Once Upon A Time... - Inside Sales NetApp Employee Review

3.0
Dec 15, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

...NetApp was the envy of RTP and much of the corporate US. A place with tons of room for intelligent, motivated employees to make a name for themselves and feel like they were contributing to a great company. There were innovative products, the company was big enough to make a splash but small enough to change course when needed. Management was effective, for the most part. Employee Stock Purchase was and still seems to be very generous. NetApp had (and still has afaik) unique perks like free beer every week, paid volunteer time, etc. Pay and benefits were par for the course in high-tech, maybe a little low in some roles. A relaxed environment where it was almost always ok to wear casual clothes, take a long lunch here or there, and speak your mind when you felt necessary without fear of retaliation.

Cons

However, the company has grown too big for itself - the culture has not been sustained. More managers are being hired than needed, usually through tech company inbreeding (in RTP: Cisco, Red Hat, etc). Too much nepotism in general, especially in more relationship based roles such as sales and marketing. Politics and bureaucracy have gotten out of hand and the company just didn't "feel" the same anymore. Personally I often witnessed praise given to team members who were widely known to be ineffectual and incompetent while the true contributors received nothing but more work to do.

Explore other reviews about NetApp

5.0
Jun 18, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good work life balance (in my team)

Cons

Leadership is bad, stay away!

3.0
Jun 26, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Amongst the top companies in the data storage industry = company stability.

Cons

If you'd ask me a year or 2 ago, I would have given the company 5 stars. But, as with most tech companies now, they've started to follow the trend of return to office, regardless of logic. There's little to no room for exceptions and the company would rather sacrifice productivity regardless if they know the hardships for people living in metros (one way commute to the NY or SJC office can take 2 hours one way!) - that and there's no commuter benefits. You have to pay out of pocket and live in fear of not receiving your bonus if you miss the "thrive together" quarterly requirements.

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