Testimonial of working for a small company (AMICI) that was bought by Xerox that merged with ACS
Pros
Tons of flexibility, good level of ownership, unique challenges, a fading "small company owned by a big company" feel, 24/7 business so work hours are very flexible, intelligent and resourceful development staff. Friendly environment. Decent benefits through corporate Xerox with easy-to-use (mostly) online tools for benefits management. Can work remotely.
Cons
Too much "hackery", development compromises to minimize delivery time outweigh good product design, very difficult to move anywhere once you're established, mostly business-oriented upper management that do not consider technical implications, very stagnant job growth, relatively non-competitive for wages and benefits, recent merger with ACS has caused several internal changes and commensurate compensation policies. Very little recognition for tasks of scaling difficulty, 24/7 on-call support mandatory generally at the whim of delivery requirements. Constant shift in priorities and fluid requirements makes it difficult to finish projects. Large disjunction between development teams, lots of segregation and redundancy. Lots of workspace shifting. No clear direction, non-uniform development standards and tools for various technologies. Outdated / non-development workstations. One raise in 6 years with decline in benefits and bonus potential. Thin-stretched team sizes with a low in-flux of new developers. Constant feeling of "work-debt" as a result to understaffed teams and constant shifting in priorities, leaving for too much unfinished work and shifting of gears. Morale seems a bit low lately, and they've been having issues with retention (see above). Lack of authority at times, some departments do not lend well to providing information unless you follow loosely-defined protocols. Too much he said, she said, and too many conflicts for what people want with often murky direction from management. Very high accountability/responsibility requirements and expectations, punitive culture for "failures" to meet them. Primitive or sub-par implementations of formal development pipelines with lots of variation by department. Extensive responsibilities without fair compensation. Technology usage is scattered and not always compatible between departments.