For the Week 4 assignment to research 4 potential employers, I chose Ubiquiti, Adobe, Netflix, and Square Inc.
-Ryan
Ubiquiti INC
Address: 685 3rd Ave Fl 27 New York, New York
Homepage: www.ui.com
Phone: 646-780-7958
Contact: Andrew Cole, Director of Human Resources
Company Information
Founded in 2003 as Pera Networks, Inc and rebranded as Ubiquiti Networks, Inc in 2005, Ubiquiti is a leader in network equipment and management solutions for commercial and personal consumers. Ubiquiti’s physical product list includes video surveillance, physical and wireless network infrastructure, and routing solutions. There is also a large demand for Ubiquiti’s deployable management solutions such as airMAX, AmpliFi, UniFi Video, and others. While being based in New York City and having offices in Latvia, Sweden, and Taiwan among others, Ubiquiti’s diversification of products and services makes them a leader across the western hemisphere, as well as in Europe and many middle eastern and asian countries alike. (MarketLine 2021)
Why I’m Interested
I am interested in Ubiquiti because it is a major player in the field of network infrastructure systems and routing services. The company has made large growth in the past several years, almost doubling profits, making them direct competitors of Cisco Systems. I find this progress fascinating because of the advancement that technology can take through competition. I feel like it would be an exciting opportunity to work alongside some of the top developers in the field and be on the cutting edge of innovation. Another positive that would be in stark contrast to my current employment, would be the possibility to travel a large part of the world when working through the ranks of Ubiquiti because although based in New York, their company’s reach is essentially world wide at this point.
Questions to Help Me Succeed
- How does the environment of Ubiquiti encourage ideas and input from new employees?
- Does the company offer opportunities for advancement within the first 3 years of hiring?
- What techniques does the company use to collaborate between the different locations all around the globe? Is travel a requirement for most positions?
- Are there experiences that you could share with an entry level employee about the transition from a small market industry to a large scale company like Ubiquiti?
Adobe
Address: 345 Park Ave. San Jose, California
Homepage: www.adobe.com
Phone: 408-536-6000
Contact: Julie Bennish; Director of Human Resources
Company Information
A digital media technology company, Adobe Inc. reports an annual profit of over 12 billion dollars. They were one of the first to introduce an exclusively cloud based software platform that is widely used today, creating a new way to distribute updates and new technology instantly with the consumer. Adobe is split into three main segments, one of which is it’s Digital Media department. In this department, Adobe provides to individuals and businesses alike, the capabilities to design and develop content with its Adobe Creative Cloud. Using the Creative Cloud, the company’s main customers are content developers, web designers, and digital media professionals to name a few. Along with the Creative Cloud, Adobe offers it’s Digital Experience for creators to manage and market online experiences across platforms more easily. The primary customers here are the web analysts, merchandisers, and marketing agencies. Within its final segment of Publishing and Advertising, Adobe provides a suite of technologies that include eLearning, document publishing, web development, and printing with Adobe PDF and PostScript. (MarketLine Research 2021)
Why I’m Interested
Adobe would be an interesting place to work because of the vastness of its reach. The longevity and innovation of the company, utilizing cloud based software distribution is a huge draw for me. The suite of products that Adobe offers also seems enticing because the company has many different ways an employee could advance without becoming stale. I also find it reassuring to be with a company that has been around so long because it shows an ability to adapt and change with the market. Adobe created the desktop publishing movement so much that “photoshopping” is a common phrase to touch up visuals, and a company that massive and commonplace is appealing to me.
Questions to Help Me Succeed
- With so many successful products already in the marketplace from Adobe, how does the company keep from becoming just updates of its past self?
- What opportunities do new hires have for advancement within the first three years of employment?
- What insights can a large successful company like Adobe hope to gain from new employees?
- Where does the company expect to be in the next 15 years and how will the visual designers of the future use Adobe to bring new innovation to the field?
