Symantec 2012 Annual Report Download - page 89

Research and development expenses, exclusive of in-process research and development associated with
acquisitions, were $969 million, $862 million and $857 million in fiscal 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively,
representing approximately 14% of revenue in the respective periods. We believe that technical leadership is
essential to our success and we expect to continue to commit substantial resources to research and development.
Support
Symantec has centralized support facilities throughout the world, staffed by technical product experts
knowledgeable in the operating environments in which our products are deployed. Our technical support experts
assist customers with issue resolution and threat detection.
We provide consumers with various levels of support offerings. Consumers that subscribe to LiveUpdate
receive automatic downloads of the latest virus definitions, application bug fixes, and patches for most of our
consumer products. Our standard consumer support program provides self-help online services and phone, chat,
and email support to consumers worldwide. Our Norton One membership features elite-level support, which
includes an under two-minute wait time for phone calls, an instant call back feature, and virus protection
assurance.
We provide customers various levels of enterprise support offerings. Our enterprise security support
program offers annual maintenance support contracts, including content, upgrades, and technical support. Our
standard technical support includes: self-service options delivered by telephone or electronically during the
contracted-for hours, immediate patches for severe problems, periodic software updates, and access to our
technical knowledge base and frequently asked questions.
Customers
In fiscal 2012, there were no significant customers that accounted for more than 10% of our total net
revenue. In fiscal 2011 and 2010, one distributor, Ingram Micro accounted for 10% of our total net revenue in
both periods. Our distributor arrangements with Ingram Micro consist of several non-exclusive, independently
negotiated agreements with its subsidiaries, each of which cover different countries or regions. Each of these
agreements is separately negotiated and is independent of any other contract (such as a master distribution
agreement), and these agreements are not based on the same form of contract.
Acquisitions
Our acquisitions are designed to enhance the features and functionality of our existing products and extend
our product leadership in core markets. We consider time to market, synergies with existing products, and
potential market share gains when evaluating the economics of acquisitions of technologies, product lines, or
companies. We may acquire or dispose of other technologies, products and companies in the future.
Among the acquisitions we completed during fiscal 2012 are:
Company Name Company Description Date Acquired
Clearwell A nonpublic provider of eDiscovery
solutions.
June 24, 2011
LiveOffice A nonpublic provider of message hosting
and integrated message and social media
management applications.
January 13, 2012
For further discussion of our acquisitions, see Note 3 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in
this annual report.
10