NetApp Tech Rocks (Found) in Sunnyvale CA

This week in Silicon Valley ... south of Moffett Field, in Sunnyvale, CA

NetApp Technology rocks!

No, I am not talking about rockstars, although NetApp is consistent with earnings, growth, and open employee culture.

I walked around their campus and actually found these huge NetApp Technology rocks on each side of a walking path close to Building 1.  Look closely at the design stamped on the inside of the rocks. 

NetApp Technology Rocks in Sunnyvale, CA 

Sometimes I think people may become obsessed with two or three key technology companies that are always in the news ~ please remember these stories of several other companies - ones not in the headlines everyday, yet contribute to worldwide business everyday.

NetApp Technology

Of course , there are the other stories of the suppliers - pipeline to each of these companies - selling their goods and services to all of these key companies ~ this is the heartbeat of Silicon Valley.

NetApp in Sinnyvale CA

This company:  NetApp Technology

• Founder: Dave Hitz
• NetApp Technology, a public corporation, has an open employee culture and with solid revenues the past 7/8 years.  And they celebrated #6 Best Company to Work For 2012.  
• In 1992, founder Dave Hitz writes the first storage operating system with WAFL® (Write Anywhere File Layout), improving storage performance and efficiency.

NetApp Technology - Walking through the rocks

What do they do?  They sell data management systems - I found a fun, non-techical description written on Dave Hitz's blog about what they really do. NetApp helps large organizations manage all of the data - information flowing around.  

Keep it simple for everyone in Silicon Valley ~ The Fun Tour Guru 

Images - Courtesy of DW, click and enlarge to see details.

Oracle Headquarters on San Francisco Peninsula

To continue these fun explorations of some significant technology players, I head north to mid-peninsula, to find this company.

Where am I?

  

Visitors will find a few large and familiar icons along Highway 101, the inner freeway around the San Francisco bay. It is because of the shape of the bay, that directions may be confusing when you first start driving in this region. You find roads going east, west, north and south – yes, they are the same road.
   
The region between Redwood City and San Carlos, and north of Palo Alto ~ an area we still include as a part of Silicon Valley is where the famous Oracle Headquarters is next to the bay. 

As you drive by, you will see six cylindrical glass buildings with the Oracle name at the top. The buildings are visible for people to see from the air and land. I have heard some stories where people nicknamed the headquarters, Emerald City, to describe this campus.

 
I visited the campus and found a relaxing place next to the “Oracle” lake which is centered between these buildings.  You may drive around the perimeter (outer road) of this corporate campus. 

There is a walking, running trail, with exercise equipment to work out on next to this road. The people in this area are quite active. I watched many people walking between buildings around this lake – to lunch or meetings. They have their own conference center, cafeterias, and utilities – a city within a city.

 Oracle’s original name was Software Development Laboratory, and first located in the city of Santa Clara, when the company was created in 1977.  The Oracle founders are: the often talked about, flamboyant, Larry Ellison, along with Bob Miner and Ed Oates. 

It was in 1989 the new headquarters were created and became a familiar showcase as we know today. This location is a short helicopter ride from Woodside, CA, where you will find one of Mr. Ellison's residences.

     
For facts and figures, please see press releases at Oracle.com.  Fun stories of these growing years of the people with this Software (and now hardware) giant may be discovered in The Silicon Boys and their Valley of Dreams by David A. Kaplan. I recently read some fun stories about working at Oracle in the book, Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos. [Ad below, click to buy]  

Sharing the fun side of Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco ~ The Fun Tour Guru
 

 

All pictures taken with my old Canon point and shoot. I will get new pictures with my iPhone 5s upon request.  

Silicon Valley: Paypal - Ebay Headquarters 2011

Fun Friday Foto 

This week's image as I roam around Silicon Valley.  This headquarter campus is larger than appears.  I thought you might enjoy.

Paypal - Ebay Headquarters,  San Jose CA

Which Silicon Valley company do you want to see next? ~ The Fun Tour Guru