Pros
-People there are brilliant. With the latest tools developed, an entire implementation can be completed through configuration; almost like a CMS! Shoutout to idoxs, docweb teams, Level 2/3 teams who are highly capable and dynamic. Whenever you found a killer bug; they'd create a foolproof antidote fairly efficiently. -Strong value proposition for the clients who may want both print and digital solutions with the same vendor. Props to the Sales/CRM team who can acquire/keep client relationships for decades! -Room for growth: I started off in level 1 support where I was appreciated for being well rounded and client friendly. Then I moved to QA to identify the problems customers usually encounter; much earlier in the SDLC. Eventually, three of my ex-colleagues followed a similar path. Many of my peers eventually moved into developer roles, some into Project Management. You don't necessarily have to move vertically, lateral moves can be more...Agile. -Team spirit is top notch. I enjoyed building constructive relationships with various teams organically. *Overall I'm grateful I got the chances given to me and experiences that will benefit the pastures elsewhere.
Cons
-24/7 culture. QA used to be part of the product and implementation teams until they abdicated this function to IT operations. You could not catch every single bug, but there was an unhealthy tendency to rely on 24/7 support to undo the problems. This was a business decision that became personally damaging. If you catch the bugs ahead of time; this diminishes the 24/7 'value' of patching problems after the fact. Some Peers may depend on this after hours of overtime. If you're young and have no kids: weekly sports, personal events and part time classes can be a write off. -Requirements gathering: Every department has its own tool to track requirements. Sales has salesforce, PMs have Clarizen, Product has Jira, IT operations was seeking its own ITSM tool. This is evident by the job descriptions. Not every use case will be relevant to all three departments. I can understand the value of having your own space where you can prioritize things your own way, especially when you have hundreds of developers and a handful of QA analysts