Informatica (INFA) Risk Factors

The market for our products is highly competitive, quickly evolving, and subject to rapidly changing technology, which may expand the alternatives available to our current and potential customers for their data management requirements. Our competition consists of: - hand-coded custom-built solutions developed by internal IT teams;- point solution vendors that compete with one of our products;- cloud service providers ("CSPs") with limited platform-specific capabilities in data management; and - stack vendors that compete across in many of our markets with data management solutions. From time to time, we compete with business intelligence and analytics vendors that offer, or may develop, products with functionalities that compete with our products. Certain of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical, marketing, and other resources, greater name recognition, specialized sales or domain expertise, broader product portfolios and stronger customer relationships than we do and may be able to exert greater influence on customer purchasing decisions. New or emerging technologies, technological trends or changes in customer requirements may result in certain of our strategic partners, including CSPs, becoming potential competitors in the future. Our competitors may be able to respond more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies, technological trends and changes in customer requirements. Our current and potential competitors may develop and market new technologies that render our existing or future products obsolete, unmarketable, or less competitive. In addition, new products or enhancements of existing products that we introduce may not adequately address or respond to new or emerging technologies, technological trends or changes in customer requirements. Moreover, competition from new and emerging technologies and changes in technological trends, particularly the shift to cloud-based solutions, has increased market confusion about the benefits of our products compared to other solutions. We expect competition to increase as other established and emerging companies enter the data management and data integration software market, as customer requirements evolve and as new products and technologies are introduced. Our ability to compete depends upon many factors both within and beyond our control, including the following: - ability to offer a comprehensive platform with best of breed products;- interoperability with multi-cloud, hybrid environments and applications;- ability to embed advanced AI and machine learning in our platform;- performance, reliability and security;- ease of deployment and ease of use by the full breadth of data practitioners;- elasticity and ability to quickly scale services;- strength of cloud ecosystem partnerships;- responsiveness to evolving customer needs and use cases;- success of sales & marketing efforts;- quality of customer support; and - brand awareness and reputation. We may have difficulty competing on the basis of price in circumstances where our competitors develop and market products with similar or superior functionality and pursue an aggressive pricing strategy. For example, some of our competitors may provide guarantees of prices and product implementation, offer data management products at no cost in order to charge a premium for additional functionality, or bundle data management products with other products at no cost to the customer or at deeply discounted prices for promotional purposes or as a long-term pricing strategy. These difficulties may increase as larger companies target the data management markets. A customer may be unwilling to pay a separate cost for our data management products if the customer has a bundled pricing arrangement with a company that offers a wider variety of products than us. As a result, increased competition, alternate pricing models and bundling strategies could seriously impede our ability to sell additional products and services on terms favorable to us. In addition, consolidation among vendors in the software industry is continuing at a rapid pace. Our current and potential competitors may make additional strategic acquisitions, consolidate their operations, or establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with other solution providers, thereby increasing their ability to provide a broader suite of software products or solutions and more effectively address the needs of our current and prospective customers. Such acquisitions could cause potential customers to defer or not proceed with purchasing our products. Our current and potential competitors may also establish or strengthen cooperative relationships with our current or future strategic partners, thereby limiting our ability to sell products through these channels. If any of this were to occur, our ability to market and sell our software products would be impaired. In addition, competitive pressures could reduce our market share or require us to reduce our prices, either of which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Furthermore, during periods of U.S. or global economic uncertainty, our customers' capital spending may be significantly reduced. As a result, there is significantly increased competition for the allocation of IT budget dollars, and other IT implementations may take priority over the use of our products and services.

We believe that the brand identities that we have developed have contributed significantly to the success of our business. We also believe that maintaining and enhancing our brands is important to expanding our customer base and attracting talented employees. In order to maintain and enhance our brands, we may be required to make further investments that may not be successful. Maintaining our brands will depend in part on our ability to remain a leader in data integration and management technology, our ability to preserve our independence and neutrality, and our ability to continue to provide high-quality offerings and customer service. In addition, we could be the subject of a negative social media campaign beyond our control that could adversely affect the perception of our brand. If we fail to promote and maintain our brands, or if we incur excessive costs in doing so, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be harmed.

