Pros
Barracudas style appeals to new college graduates in hourly or low salary positions who don't know any better. If you are into working long hours, not leaving the office and being able to drink a beer on the job you will probably enjoy your experience - until you work at a place with professional management. The dress code is casual, free food at lunch, free sodas and coffee with $0.25 vending machines.
Cons
Barracuda's environment for more senior/experienced employees is downright chaotic. The culture stipulates that it does not maintain an organization chart anywhere in the company. Organizations are fragmented across both functional, product and geographic lines. Job positions and responsibilities are not defined at all, making employee review times extremely inconsistent and subjective. Personal disputes between senior management can frequently stop business operations. Policies outlining expenses, new product introductions, discounting and a whole slough of other day to day business operations are nonexistent. Many senior level managers have very little formal training on managing people or employment law. I have personally witnessed a senior manager violate the Fair Labor Standards Act by requiring his hourly employees to not include after hours biweekly conference calls with overseas engineering teams as overtime. When confronted, the manager simply made a snide remark to me and told me to mind my own business. I have seen others use confidential competitive information to make strategic decisions who are completely unaware of FTC price-fixing regulations. The response to my apprehension was the same. I have yet to see the level of unprofessional conduct at any place in my career. Training of new employees is non existent. Sales, engineering and support have very high turnover. Their managers are completely clueless as to why it's taking place. People are not valued at Barracuda. Employee attrition is high and even higher since the IPO and no one can figure it out. Bottom line: if you are looking for a satisfying work experience with like-minded professionals, Barracuda is not for you. The IPO 10 months after rumors of acquisition combined with systemic management and process deficiencies cause me concern. I am not confident in this company's future. I am currently looking for a position elsewhere.
