Carbon Red, Bloodshed Red

We all know corporate life can be uncertain; smaller fish are swallowed by larger fish from time to time, and that is just the nature of Capitalism. However, it does not diminish the painful consequences mergers and acquisitions tend to leave behind on employees.

That is, in fact, the nature of the beast. Greedy giant corporations couldn’t care less about the impact their ambition has on the lives of many of their employees, and in Broadcom’s case, the disfavorable impact on smaller customers as well.

Speaking of Carbon Black’s customers, many knew of Broadcom’s reputation, and saw the writing on the wall, as such, they decided to part ways as soon as they heard of the possibility of Broadcom taking over VMWare Carbon Black.

Possibly, to ease their concerns, Hock Tan announced a couple of months ago his intent to divest Carbon Black. Management was thrilled and claimed “Carbon Black” was “back”. Shortly thereafter, CB found out that Hock had decided not to sell (or was it all intentional from the start?). Symantec would absorb Carbon Black, and layoffs ensued. The bloodbath resembled the famous Red Wedding scene from Game of Thrones.

My Advice to Employees

This sucks; it sucks big time, but all changes can lead to new opportunities, besides… ask yourself, would you want to work for a company that is devoid of a soul, has zero scruples, and questionable ethics, but mostly, does not care about the well-being of their acquired employees?

Particularly when they have poured their life into the product and while Hock Tan himself has made millions on the deal?

Do yourself a favor, and seek out companies that do value your hard work, allow for a work-life balance, and don’t see you as a mere expenditure.

What Does This Mean for You, as a Current Carbon Black Customer?

Although the CB support had already been affected by Broadcom’s hire freeze, as Broadcom continues to reduce headcount and employees realize their future is dim, Broadcom may potentially dismantle Carbon Black and absorb their intellectual property.

Even if Carbon Black as a company survives, all we have to do is look back at Broadcom’s approach and realize they will focus on the large, premium tier accounts and direct their smaller customers to partners.

It’s been rumored Hock Tan stated, referring to smaller accounts: “Why would I give a shit about your account when all you give me is $25 a year?”

Hok’s religion is the almightly dollar, anything and everything is measured in profits.

This is what to expect:

• The security efficacy of the product will continue to decline.

• Carbon Black won’t be able to prevent new threats as their teams are extremely shorthanded.

• Support will also be affected, resolution will be slow, and as their more experienced engineers leave the company (voluntarily or otherwise), the quality of support will continue to be adversely impacted.

• For Tier 1/Platinum level customers spending $250,000 or more, Broadcom may eventually force them to switch over to Symantec, despite the fact Symantec is a dinosaur in the grand scheme of cybersecurity products.

• If you care about the security posture of your enterprise or organization, public or private, I would consider other options.

In closing, former Carbon Black employees, do not despair; even a massive corporation as huge as Broadcom can’t crush your spirit.