Symantec 2014 Annual Report Download - page 111

sales organization into new and renewals business teams. We also reorganized our direct sales force into
functional areas of information security and information management. The focus of these specialized teams is to
generate new business through new customer acquisition or through broadening existing customer relationships.
We expect that by separating our direct sales force into specialized teams and focusing on new business, we will
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our sales process. Concurrently, we created a dedicated renewals
team that is focused on extending existing customer relationships and renewing contracts.
We are also investing in our indirect sales channels to build stronger, more strategic relationships that
enable us to better serve consumers, small business and mid-market customers. Through our channel partner
program we are seeking to align our offerings with the optimal route to market, leveraging our channel partner
capabilities. We also plan to align the economics and incentives under these relationships based on the value
created by the partner and their commitment to Symantec and our customers. We believe these changes will help
us provide our end customer with high-quality sales and post-sales support experiences while expanding our
business.
As part of our enhanced capital allocation strategy, in fiscal 2014 we initiated a quarterly cash dividend in
addition to our on-going share repurchases activity. We paid a quarterly dividend in the amount of $0.15 per
share of common stock in each quarter of fiscal 2014, for an aggregate of $418 million or $0.60 per share, during
fiscal 2014. All shares of common stock issued and outstanding, and unvested restricted stock and performance-
based stock as of the record date for any dividend will be entitled to the dividend and dividend equivalents,
respectively. Any future dividends and dividend equivalents will be subject to the approval of our board of
directors.
Our revenue, income and cash flows may be impacted by severance, other charges, and capital expenditures
as we execute our organic growth strategy.
New enterprise resource planning system
During the third quarter of fiscal 2014, following our final testing and data conversion stages, we
implemented the critical financial reporting module of a new enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system. The
costs, other than capital expenditures, associated with this first phase of implementation of the core operating
systems have been recorded in operating expenses as restructuring and transition expenses.
Change in management
On March 20, 2014, the board of directors of the Company appointed board member Michael A. Brown as
interim president and CEO, following the termination of Stephen M. Bennett as the Company’s president and
chief executive officer. Mr. Bennett also resigned from the Company’s board of directors. This change within our
management leadership team resulted in certain severance and accelerated stock based compensation expenses.
Our operating segments
Our current operating segments are strategic business units that offer different products and services
distinguished by customer needs. In the first quarter of fiscal 2014, we modified our segment reporting structure
to more readily match the new operating structure. The three reporting segments, which are the same as our
operating segments are as follows: User Productivity & Protection, Information Security, and Information
Management. For further description of our operating segments see Note 10 of the Notes to Consolidated
Financial Statements in this annual report.
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