Pluspunten
The acquisition by Telstra might result in the business being absorbed (and managed by) Kloud. There is a solid pool of development skill and so learning opportunities are real.
Minpunten
The strategy isn't a strategy. The advantage of this is that is doesn't expose the absence of a plan to achieve it. The often referenced document that is advertised as a strategy is more a collection of untested objectives. Perhaps worse is the widening gap that is portrayed in (sought after) media articles and the reality. That is a body-shop (reality) versus a think-tank (not so much). As a collective the leadership team isn't a team. Much like the Reality Television show "Survivor", the executives appear to form ever-shifting alliances depending upon whichever agenda they might be pushing at a particular time. The result of this approach is both inefficient and ineffective. As individuals the leadership team seems to be a little light on the experience and background to contribute meaningfully to the direction that is being advertised to the new owners. This appears to be getting worse as the number of executives with relevant experience is reduced in favour of rewarding loyal employees (developers). Nothing should stop the right employees from progressing to executive level; however personnel friendships, tenure and technical skills are not necessarily an appropriate substitute for competence and experience. This has resulted in an organisation that could be viewed as both top-heavy and staffed with the wrong people. There are some very talented developers at all levels. Unfortunately, in many cases those promoted to the upper echelons are lacking in the most basic management and leadership skills. Once promoted it seems that ego and professional development take diverging trajectories. Perhaps most alarming is that this is tolerated and explained away by management as "..of that is just (insert one of any number of names here).....". The advertised perks are great, they are not always so easy to access. There have been a number of attempts to develop products can be sold into different markets. To date there has been one product developed and it is yet to be sold. There are initiatives within the company to try and drive innovation, these are yet to gain any sort of traction. If you are looking for a place to develop new ideas and products, Readify is not there yet. The sales team are talented and committed. They are also struggling to succeed given the mixed messages from the leadership team. On the one hand they are (as is appropriate for a body shop) pushing hard to achieve high utilisation targets; this is largely how they are rewarded. On the other hand they are trying to bring about the change that is represented in media articles and other communication. That is, a shift toward more value-adding and innovative work. Clearly one is harder to sell than the other and this is only amplified given the misalignment to incentives.