We make significant efforts to implement cybersecurity risk management processes that maintain the security and integrity of our product source code and the computer systems that are used to develop and host our products. However, the threats to computer systems, networks and data security are increasingly diverse and sophisticated. In addition to traditional computer "hackers," ransomware attacks, malicious code (such as viruses and worms), employee error, theft or misuse, and denial of service attacks, sophisticated nation-state and nation-state supported actors now engage in intrusions and attacks (including advanced persistent threat intrusions), and fundamental software vulnerabilities add to the risks to our products and computer systems, including our internal network and service providers' systems, and the information they store and process. These risks and threats are heightened by the fact that many of our employees and service providers work remotely. Like all cloud service providers and organizations, our cloud software and enterprise networks could be affected by incidents caused by cybersecurity attacks and other sources of security breaches. The impact of such an incident could disrupt the proper functioning of our products, create a service outage for our cloud services, cause errors in the output of our customers' work, allow unauthorized access to, or use, disclosure, loss, acquisition, modification, unavailability, destruction or other processing of, sensitive, proprietary or confidential information of ours or our customers, and cause other destructive outcomes. If any actual or perceived cybersecurity attack or security breach or incident affecting us or our products or services were to occur, our services could be delayed or interrupted, our reputation may suffer, customers may stop buying our products and services, we could face claims, lawsuits and other proceedings by governmental and private actors, could face fines and other potential liability, and could find it necessary or appropriate to expend significant capital and other resources to alleviate problems caused by the cybersecurity attack or security breach or incident, and our business, renewal rates, results of operations and financial condition could be negatively affected. We and our service providers may face difficulties or delays in identifying, remediating and otherwise responding to any cybersecurity attack or other security breach or incident. In addition, as we continue to devote more resources to evaluate our computer systems, networks and products for security vulnerabilities, the cost of addressing these vulnerabilities and otherwise working to prevent security breaches and incidents could reduce our operating margins. If we do not address security vulnerabilities or otherwise provide adequate security features in our products and cloud services, customers may delay or stop purchasing our products and cloud services. Furthermore, we expect the risks related to computer system, network or security incidents to increase as we continue to develop our products and cloud subscription offerings, which may store, transmit and process our customers' sensitive, proprietary or confidential data, including personal or identifying information, in cloud-based IT environments. We use open source and other third-party libraries and applications, which may be subject to security vulnerabilities that affect our products, services or operations. These providers historically announce security vulnerabilities in their products and libraries from time to time, which our operations and development teams monitor and evaluate for impact to our products and services. We expect these third-party providers to continue testing and making similar announcements. These announced vulnerabilities have caused our security, operations, development and customer success personnel to invest unplanned time and resources in investigation, patching, documentation, and customer communications. We also engage third-party vendors and service providers to store and otherwise process some of our and our customers' data, including sensitive and personal information. Our vendors and service providers may also be the targets of cyberattacks, malicious software, phishing schemes, fraud and other means of effectuating security breaches and incidents. Our ability to monitor our vendors and service providers' data security is limited, and, in any event, third parties may be able to circumvent those security measures, resulting in the unauthorized access to, or misuse, disclosure, loss, acquisition, modification, unavailability, destruction or other processing of, our and our customers' data, including sensitive and personal information. There have been and may continue to be significant supply chain attacks, and we cannot guarantee that our or our third-party providers' systems and networks have not been breached or that they do not contain exploitable defects or bugs that could result in a breach of or disruption to our systems and networks or the systems and networks of third parties that support us and our products and services. In addition, we have acquired a number of companies, products, services and technologies and may continue to do so in the future. As a result, we may inherit additional IT security issues when we integrate these acquisitions. Throughout our history, our self-managed products have accrued historical potential security vulnerabilities. As we migrate these products and underlying features and components to our cloud platform, many of these vulnerabilities are addressed, but some may persist. These potential vulnerabilities are reviewed according to our risk-based process that considers the residual risk based on