Salesforce.com 2008 Annual Report Download - page 29

Table of Contents
We are dependent on our management team and development and operations personnel, and the loss of one or more key employees or groups could
harm our business and prevent us from implementing our business plan in a timely manner.
Our success depends substantially upon the continued services of our executive officers and other key members of management, particularly our Chief
Executive Officer. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives. Such
changes in our executive management team may be disruptive to our business.
We are also substantially dependent on the continued service of our existing development and operations personnel because of the complexity of our
service and technologies.
We do not have employment agreements with any of our executive officers, key management, development or operations personnel and, therefore, they
could terminate their employment with us at any time. We do not maintain key person life insurance policies on any of our employees. The loss of one or
more of our key employees or groups could seriously harm our business.
Because competition for our target employees is intense, we may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled employees we need to support
our planned growth.
To continue to execute on our business plan, we must attract and retain highly qualified personnel. Competition for these personnel is intense,
especially for engineers with high levels of experience in designing and developing software and Internet-related services and senior sales executives. We
may not be successful in attracting and retaining qualified personnel. We have from time to time in the past experienced, and we expect to continue to
experience in the future, difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled employees with appropriate qualifications. Many of the companies with which we
compete for experienced personnel have greater resources than we have. In addition, job candidates and existing employees often consider the value of the
stock awards they are to receive in connection with their employment. Volatility in the price of our stock and the cost to expense stock options may
discourage us from granting the size or type of stock awards that job candidates require to join or stay with our company. If we fail to attract new personnel or
fail to retain and motivate our current personnel, our business and future growth prospects could be severely harmed.
As we acquire companies or technologies in the future, they could prove difficult to integrate, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and
adversely affect our operating results and the value of our common stock.
As part of our business strategy, we may acquire, enter into joint ventures with or make investments in complementary companies, services and
technologies in the future. In August 2008, we acquired InStranet, Inc. Acquisitions and investments involve numerous risks, including:
• the potential failure to achieve the expected benefits of the combination or acquisition;
• difficulties in and the cost of integrating operations, technologies, services and personnel;
• diversion of financial and managerial resources from existing operations;
• risk of entering new markets in which we have little or no experience;
• potential write-offs of acquired assets or investments;
• potential loss of key employees;
• inability to generate sufficient revenue to offset acquisition or investment costs;
• the inability to maintain relationships with customers and partners of the acquired business;
• the difficulty of incorporating acquired technology and rights into our products and services and of maintaining quality standards consistent with
our brand;
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