Pros
Flexential still builds and operates world class colocation facilities. The Facility operations teams are committed to uptime and availability, the backbone of a quality datacenter operator. This varies by location, but local managers try their best to do right by their employees. The depth and breadth of what they are allowed to do is limited by senior managment.
Cons
The combined entity of Flexential has lost its identity. Peak 10 was a great, growing, vibrant company with an awesome culture of "Let's get our work done and have fun while doing it." My understanding of ViaWest was that they enjoyed a very similar culture. On paper, the merger of two companies of roughly the same size, with similar products and separate geographies seemed ideal. The end result was (and still is) a much more challenging situation than I think any of use could see. I tried, and was ultimately not successful in helping to navigate these changes. I ultimately left feeling like I could not longer impact the company in a positive way, and therefore it was time to move on, before I became another anchor to progress. Unlimited PTO sounds like a great concept, but when you are running 24x7 operations, it is difficult to implement and manage. HR's guidance was to mange by holding employees accountable to business objectives. Again on paper, that sounds ideal. In practice, where I have to fill every shift, what that means is I end up having to encounter overtime to fill those shifts vacated by staff on PTO. My staff don't get dinged for that, but I did. There is a mismatch between what we experience at the local data center level and what the executives at either corporate location experience. It is almost a world of haves and have nots.
