Support.com 2006 Annual Report Download - page 24

customers we deem to have credit risks and upon sell−through by resellers, it is possible that we may have to write down or write off
doubtful accounts. Such write−downs or write−offs would negatively affect our operating results for the period in which they occur,
and, if large, could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.
Our products depend on and work with products containing complex software, and if our products fail to perform properly
due to errors in the software, we may need to devote resources to correct the errors or compensate for losses from these errors
and our reputation could be harmed.
Our products depend on complex software, both internally developed and licensed from third parties. Also, our customers may use
our products with other companies’ products, which may also contain complex software. Complex software often contains errors and
may not perform properly. These errors could result in:
• delays in product shipments;
• unexpected expenses and diversion of resources to identify the source of errors or to correct errors, whether or not the error is
later determined to be related to our software;
• damage to our reputation;
• lost sales;
• contractual penalties, demands, claims and litigation and related defense costs; and
• warranty claims.
In our consumer offerings, we generally use our own products to diagnose and resolve consumer technology problems. If our
products fail to perform well in this environment, our consumer offerings would suffer and may not be successful.
Our software may not operate with the hardware and software platforms that are used by our customers now or in the future,
and, as a result, our business and operating results may suffer.
We currently serve a customer base with a wide variety of constantly changing hardware, software and networking platforms. If
we fail to release versions of our software that are compatible with operating systems, software applications or hardware devices used
by our customers, our business and operating results would suffer. Our future success also depends on the continuing ability of our
products to inter−operate with multiple platforms and packaged applications used by our customer base and on our management of
software being developed by third parties for our customers or for use with our products.
We rely on third−party technologies and our inability to use or integrate third−party technologies could delay product or
service development.
We intend to continue to license technologies from third parties, including applications used in our research and development
activities and technologies such as third−party search engine technology, which are integrated into our products and services. Our
inability to obtain or integrate any of these technologies with our own products could delay product and service development until
equivalent compatible technology can be identified, licensed and integrated. These technologies may not continue to be available to us
on commercially reasonable terms or at all. We may fail to successfully integrate any licensed technology into our products or
services, which would harm our business and operating results. Third−party licenses also expose us to increased risks that include:
• risks of product malfunction after new technology is integrated;
• the diversion of resources from the development of our own proprietary technology; and
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Source: SUPPORTSOFT INC, 10−K, March 16, 2007