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Opower

Now known as Oracle

Is this your company?

Oracle acquisition destroyed morale, ethos, culture - Anonymous employee Opower Employee Review

1.0
5 Jun 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Prior to acquisition -- striving (so we thought) to build a sustainable business with a social and environmental mission. Working with intelligent people who wanted to harness the power of technology to address important problems. A refreshing break from vapid tech culture and priorities. Was easily one of the best DC-area technology companies. Again, this is all prior to the acquisition announcement.

Cons

The Oracle acquisition (and the events leading up to it) destroyed the soul of this company. Bumps over the past few months were tolerated, because we were told these adjustments were necessary as we strove to build a sustainable, profitable business. In retrospect, it seems very likely that the adjustments were to groom Opower for a sale. And not just any sale -- a sale to Oracle, which is the antithesis of everything we stand for. Morale is at an all-time low. Employees spend their days searching for new jobs and lamenting whatever the latest awful Oracle thing in the news happens to be, if they come to work at all. Opower was founded with an environmental mission: to encourage everyone to conserve energy. Oracle does not share this mission, and they have a history of deceptive business practices and ethically-dubious corporate goals. They will not be a responsible steward of Opower's clients, culture, or technology.

Explore other reviews about Opower

5.0
30 Aug 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Everyone was friendly to work with. Surprisingly well run as a company.

Cons

Not sure how their culture has changed after being acquired by Oracle. Betting it was for the worse.

5.0
3 Feb 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Every day at Opower was inspiring - the people are smart, new ideas are always being brought to the table, and everyone is motivated to do their best work because the company is doing good things for the world. People take each other seriously at work but also have so much in common that you end up with many friends outside of the office, and those relationships range across all levels - I count my old manager as one of my closest friends and will always turn to some of the company's senior leadership for life and career advice.

Cons

Though things settled down a bit post-IPO, I'd still say work/life balance is tough at Opower. People work hard because they love what they do, but they're still working really, really hard. Also, the transition from one primary product line to multiple product lines has been rocky, particularly as oil prices have been tanking and screwing with the entire industry. As the energy world settles out so too will Opower, as long as they solidify their newer products.

21
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Opower Response
10y
Thanks for your review and for being part of the Opower family for over 3 years!
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