What it does: VMware, a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility.
Mission: Accelerates our customers' digital transformation journey by enabling enterprises to master a software-defined approach to business and IT.
Size & Presence: 34,000 employees located in Manila Philippines.
Best Known For: The company is known worldwide for the vSphere VMware Hypervisor.
The Good Bits: VMware ranked number one overall in the environment category,
VMware is the leader in cloud infrastructure, business mobility and virtualization software. A pioneer in the use of virtualization and automation technologies, VMware simplifies IT complexity across the entire data centre to the virtual workplace, empowering customers with solutions in the software-defined data centre to hybrid cloud computing and the mobile workspace.
With 2018 revenues of $8.97 billion, VMware has more than 500,000 customers, 75,000 partners, and 23,000 employees in 120+ locations around the world.
Unlike some of its Palo Alto neighbors, VMware hasn’t entered the public consciousness. Nonetheless, you've almost certainly made use of its cloud infrastructure or digital workspace technology. Either directly or through one of the businesses you patronize. (Its clients include ANZ Bank, IBM, Telstra, University of Technology Sydney, Centex, Woolworths, Siemens and Vodaphone.) You may not even realize that you're using VMware products at your university. You can read up on an example of their work at UTS.
The company was founded by in 1998 married couple Mendel Rosenblum and Diane Greene, in partnership with Scott Devine, Ellen Wang and Edouard Bugnion. (Bugnion later went on to found Nuova Systems, which was snapped up by Cisco).
VMware produces: hypervisors, desktop, server and cloud management software, network and security products, the application management product VMware Workspace portal and the storage and availability products VMware vSAN and VMware Site Recovery Manager.
At the core of what VMware does are their employees who deeply value execution, passion, integrity, customers, and community. Like many tech companies, VMware is evangelical about diversity. It declares “we celebrate our people from a wide variety of dynamic backgrounds, experiences and perspectives”.
VMinclusion is the business’s diversity and inclusion initiative. It comprises a “business-led effort to attract and engage the multinational, multicultural talent critical to our globally connected business”. It facilitates ‘Power of Difference communities’ for staff who are LGBT, female, veterans or from particular ethnic backgrounds. This is done to “enhance VMware’s inclusive culture and harness the power of human difference”.
With the assistance of “leading researchers from Stanford University”, VMware educates it managers about the perils of unconscious bias. VMware also uses ‘DIALOGUE Peer Mentoring Circles’ to encourage female staff to “[grow] in their perceptions of themselves as leaders and develop stronger networks for career advancement”.
The company is committed to equal pay for equal work. Regular analysis of its compensation arrangements shows neither women nor ethnic minorities earn any less than their white male counterparts.
If you are fortunate enough to snaffle a VMware grad position, you’ll be living the tech industry dream. Expect to be surrounded by a diverse bunch of upbeat overachievers, pulling down big money and gorging on an extensive array of perks.
You’ll also be working in a funky office designed to “break down traditional barriers of physical walls and create an environment to promote learning, teamwork and collaboration with community think areas where you can spark new ideas with your peers in informal and fun settings.
There are grad roles available in VMware’s various business areas: Engineering and Technology, Sales, Marketing, Services and Consulting, General and Administrative, HR, Legal, Client Support and Business Strategy and Operations.
You’ll need the appropriate qualifications and personality traits for the business area you are applying to work in. As a general rule, VMware prefers “bold, inventive and extraordinary individuals”. Ones who are “looking to expand their skills and build relationships with the best and brightest in the industry”. As well as use their “drive and passion to challenge the status quo and dare to make new discoveries that will create a better tomorrow for everyone”.
Grads are expected to keep an eye on the job board and apply for any grad position that interests them.
Applications for graduate positions open in March and close in June. All applications are accessible through the VMware website. Unfortunately, because of Australian legislative restrictions, graduate positions are only available for Permanent Residents or Australian Citizens.
In summary, the recruitment process is:
Graduate experiences will differ depending on the business area, but all those who are offered a grad role receive: targeted learning and development; rotational experiential programs; mentorship; industry and peer networking and membership of VMware’s ‘new graduate community’.
In a 2017 Glassdoor survey, VMware came in third on the list of the highest-paying companies in the US. While the company doesn’t reveal its remuneration arrangements, it appears that in most business areas you can expect to crack the $100,000 barrier within a few years.
Like many tech industry employers, VMware likes to keep its staff happy and healthy. Staff benefits include free snacks and drinks and possibly an on-site café; subsidised health insurance; an onsite gym (or free gym membership); “regular social gatherings” and “fun family cultural events”; 40 hours of volunteer leave and “generous and flexible time off programs”.
VMware employees are encouraged to engage in continuous learning and make use of ‘internal mobility programs. These programs allow staff to “take advantage of opportunities including course work, training and conferences”, “work with different teams for skill growth” and “complete multi-month assignments to figure out what's next for you at VMware”.
At VMware, we define career growth as a personal and individual journey, one that is influenced by an employees passions, career aspirations and skills. Your manager will have these conversations with you from day 1 and help you develop the right skills and experiences to achieve your goals. You may take turns in your career that you never expected, making your journey at VMware exciting and enriching.
Not content with its internal achievements, VMware is “making bold commitments and investing in programs to expand the community of female and diverse talent in technology”.
Among other things, this means it has signed the Tech Inclusion Pledge, joined the Employers for Pay Equity Consortium and taken part in the Corporate Equality Index (which rates workplace on LGBT equality).
There is also a VMware Foundation. Its mission is to “amplify the contributions of VMware people to their causes of choice and inspire the Citizen Philanthropist in all of us”. In the last year figures are available for (2016), 85 per cent of VMware staff got involved in at least one VMware Foundation program. This resulted in 66,113 ‘service-learning hours’ being donated to 7411 non-profit organizations across the globe. VMware also matches any charitable donations its employees make.