compensating controls and other factors. Within our self-managed products, some existing vulnerabilities may become more impactful over time and some vulnerabilities may be newly discovered along with the normal course of security vulnerability disclosure. These vulnerabilities may require significant unplanned engineering effort and cost to resolve and redistribute to customers who remain on the self-managed version of our software. Further, we have incorporated artificial intelligence ("AI") technologies into our platform, and may continue to do so in the future. Our use of AI technologies may create additional cybersecurity risks or increase cybersecurity risks, including risks of security breaches and incidents. Further, AI technologies may be used in connection with certain cybersecurity attacks, resulting in heightened risks of security breaches and incidents. Techniques used to sabotage or obtain unauthorized access to computers systems or networks are constantly evolving and, in some instances, are not identified until launched against a target. Attackers continuously evolve their methods of attack, including by utilizing AI for adversarial purposes. Geopolitical tensions and conflicts may also increase these risks. We and our service providers may be unable to anticipate these techniques, react in a timely manner, or implement adequate preventative measures. Further, we cannot assure that any limitations of liability provisions in our customer and user agreements, contracts with third-party vendors and service providers or other contracts would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from any liabilities or damages with respect to any particular claim relating to a security breach or other security-related matter. We also cannot be sure that our existing insurance coverage will continue to be available on acceptable terms, if at all, or will be available in sufficient amounts, if at all, to cover claims related to a security incident or breach, or that the insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim. The successful assertion of claims against us that exceed available insurance coverage, or the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our financial condition, operating results, and reputation.

Our business is subject to regulation by various federal, state, local and foreign governmental agencies, including agencies responsible for monitoring and enforcing employment and labor laws, workplace safety, laws relating to privacy, security and data protection, consumer protection laws, anti-bribery laws, import/export controls, federal securities laws and tax laws and regulations. Noncompliance with applicable regulations or requirements could subject us to investigations, sanctions, enforcement actions, disgorgement of profits, fines, damages and civil and criminal penalties or injunctions. We have been, currently are, and may in the future be, subject to legal claims arising in the normal course of business. Such legal claims have included governmental, intellectual property-related, commercial, and employment claims, and may in the future include those categories of claims, as well as, product liability, class action, whistleblower and other litigation and claims. An unfavorable outcome on any litigation matter could require that we pay substantial damages. In addition, we may decide to settle any litigation, which could cause us to incur significant costs. The outcome of litigation and other claims or lawsuits is intrinsically uncertain. Management's view of the litigation might also change in the future. Actual outcomes of litigation and other claims or lawsuits could differ from the assessments made by management in prior periods, which are the basis for our accounting for these litigations and claims under GAAP. A settlement or an unfavorable outcome on any litigation matter could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, reputation, financial position or cash flows. In addition, responding to any action will likely result in a significant diversion of management's attention and resources and an increase in professional fees. Enforcement actions and sanctions could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have implemented and maintain security measures intended to protect personal information, and we require our service providers to implement and maintain security measures intended to protect personal information they maintain or process for us. However, our security measures and those of our service providers remain vulnerable to various threats posed by hackers and criminals and by internal errors. If our or any of our service providers' security measures are overcome and any personal information that we or our service providers collect, store or otherwise process is breached, compromised or otherwise subject to loss, unavailability, unauthorized access, use or other processing, or if any of these is believed or perceived to have occurred, we may be required to comply with costly and burdensome breach notification and other obligations. We may also be subject to regulatory investigations, enforcement actions and other proceedings and private claims, demands and lawsuits. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act ("CPRA"), imposes a private right of action for certain security breaches that could lead to some form of remedy including regulatory scrutiny, fines, private action, settlements and other consequences. In addition, any actual or perceived security incident is likely to generate negative publicity and may result in additional cost and liability to us, harm our reputation, inhibit adoption of our products by current and future customers, and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.

