Symantec 2016 Annual Report Download - page 101

• Competitive pricing pressure for one or more of our classes of products;
• Our ability to timely complete the release of new or enhanced versions of our products;
• How well we execute our strategy and operating plans and the impact of changes in our business model
that could result in significant restructuring charges;
• Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
• The number, severity, and timing of threat outbreaks (e.g. worms, viruses, malware, ransomeware and
other malicious threats);
• Our resellers making a substantial portion of their purchases near the end of each quarter;
• Enterprise customers’ tendency to negotiate site licenses near the end of each quarter;
• Cancellation, deferral, or limitation of orders by customers;
• Changes in the mix or type of products sold;
• Movements in interest rates;
• The rate of adoption of new product technologies and new releases of operating systems;
• Changes in accounting rules;
• Weakness or uncertainty in general economic or industry conditions in any of the multiple markets in
which we operate that could reduce customer demand and ability to pay for our products and services;
• Political and military instability, which could slow spending within our target markets, delay sales
cycles, and otherwise adversely affect our ability to generate revenues and operate effectively;
• Budgetary constraints of customers, which are influenced by corporate earnings and government
budget cycles and spending objectives;
• Disruptions in our business operations or target markets caused by, among other things, earthquakes,
floods, or other natural disasters affecting our headquarters located in Silicon Valley, California, an
area known for seismic activity, or our other locations worldwide;
• Acts of war or terrorism;
• Intentional disruptions by third parties; and
• Health or similar issues, such as a pandemic.
Any of the foregoing factors could cause the trading price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly.
Our business models present execution and competitive risks.
In recent years, our SaaS offerings have become increasingly critical in our business. Our competitors are rapidly
developing and deploying SaaS offerings for consumers and business customers. Pricing and delivery models are
evolving. Devices and form factors influence how users access services in the cloud. We are devoting significant
resources to develop and deploy our own SaaS strategies. We cannot assure you that our investments in and
development of SaaS offerings will achieve the expected returns for us or that we will be able to compete
successfully in the marketplace. In addition to software development costs, we are incurring costs to build and
maintain infrastructure to support SaaS offerings. These costs may reduce the operating margins we have
previously achieved. Whether we are successful in this business model depends on our execution in a number of
areas, including:
• Continuing to innovate and bring to market compelling cloud-based experiences that generate
increasing traffic and market share; and
• Ensuring that our SaaS offerings meet the reliability expectations of our customers and maintain the
security of their data.
We may need to change our pricing models to compete successfully.
The intense competition we face in the sales of our products and services and general economic and business
conditions can put pressure on us to change our prices. If our competitors offer deep discounts on certain
products or services or develop products that the marketplace considers more valuable, we may need to lower
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