Symantec 2016 Annual Report Download - page 99

our business by delaying the introduction of new products or technologies, interrupting service of additional
products, or impacting employee retention. In addition, we cannot be sure that the cost reduction and
streamlining initiatives will be as successful in reducing our overall expenses as we expect or that additional
costs will not offset any such reductions or streamlining. If our operating costs are higher than we expect or if we
do not maintain adequate control of our costs and expenses, our results of operations will suffer.
If we are unable to develop new and enhanced products and services that achieve widespread market
acceptance, or if we are unable to continually improve the performance, features, and reliability of our
existing products and services or adapt our business model to keep pace with industry trends, our business and
operating results could be adversely affected.
Our future success depends on our ability to respond to the rapidly changing needs of our customers by
developing or introducing new products, product upgrades and services on a timely basis. We have in the past
incurred, and will continue to incur, significant research and development expenses as we strive to remain
competitive. Additionally, we must continually address the challenges of dynamic and accelerating market
trends, such as the emergence of advanced persistent threats in the security space, the continued decline in the PC
market and the market shift towards mobility and the increasing transition towards cloud-based solutions, all of
which have made it more difficult for us to compete effectively. Customers may require features and capabilities
that our current solutions do not have. Our failure to develop solutions that satisfy customer preferences in a
timely and cost-effective manner may harm our ability to renew our subscriptions with existing customers and to
create or increase demand for our solutions and may adversely impact our operating results. New product
development and introduction involves a significant commitment of time and resources and is subject to a
number of risks and challenges including:
• Managing the length of the development cycle for new products and product enhancements, which has
frequently been longer than we originally expected;
• Adapting to emerging and evolving industry standards and to technological developments by our
competitors and customers;
• Extending the operation of our products and services to new and evolving platforms, operating systems
and hardware products, such as mobile devices;
• Entering into new or unproven markets with which we have limited experience;
• Managing new product and service strategies for the markets in which we operate;
• Addressing trade compliance issues affecting our ability to ship our products;
• Developing or expanding efficient sales channels; and
• Obtaining sufficient licenses to technology and technical access from operating system software
vendors on reasonable terms to enable the development and deployment of interoperable products,
including source code licenses for certain products with deep technical integration into operating
systems.
If we are not successful in managing these risks and challenges, or if our new products, product upgrades and
services are not technologically competitive or do not achieve market acceptance, our business and operating
results could be adversely affected.
We operate in a highly competitive environment, and our competitors may gain market share in the markets
for our products that could adversely affect our business and cause our revenues to decline.
We operate in intensely competitive markets that experience rapid technological developments, changes in
industry standards, changes in customer requirements and frequent new product introductions and improvements.
If we are unable to anticipate or react to these competitive challenges or if existing or new competitors gain
market share in any of our markets, our competitive position could weaken and we could experience a decline in
our sales that could adversely affect our business and operating results. To compete successfully, we must
maintain an innovative research and development effort to develop new products and services and enhance
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