Support.com 2008 Annual Report Download - page 14

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Table of Contents
us any proprietary information, inventions or other intellectual property they generate or come to possess while working for us. These precautions may not
prevent misappropriation or infringement of our intellectual property.
Competition
We compete in markets that are highly competitive, subject to rapid change and significantly affected by new product introductions and other market
activities of industry participants. Although we do not believe there is one principal competitor for all aspects of our offerings, we do compete with a number of
other vendors.
In our Consumer segment, competitors include electronics retailers such as Best Buy (Geek Squad) that offer premium technology support, digital service
providers, anti-virus providers, PC manufacturers, warranty providers, companies that offer online technology support and local computer repair shops. Principal
competitive factors in this market include breadth and depth of service offerings; quality of the consumer experience; pricing; brand recognition; and
relationships with industry participants. Certain of our competitors in this market have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial, technical and
other resources, stronger strategic alliances or greater name recognition than we have. We expect new competitors to enter the market given its relatively early
stage.
Companies we encounter in competing for Enterprise customers include a broad range of publicly traded and privately held companies. Principal
competitive factors for our Enterprise offerings include breadth and depth of product functionality; demonstrated customer success and return on investment;
scalability of platform and integrated architecture; quality, performance and reputation of solutions; pricing; ease of deployment; and product innovation. In our
digital service provider business, we compete with companies such as 2Wire, Alcatel, Fine Point Technologies, Motorola and Siemens. In our corporate IT
business, our principal competition comes from companies such as ATG, CA, Consona, eGain, Kana, RightNow and Talisma.
As we release new products, such as Dynamic Agent and RemoteTango, we anticipate new competition from hosted offerings marketed by companies
such as Citrix, Bomgar, Radial Point and LogMeIn. We also expect that internally developed applications will continue to be a significant source of competition
in the foreseeable future.
The markets for our products are still rapidly evolving, and we may not be able to compete successfully against current and potential competitors. Our
ability to expand our business will depend on our ability to maintain our technological competitiveness, introduce timely enhanced products to meet growing
support needs, and deliver on-going value to our customers. Our potential competitors may have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial,
technical and other resources, stronger strategic alliances or greater name recognition than we have. Competition in our markets could reduce our market share or
require us to reduce the price of products and services, which could harm our business, financial condition and operating results.
Employees
As of December 31, 2008, we had 272 full-time employees, 336 technical support agents and 21 contractors for a total full-time equivalent headcount of
629. None of our employees or contractors are covered by collective bargaining agreements. We believe our relations with our employees and contractors are
good.
SEC Filings and Other Available Information
We were incorporated in Delaware in December, 1997. We file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including without limitation
annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (which we refer to herein as the Exchange Act). The public may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s
Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549. The public
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Source: SUPPORTSOFT INC, 10-K, March 11, 2009