Symantec 2009 Annual Report Download - page 78

networking configurations, which may cause errors or failures in our products or may expose undetected errors,
failures, or bugs in our products. Our customers’ computing environments are often characterized by a wide variety
of standard and non-standard configurations that make pre-release testing for programming or compatibility errors
very difficult and time-consuming. In addition, despite testing by us and others, errors, failures, or bugs may not be
found in new products or releases until after commencement of commercial shipments. In the past, we have
discovered software errors, failures, and bugs in certain of our product offerings after their introduction and, in some
cases, may have experienced delayed or lost revenues as a result of these errors.
Errors, failures, or bugs in products released by us could result in negative publicity, damage to our brand,
product returns, loss of or delay in market acceptance of our products, loss of competitive position, or claims by
customers or others. Many of our end-user customers use our products in applications that are critical to their
businesses and may have a greater sensitivity to defects in our products than to defects in other, less critical,
software products. In addition, if an actual or perceived breach of information integrity or availability occurs in one
of our end-user customer’s systems, regardless of whether the breach is attributable to our products, the market
perception of the effectiveness of our products could be harmed. Alleviating any of these problems could require
significant expenditures of our capital and other resources and could cause interruptions, delays, or cessation of our
product licensing, which could cause us to lose existing or potential customers and could adversely affect our
operating results.
If we are unable to attract and retain qualified employees, lose key personnel, fail to integrate
replacement personnel successfully, or fail to manage our employee base effectively, we may be unable to
develop new and enhanced products and services, effectively manage or expand our business, or increase
our revenues.
Our future success depends upon our ability to recruit and retain our key management, technical, sales,
marketing, finance, and other critical personnel. Our officers and other key personnel are employees-at-will, and we
cannot assure you that we will be able to retain them. Competition for people with the specific skills that we require
is significant. In order to attract and retain personnel in a competitive marketplace, we believe that we must provide
a competitive compensation package, including cash and equity-based compensation. The volatility in our stock
price may from time to time adversely affect our ability to recruit or retain employees. In addition, we may be
unable to obtain required stockholder approvals of future increases in the number of shares available for issuance
under our equity compensation plans, and accounting rules require us to treat the issuance of employee stock
options and other forms of equity-based compensation as compensation expense. As a result, we may decide to issue
fewer equity-based incentives and may be impaired in our efforts to attract and retain necessary personnel. If we are
unable to hire and retain qualified employees, or conversely, if we fail to manage employee performance or reduce
staffing levels when required by market conditions, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
From time to time, key personnel leave our company. While we strive to reduce the negative impact of such
changes, the loss of any key employee could result in significant disruptions to our operations, including adversely
affecting the timeliness of product releases, the successful implementation and completion of company initiatives,
the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting, and the
results of our operations. In addition, hiring, training, and successfully integrating replacement sales and other
personnel could be time consuming, may cause additional disruptions to our operations, and may be unsuccessful,
which could negatively impact future revenues.
We are regularly a party to class action lawsuits, which often require significant management time and
attention and result in significant legal expenses, and which could, if not determined favorably, negatively
impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We have been named as a party to class action lawsuits, and we may be named in additional litigation. The
expense of defending such litigation may be costly and divert management’s attention from the day-to-day
operations of our business, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and cash flows. In
addition, an unfavorable outcome in such litigation could negatively impact our business, results of operations, and
cash flows.
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