Pros
The smartest people in the world work here.
Small company culture, open source proponent which forms grass roots of company culture and following for the who's who of the full stack open source enterprise solutions universe.
Small voices echo far in this company. Even the smallest idea or concern makes its way far beyond bare metal, chatter, through virtual environments, email correspondence, escaping corporate gravity in true open source fashion to reach the humble kernel at the heart of Red Hat.
Red Hat, just as its portfolio of solutions for the enterprise proves to be a company poised to georeplicate itself tick by tick with clockwork reliability and intricate focus to detail just as it has since inception of the binary clock. Astonishing as to its pace but with its rules of business clearly defined, the company remains true to itself, honest in its value proposition, to its people, and to its open source roots.
When I joined company, the company's main campus was still located deep inside the tech triangle in Raleigh, NC, remaining on college campus, deeply engrained in the advancement of education. Red Hat has adhered to its meager beginnings in the sponsorship of upstream communities which transfers to the familiarity and name association within the linux base as well as most other open source communities. The company has grown by leaps and bounds restructuring upon acquisitions and new product/service/support additions to its already impressive portfolio well as to accommodate for the diverse, emerging, and ever growing vastness of both the physical and virtual worlds.
Red Hats's sales support, pre sales, and sales enablement personnel include some of the broadest spectrum of intricately knowledged solutions architects, consultants, TAM's, and sales ops that the world has yet to produce. They take ownership to a whole new level in terms of their company, what they do everyday in most cases is far beyond the standard call of duty.
I had many of chances to work with some of the founders and minds responsible for some of the ideas and acquisitions that have become part of Red Hat over time. Most of which have stayed on as direct segment product marketing managers and specialized Solutions Architects who are called on to educate, drive product innovation, assure cross platform functionality, to promote ongoing upstream innovation as to support the huge demand of the downstream enterprise market.
Personality runs rampant through this company, specialized, prideful, and dedicated to inspire and be inspired. The worlds knowledge of Red Hat and overall opinion of the company is evidence of this. Yet Red Hat, although a household name in most shops is a refreshing twist toward modern day take on brand valuation. Never did I get the sense that that I was peddling a namesake or another service that was run of the mill. The internal support that I received always became a team effort when interacting with my clients. A hands on deck. no holds barred approach toward their needs. A win win for everyone and what a great feeling!
Sales are both direct and through the many channel partnerships which helps to give customers as well as teams span contractual confines, aid in pricing and sku flexibility, and better negotiate procurement constraints. There are also embedded software/hardware offerings through OEM markets which round the book, altogether the base of the pyramid in this well structured company provide even keel, a well defined course, agility, and capacity to stay nimble even through tumultuous growth and demanding times.
Cons
With every company there is change, patience is key, voice is necessary. Not really a con but within a company who employs some of the smartest people in the world, sets the curve for which standards of new technologies are based and expected to adhere to, the knowledge base is enormous and the pace is intense. I guess the con for me was the wanton will to want to know as much as possible. Word of advice. Be as good as you can at every aspect of your role, be known and take pride in what you are good at, volunteer yourself for opportunities, know the who's who of the company and what they are good at, learn from interactions (the good and the bad), build relationships, and stay on top of your resources.
