Tucows 2015 Annual Report Download - page 46

If Internet usage does not grow or if the Internet does not continue to expand as a medium for commerce, our business
may suffer.
Our success depends upon the continued development and acceptance of the Internet as a widely used medium for
commerce and communication. Rapid growth in the uses of, and interest in, the Internet is a relatively recent phenomenon
and its continued growth cannot be assured. A number of factors could prevent continued growth, development and
acceptance, including:
• the unwillingness of companies and consumers to shift their purchasing from traditional vendors to online
vendors;
• the Internet infrastructure may not be able to support the demands placed on it, and its performance and
reliability may decline as usage grows;
• security and authentication issues may create concerns with respect to the transmission over the Internet of
confidential information; and
• privacy concerns, including those related to the ability of websites to gather user information without the user’s
knowledge or consent, may impact consumers’ willingness to interact online.
Any of these issues could slow the growth of the Internet, which could limit our growth and revenues.
We believe that part of our growth will be derived from resellers in international markets and may suffer if Internet
usage does not continue to grow globally.
We believe that a major source of growth for Internet-based companies will come from individuals and businesses
outside the United States where Internet access and use is currently less prevalent. A substantial number of our resellers are
currently based outside the United States and we plan to grow our business in other countries. If Internet usage in these
jurisdictions does not increase as anticipated, our revenues may not grow as anticipated.
We may be unable to respond to the rapid technological changes in the industry, and our attempts to respond may
require significant capital expenditures.
The Internet and electronic commerce are characterized by rapid technological change. Sudden changes in user
and customer requirements and preferences, the frequent introduction of new applications and services embodying new
technologies and the emergence of new industry standards and practices could make our applications, services and systems
obsolete. The emerging nature of applications and services in the Internet application and services industry and their rapid
evolution will require that we continually improve the performance, features and reliability of our applications and
services. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability:
• to develop and license new applications, services and technologies that address the increasingly sophisticated
and varied needs of our current and prospective customers; and
• to respond to technological advances and emerging industry standards and practices on a cost-effective and
timely basis.
The development of applications and services and other proprietary technology involves significant technological
and business risks and requires substantial expenditures and lead-time. We may be unable to use new technologies
effectively or adapt our internally developed technology and transaction- processing systems to customer requirements or
emerging industry standards in a timely manner, or at all. Our internal development teams may also be unable to keep pace
with new technological developments that affect the marketplace for our services. In addition, as we offer new services and
functionality, we will need to ensure that any new services and functionality are well integrated with our current services,
particularly as we offer an increasing number of our services as part of bundled suites. To the extent that any new services
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