Pros
I was with Automic for 4 years and gained a lot during the first 3/3.5 years. Things have change dramatically over the last 6 months or so. On the plus side, there were a number of good things happening at Automic: - some great people (especially in sales, pre-sales, sales ops, finance & admin) - CSO is bringing in some good people - strong market position in Central Europe and mature team - rebrand from UC4 was long overdue and brought new life into the company - move to inbound marketing has been a success - Business automation vision was the right path for the company - provided a great learning experience and opportunity to develop my skills, knowledge, career, etc - I always felt that I was well compensated
Kontras
Most of the above (Pros) don't really matter now as the company has dramatically change it's focus over the last 6 months which prompted my decision to leave. While the removal of the previous CEO was the right thing to do as he had taken the company as far as he could and was too indecisive, the appointment of the current Interim CEO has created a far worse situation and Automic became an extremely negative place to work. The company had always struggled with it's vision for the future but the Business Automation message was (in my opinion) the right message to market. That message is now dead for a number of reasons: - Interim CEO totally fails to understand it as he has no clue about what is required by business users - Product Management & R&D leadership totally failed to deliver a workable (or even mildly usable) product - Orsyp acquisition nailed the coffin shut as they are a legacy job scheduling/WLA company so add no value - Current strategy driven by Interim CEO is down the stack into a crowded and commoditizing market space around system management & operations (he's an infrastructure guy so wants to move back to his comfort zone) Some observations I'd like to share: - there is no leadership. Interim CEO is driven by ego, self-promotion and own agenda rather than company agenda - there is no senior management team. They are not a team but a group of individuals that lack a common purpose - there is no product strategy. The Chief Product Officer role was a complete failure - now years behind the competition - there is no ambition. Seem content to celebrate mediocrity. Interim CEO wants a 'yes man' culture - there is no accountability. Place is run by ex-McKinsey types with spreadsheets who are clueless about business - there is no vision. The business automation vision is dead - killed by indecision, personal agendas, lack of leadership - there is no growth strategy. Orsyp acquisition - that's not a growth strategy but desperation - there is no backing. It's clear that EQT are already looking for the exit. What else explains the Orsyp acquisition? Automic had the potential to made an impact on how businesses use automation technology to their advantage but wasted it due poor choice of leader (not a leader), poor acquisition (Orsyp) and poor management (hiring clueless McKinsey types does not help). There would be no point in recommending someone to join Automic at this point in time as there is no upside - they are increasingly becoming irrelevant in the marketplace as others outpace, out sell and out perform them. Lets hope the Interim CEO is just that - Interim - otherwise I fear this ship is well and truly sunk.