Adobe 2004 Annual Report Download - page 20

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20
OPERATIONS
Marketing and Sales
We market and distribute our products through sales channels, which include distributors, retailers, software
developers, systems integrators ISV’s and VARs, as well as through OEM and hardware bundle customers. We also
market and license our products directly using our sales force and through our own Web site at www.adobe.com.
We support our worldwide distribution network and end-user customers with international offices around the
world, including locations in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, England, Finland, France,
Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Taiwan.
We license our Adobe PostScript software and other printing systems technology to computer and printer
manufacturers, who in turn distribute their products worldwide. We derive a significant portion of Adobe PostScript
royalties from international sales of printers, imagesetters, and other output devices by our OEMs.
We also license software with maintenance and support, which includes rights to upgrades, when and if
available, support, updates, and enhancements.
For information regarding our market segments and segment revenue, geographic areas and significant
customers, please refer to Note 17 of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Order Fulfillment
The procurement of the various components of packaged products, including CDs and printed materials, and the
assembly of packages for retail and other applications products is controlled by our Global Supply Chain
Management operations. We outsource our order fulfillment activities to third parties in the United States, Europe,
and Asia.
To date, we have not experienced significant difficulties in obtaining raw materials for the manufacture of our
products or in the replication of CDs, printing, and assembly of components, although an interruption in production
by a supplier could result in a delay in shipment of our products. The backlog of orders from customers, as of
January 21, 2005 and January 30, 2004, was approximately $13.9 million and $13.8 million, respectively.
Services and Support
We provide professional services, technical support and customer service to a wide variety of customers
including consumers, creative professionals and business users. Our service and support revenue consists primarily
of consulting fees, software maintenance and support fees, and training fees.
Services
We have a global Professional Services team dedicated to developing and implementing solutions for enterprise
customers in key vertical markets and to transfer technical expertise to our Solution Partners. The Professional
Services team uses a comprehensive, customer-focused methodology to develop high quality solutions, which in
turn deliver a significant competitive advantage to our enterprise customers. A portfolio of technical training courses
is also available for desktop and server-based products to meet the needs of our enterprise customers and Solution
Partners.
Support
A significant portion of our support revenue is composed of our extended enterprise maintenance and support
offerings, which entitles customers to the right to receive product upgrades and enhancements during the term of the
maintenance and support period, which is typically one year. Regional Support Centers are charged with providing