What it’s like to work at Auvik

All about the “Auvik Way, no-assholes and shit happens” culture.

Unlocking tech talent stories

October 19, 2021

First things first: what is Auvik? It’s cloud-based management software with over 3,500,000 devices monitored, trusted by companies like Cisco, HP and Dell. Some of their product features include automating network visibility, simplifying performance monitoring and analyzing network traffic.

Founded in 2011 by Alex Hoff, Marc Morin, and David Yach, Auvik has grown from 21 to 217 in ten years, created “The Auvik Way”, launched a podcast, shifted to distributed work, raised series-C financing, opened branches in several countries and ranked 3 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50™. If it seems a lot, it’s because it is a lot.

But what makes Auvik a great workplace for tech talent? What’s behind the corporate curtain?

But let’s go a bit deeper into their mission.

Using cloud-based, time-efficient software to keep networks up and running

When networks run the world, network management is everything. Auvik’s cloud-based network management software keeps IT networks around the world running optimally. Previously, network management was very manual and complex. Auvik’s network management software was designed to make it incredibly easy to get visibility into network infrastructure. The technology can be deployed in minutes, and automatically discovers devices on a network, determines what those devices are, and how to monitor and back them up. Their software converts dozens of time-consuming tasks — like tracing wires by hand and manually drawing network maps — into simple, automated steps, enabling even the most junior technician on an IT team to simply understand and manage a network.

​​With Auvik’s cloud-based software serving upwards of 2,000 customers worldwide, the success of the product speaks for itself. Take a look at some of Auvik’s raves, reviews and real-life stories here and peer review site, G2.

Lego statues standing on top of bricks

Work anniversaries will never be the same without Custom LEGO statues (Twitter)

“The Auvik Way” type of culture

They’re a fully distributed company, with employees working in five countries around the world. You don’t need to dig very deep to find out that the Auvik people are bold. Early on in the existence of the company, the “Auvik Way” was created. Made out of 7 simple statements, every single one of them screams authenticity.

According to co-founder and CEO Marc Morin, these principles were inspired by some of the places all three founders worked before, such as BlackBerry, HP, PixStream and Sandvine. He says, we borrowed what was good, we cut what we didn’t think would work for us, and we put our unique Auvik stamp on the whole thing. The result is the Auvik Way, a set of seven operational principles that guide us in our quest to make the best darn piece of networking software the world has ever seen.

The Auvik Way:
  1. Wow our customers. Create unexpected and fantastic experiences. Exceed expectations.
  2. Be agile. Fail fast, learn from mistakes, and take smart risks. 3/4 is better than 1/1.
  3. Commit. Once you commit to something, it’s your responsibility.
  4. Shit happens. Honesty, transparency, ownership: It may not be our fault, but it’s our problem.
  5. Kindergarten rules apply. Share. Play fair. Show & tell. Don’t hit. Wash your hands. Don’t eat purple snow. Don’t back down from a double-dog dare.
  6. No assholes. Enough said.
  7. Winner takes all. Awesome or bust. We’re building a great company that will deliver for our customers for years to come. Failure is not an option.

In a world where tech professionals no longer consider perks and benefits as their number one job motivators, and instead put career development opportunities and autonomy first, the Auvik mission statements seem to fall right into place. Apart from their uncanny sense of humour, they hit the nail on the head when it comes to giving autonomy, with its fair share of responsibilities, and space to experiment and fail. Like they say, shit happens.

It’s a way to establish different ideas on how to make decisions, how to interact with each other. It’s not meant to be prescriptive, it’s meant to be a set of beliefs that we can all agree upon. (…) I’m a big believer in the no-assholes thing. There are really days people thought it was us trying to be cool and hip, but it really talks to the personality of the types of individuals we want to work with. — Alex, Co-founder and CPO, about what the Auvik Way means to him

The same rules apply to everyone and that shows. “Shit happens. I have messed up many times and we have this culture of no blame, or blameless retrospectives, and that’s helped me learn in a pretty safe environment”, says Software Developer Bheesham.

These simple, yet very revealing, statements prove that you don’t have to go very far to create a safe and attractive environment for employees. And perhaps most importantly, tech professionals are all extremely proud of Auvik’s product. “One of the things I like about it is the system it’s built on top of. We have a really modern software development stack and we’re continually working to make it better and better”, says Michael, Technical Director.

Besides, Auvik has a focus on employee development, reviewing an employee’s own personal growth plans quarterly. They regularly conduct salary and promotion reviews twice a year, which includes looking at potentially rotating current employees into other personal growth-oriented roles.

We think it’s important for employees to leverage their full potential and grow — by taking on new opportunities that allow them to expand their skill set and do new things. We want to distill an environment where employees can really chart their own path for career success.

This is where the fun begins

People standing around a table

source: IG

If you take a look at the #insideauvik hashtag on Instagram, you’ll be met with spontaneous, fun-looking behind-the-scenes moments from within. The Auvik culture seems so well-engraved in every single person that it shows consistently across teams from different countries spread all over the world. Although it has adopted a distributed-work policy, Auvik has offices in Spain, the UK, Canada and Australia.

Cross-country teams share the fun with challenges on Instagram, like the #tringledance (check their IG stories if you want to know what we’re talking about), and pictures of their Christmas sweater competition, very real home-office vibes, pets, summer barbecues and get-togethers.

Even their retreat-like conference for MSPs, Frankly MSP, is more than just a tech event. Other than counting on inspiring keynote speakers, panels and networking opportunities, its 2020 edition in Santa Barbara saw a group polar plunge (in 15ºC water! 🥶) at kick-off, speed-dating with industry experts, palm and tarot card reading, a DJ, a ‘smores station and even a build-your-own mac and cheese bar.

Calling all developers!

Auvik is currently hiring and looking for developers to join their team in Barcelona.

Our employees enjoy an environment that is friendly, collaborative, flexible, transparent and with room for growth. You’ll not only work with a diverse number of teams, but also collaborate with and learn from our leaders. Our leadership team has been there, done that — successfully — and they’re always willing to share their life (and business) lessons with you.

At Auvik, everyone’s trusted to do amazing things on their own — and on their own time. You’ll be trusted to take on new projects and have the flexibility to make your own hours — whatever it takes to get the job done.

What would your first week at Auvik look like as a Dev?

Your first week will be all about orientation and onboarding. On Monday, you’ll learn a brief history of Auvik, the way their business operates, ensure systems are set-up so that you’re set for the rest of the week. To ensure you have time to digest this information effectively, you’ll officially start your role on Tuesday. From there, you’ll onboard further within R&D , learning about the structure of the engineering organization and how they operate. You’ll be paired up with a buddy and be given additional resources to help you set up your dev environment, meet your teammates and learn about their roles and responsibilities. You’ll also receive training material to help you learn about the company’s product.

The key to being successful?
  • Come in with an open mind.
  • Spend time observing and learning what we do and why we do it that way.
  • Share your ideas and own your commitments.
  • See something that can be improved, and don’t be afraid to speak up and be open to other perspectives.
  • Be quality-minded and test driven.
  • Be agile — because priorities can change.
  • Mentor others and be willing to mentor.
  • Think of the system as a whole and not just your own piece when creating solutions.

We might be biased in saying this, but Auvik truly provides a unique environment for tech professionals to embrace a meaningful job, make an impact in the company, gain autonomy and is probably a place where people genuinely create friendships with coworkers. ✨

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