The Water Cooler

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  • 1.  Product names & alphabetization in lists

    Posted Aug 04, 2020 05:47 AM
    When companies acquire other companies, it can be challenging to keep product names recognizable while still providing the appearance of a unified and coherent product portfolio. Even when companies don't change ownership, overzealous leaders and marketing types can cause havoc by renaming or rebranding existing product every few years.

    • Recently, Broadcom bought CA and renamed a bunch of products.
    • A while before that, CA bought Automic and renamed a bunch of products.
    • Some time before that, Automic renamed a bunch of its products.
    Today, the product names are a mess. When products are displayed in an alphabetized list, as in the Filter by Product menu of the Support Search page, it can be hard to find the product in which one is interested. The list is long and without much consistency. Some CA products have 'CA' as a prefix, while others do not. Some Automic products have the product suite name as an additional prefix, while others do not.


    What is the product called in this particular list, I wonder?
    • Automation Engine
    • Automic Automation Engine
    • Automic ONE Automation
    • CA Workload Automation
    • CA Automic Workload Automation
    • CA Automic Automation Engine
    No, it's none of these. The name is CA Automic Workload Automation - Automation Engine.

    I realize it's a challenge, but it really would be nice if all related products were grouped together. It would also be nice if product names did not change every 18 months.


  • 2.  RE: Product names & alphabetization in lists

    Broadcom Employee
    Posted Aug 12, 2020 10:22 AM
    Hi Michael, 

    First off let me introduce myself and the business owner of the Broadcom Support Portal. I wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide feedback regarding the inconsistent and confusing user experience related to our ever-growing product portfolio. You're absolutely spot-on in your observations that maintaining workable support product taxonomy is challenging for companies who don't change ownership, let alone ones like Broadcom who grow primarily through acquisitions!

    While I can't commit this can be corrected in the short-term given the magnitude and LOE, rest assure this is on our radar as something we're working to continue to strive to improve upon in the long-term. 

    Thanks again for commitment to helping improve the customer experience at Broadcom!

    Best,

    Steve Desaulnier