Netflix
Address: 100 Winchester Cir, Los Gatos CA
Homepage: www.netflix.com
Phone: 408-540-3700
Contact: Jessica Neal; Chief Talent Officer
Company Information
The Netflix that we know today is very different from how the company began in 1998. In its beginning Netflix was the first company to offer DVD rentals online, breaking the mold of brick and mortar rental stores. The business grew early in its agreement with Amazon to promote the rental of movies through Netflix’s services. Over the years Netflix grew its content and developed several different ways to share that content with customers, including the “Netflix Player ” in 2008, a Roku device developed for streaming arely content. Present day and the company has contracts with almost all major networks, is available through multiple streaming devices, including its own app for mobile devices and offers full high definition picture and dolby surround sound features. Netflix has subscribers numbered in excess of 183 million people worldwide for its streaming services, and still operates its US DVD rental division with more than 2 million subscribers. The company has business operations in over 190 countries across the globe and is headquartered in California.(MarketLine 2022)
Why I’m Interested
Netflix’s longevity and innovation are two of the most impressive things about the company to me. When Netflix was primarily a DVD service it was incredible for rural areas to have the same access that people who lived near video stores and movie theaters. Their ability to change with technology makes it clear that as a company they value new ideas and future thinking from employees. This adaptability also shows a commitment to the product and service they are selling and also to the team they employ, for this reason, I think it would be a fun place to work. I think this would create a very creative environment and make it a great place to use a person’s creativity.
Questions to Help Me Succeed
- What are the key values that Netflix holds to, now even since the company has grown exponentially over the years?
- What type of entry level skills put a new employee on the map of advancement recognition?
- How does Netflix plan to contend with other services and what is the next wave of streaming technology?
- Being such a large company, what is the office environment like at Netflix?
- What would set apart a new employee in the eyes of leadership and coworkers alike?
Square Inc
Address: 1455 Market Street, Suite 600 San Francisco, CA
Homepage: www.squareup.com
Phone: 855-700-6000
Contact: Nathan Blesse, Head of Human Resources Tech
Company Information
In 2009 the company began as Square Inc and focused primarily on an online point-of-sale platform. This anywhere type of transaction access led to the development of Square physical POS terminals, as well as a variety of card readers, inventory scanners, printers, and many other sales-related technologies. (squareup.com 2022) The Square division is under the umbrella of Block Inc, which also operates offshoots such as CashApp, Tidal, Spiral, and Weebly. (block.xyz 2022) Aside from merchant hardware, Square business services also include analytical reporting, payroll, business promotional services, and employee scheduling. The major market for the company’s services are restaurants, fitness centers, entertainment and transportation services. Square Inc is based in San Francisco with offices all over the US, and is licensed to operate in Australia, Japan, Canada, and the UK.(MarketLine Report 2021)
Why I’m Interested
I choose to research Square because it is a tool that I use often in my wife’s bakery and espresso shop. We have used Square as our POS and payroll terminal for the last 4 years and its complement of services is evergrowing. Through its acquisition of Weebly, Square offers an extensive website development package, and the hardware components operate smoothly and are very user friendly. I think the industry has had a large amount of growth as far as POS systems go, there are a lot of options out there now that offer more than just a register and cash drawer. This development is very interesting to me because it brings a lot of analytics to the industry and helps small businesses accomplish what in the past has only been accessible to larger chains. I feel like a job opportunity at Square would be interesting because developing technologies to make things more streamlined and efficient for small businesses is an important part of our economy.
Questions to Help Me Succeed
- What are some ways that Square can help develop the skills of an entry level employee to help that employee grow with the company?
- What opportunities are there for advancement within the company for new hires in the first 3 years of employment?
- Does the company see the rise in competitors as concerning for its future in the industry?
- How can a new hire most effectively learn the processes and procedures of their position quickly?
Ryan,
I’m not part of your group but I did look through your post and I am glad I did. Ubiquiti was one of my first ideas!
Do you use their products?
We do have Ubiquiti switches and APs throughout our buildings. We have not made the switch to their servers yet, but our local ISP just completed an upgrade to Ubiquiti and they have been very impressed so far! It was very interesting doing the research on the company for this project.
I am also impressed with them, I installed one of their wireless products to point to a building about a quarter mile away, over a small creek to get internet without having to run physical cables. It works great!
I also use their switches, APs, and cameras at my home. Best switch I’ve made and the APs look so clean, no one notices them!
I haven’t done any of my own research, but Adobe could be really interesting! They’ve definitely set a lot of industry standards, so you would learn a lot working for them. What kind of role would you hope to fill?