Our international sales and operations expose us to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. An unfavorable change in the exchange rate of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar would result in lower revenues when translated into U.S. dollars, although operating expenses would be lower as well. Our main revenue exposures are in Euro, Yen, and Sterling. On occasion, exchange rates have been particularly volatile and have affected quarterly revenue and profitability. In prior years, fluctuations from foreign currency exchange rates have negatively affected, and in the future could negatively affect, our revenues. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates driven by the general strengthening of the U.S. dollar negatively impacted reported revenue by approximately $1.1 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2024. The impact on revenue from fluctuations in foreign currency is calculated by comparing current period revenue to the translated current period revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 using the comparable period's exchange rates from the prior year. As fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates occur or increase, the effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates could become material to revenue, operating expenses, and net income. In particular, any unfavorable exchange rate changes could have a significant impact on the operating expenses of our international operations in India, where we had approximately 2,500 employees as of September 30, 2024.

We believe our ability to attract and retain highly skilled personnel and key members of our management team is critical to our long-term success. Historically, there has been a significant level of competition to attract these individuals, and we have in the past, and may in the future, experience changes in our senior management team. For example, our Chief Product Officer recently resigned in April 2024. As new senior personnel join our company and become familiar with our business strategy and systems, or as existing senior personnel assume new roles within the company, their integration or transition could result in disruption to our ongoing operations. The future success of our business requires us to add, attract, train, and retain skilled personnel. We provide business practices training to our sales teams. Our business is subject to increasing structural and regulatory complexity which makes it more critical for us to attract and retain qualified and technically competent employees in the United States and internationally. If we are unable to effectively attract and train new personnel on a timely basis, or if we experience unexpected levels of turnover, our results of operations may be negatively affected. We continue to be substantially dependent on our sales force to obtain new customers and to drive additional usage and sales among our existing customers. We believe that there is competition for sales personnel, including enterprise sales representatives and sales engineers, with the skills and technical knowledge that we require. Our ability to achieve revenue targets will depend, in large part, on our success in recruiting, training and retaining sufficient numbers of sales personnel to support our growth. Further, from time to time, we have experienced an increased level of turnover in our direct sales force, particularly in the first quarter of a year. Such increase in the turnover rate affects our ability to generate software revenues. Although we have hired replacements in our sales force and are continuing to hire additional sales personnel to grow our business, we typically experience lower productivity from newly hired sales personnel for a period of approximately nine months. We continue to invest in training for our sales personnel, including updates to cover new, acquired, or enhanced products, as we broaden our product platform. In addition, we periodically make adjustments to our sales organization in response to a variety of internal and external factors, such as changes in our strategy, market opportunities, competitive threats, management changes, product introductions or enhancements, acquisitions, sales performance, increases in sales headcount and cost levels. Such adjustments may be temporarily disruptive and result in reduced productivity. If we are unable to effectively attract, train and retain new sales personnel, particularly sales specialists or domain experts, or if we experience an increase in the level of sales force turnover or decrease in sales force productivity, our ability to generate revenues from both new and existing customers and our growth rate may be negatively affected. We have relied on our ability to grant equity awards as one mechanism for recruiting and retaining highly skilled talent. If our stock price falls significantly below the exercise price of stock options previously granted to employees, or has fallen from the grant date value for employee RSUs, the retention value of the equity awards we have made to employees is reduced proportionally, which may lead to higher voluntary attrition rates. As a result, we may need to provide additional cash or equity compensation to recruit and retain employees. We currently do not have any key-man life insurance relating to our key personnel, and the employment of key personnel in the United States is generally at will and not subject to employment contracts.