Vantaggi
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.
Svantaggi
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.
