Symantec 2006 Annual Report Download - page 17

Support
We maintain centralized support facilities throughout the world that provide rapid, around-the-clock
responses to complex customer inquiries. We have support facilities with experts in technical areas associated
with the products we produce and the operating environments in which these products are deployed by many
of our customers. Our technical support experts provide customers with information on product implementa-
tion and usage, as well as countermeasures and identification tools for new threats. Support is available in
multiple languages including Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin,
Portuguese, and Spanish.
Our Security Response Team consists of dedicated intrusion experts, security engineers, virus hunters,
and members of the global technical support teams that work in tandem to provide extensive coverage for
enterprises and consumers. Symantec Security Response provides customers with comprehensive and global
Internet security expertise, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to guard against today's multi-faceted Internet
threats. The Symantec Security Response Team issues a semi-annual Internet Security Threat report that
provides an analysis and discussion of trends in Internet attacks, vulnerabilities, malicious code activity, and
other security risks. We believe that this report is one of the most comprehensive sources of Internet threat
data in the world, leveraging unparalleled sources to identify emerging trends in attacks and malicious code
activity.
Our enterprise security support program offers annual support contracts to enterprise customers
worldwide, including content, upgrades, and technical support. Our standard technical support includes the
following:
‚ Unlimited hotline service delivered by telephone, fax, email, and over the Internet
‚ Immediate patches for severe problems
‚ Periodic software updates
‚ Access to our technical knowledge base and frequently asked question, or FAQ, facility
‚ An invitation to our annual user group meeting
Our consumer product support program provides free self-help online services and free email support to
all consumer customers worldwide. A team of product experts, editors, and language translators are dedicated
to maintaining the robustness of the online knowledge base. Generally, telephone product support is provided
for a fee by an outside vendor. Customers that subscribe to LiveUpdate receive automatic downloads of the
latest virus definitions, application bug fixes, and patches for most of our consumer products.
Customers
Our solutions are used worldwide by individual and enterprise customers in a wide variety of industries,
small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as various governmental entities. In fiscal 2006, 2005, and 2004,
two distributors, Ingram Micro and Tech Data Product Management, including their subsidiaries, each
accounted for more than 10% of our total net revenues. In fiscal 2006 and 2005, one reseller, Digital River,
Inc., represented more than 10% of our total net revenues.
Research and Development
We believe that technical leadership is essential to our success. Therefore, we expect to continue to
commit substantial resources to research and development. Whether we maintain our technical leadership
position will largely depend on our ability to enhance existing products, respond to changing customer
requirements, and develop and introduce new products in a timely manner.
The Symantec Security Response Team is responsible for a significant component of our research and
development efforts. Our Security Response experts, located at research centers throughout the world, are
focused on collecting and analyzing the latest malware threats, ranging from network security threats and
vulnerabilities to viruses and worms. When a new threat or vulnerability is discovered, our Security Response
experts provide a rapid emergency response that consists of communication with customers and delivery of
11