SolarWinds MSP: always things to improve, but always learning
Pros
Preface: I worked in tech support, not sales or another part of the business. I also did not work on the ITOM side (the piece of the business with Orion) - I worked in MSP. The benefits are good, management (at least in tech support) is good and they do care about their people. I was never asked to work an absurd amount of hours, nor was anything thrown at me that I couldn't either handle myself or get in contact with someone who could. Communication vertically (within tech support) was easy and it was never a problem finding someone. It was obvious that we cared about our customers and tried to help them out as much as possible. The best thing about working here was, quite simply, mistakes. I know that's going to raise a few eyebrows, but hear me out: everyone makes mistakes, and we all know it. The philosophy here was simple: make mistakes, make them fast, and learn from them. Perfection was never expected, and this afforded those who wanted to learn all the space necessary to do so. Also, advancement. If you applied yourself and were vocal about what you wanted to do, you could do it. Even if you made some bigger mistakes along the way - I certainly did. It was a mature, adult environment that didn't hold your hand, but didn't punish you for being human. The vast majority of the people that I worked with were also mature, reasonable adults. I did get along well with the management team in support and most of the other management teams when I had to work with folks outside of tech support. It's a growing company, with growing pains, but I think it's got a lot of potential, especially as MSP spins off into N-able.
Cons
Tech support is stressful work, even at the best of times. Having clearer-cut objectives for higher-level techs and engineers, and having a clearer division between management duties and tech lead duties would go a long way to reducing a lot of that stress. Not sure why those lines get crossed so much, to be honest. Also, headcount. Currently, there just aren't enough people, and no amount of restructuring, retraining, or spreading the work around will make that better. Tech support is not a revenue generator, sure - but if it doesn't get better on these aspects, it won't help to do what it does, and that is keep the customers coming back. Cross-team communication is still an issue. Trying to work with someone in Sales or Finance (or even just trying to find someone there) is a headache that is only partially alleviated with MS Teams channels. Speaking of Sales, I've heard horror stories from friends in that department. I wouldn't come here to work in Sales. Pretty much anything else, but not Sales. In large part this is due to how Kevin Thompson pushed certain agendas. I think the future of the company is brighter without him at the head. Last but not least, I know pickings can sometimes be slim, but it very much can feel like a "boys club" sometimes - having some more perspectives, particularly female perspectives, would help.