Representative in Austin, TX
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I have been working at SolarWinds full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      co-workers - everyone can relate to the same struggle. get their number before they either quit or get let go in 2 months.

      office manager - she's the glue that holds the sinking ship together.

      Cons

      work/life balance - None at all. A Class Action Lawsuit was given to SolarWinds back in the early part of the year. for 2 months, everyone was allowed to go home at 5 with no questions asked. On the third month, the base was bumped up to 50k. They told everyone that it was to "stay competitive" in the market. we were told to stay there late. it was implemented to keep everyone there at all hours of the night. be expected to work all hours of the night and be responsive to texts.

      trust/lies - There is no trust between employees and management.

      food - some might say this is a "pro". others will say it's a reason to keep you at your desk. you can be the judge of that.

      sales tactics - some the industry's worst sales tactics are put on display here. you think your accounts hate SolarWinds? wait until you have to send mail merges 5 times a week. If that's not enough, your manager will finish off killing the project with a couple of blasts. management sends the same "canned" emails every week.
      Example:
      Monday - customer says PO will be in on Friday
      Tuesday - manager asks for the PO today. manager sends "pull forward" email without you knowing. customer is annoyed
      Wednesday - send a "swag" email. customer doesn't respond
      Thursday - manager sends email to customer and questions your ability as a person. forced to send a revised quote with discount. customer is mad at you
      Friday - everyone is having a panic attack and PO never comes in. customer has the PO but decides to make you wait since no one honors a timeline

      I can't make this stuff up.

      commission - unless you are an account executive who monitors the "sales inbox" or have an enterprise account, get used to never hitting your inflated quota. someone said 10% hit, that is a huge stretch. more like 5% hit.

      advancement - try your luck as a rehire. internal promotions are a rare as finding an employee who likes the job.

      Advice to Management

      I don't think management will read this between the CEO ranting about how good america is with Trump in office in an email that was sent to everyone in office, directors pointing blame on everyone, and managers reminiscing of the good ole days.

    10. "Amazing Company"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Technical Support Engineer in Austin, TX
      Current Employee - Technical Support Engineer in Austin, TX
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at SolarWinds full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Been at Solarwinds a little over a year and it's been an amazing adventure so far great people to work with and you can't forget the free lunches on Tuesday's and Friday's.

      Cons

      None at this time company has been great.

      Advice to Management

      None keep up the good work and continue to make us feel appreciated.

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