relief resulting from such claims, could harm our results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, we may be required to indemnify certain of our clients for losses incurred as a result of such errors.
We have experienced rapid growth, and if we fail to effectively manage our growth, we may be unable to execute our business plan, maintain high levels of service and client satisfaction or adequately address competitive challenges, any of which may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Our business has recently grown rapidly, which has resulted in a large increase in our employee headcount, expansion of our infrastructure, enhancement of our internal systems and other significant changes and additional complexities. Our total number of employees increased from 296 as of December 31, 2019, to 482 as of December 31, 2020 and to 798 as of September 30, 2021. Managing and sustaining a growing workforce and client base geographically dispersed in the United States and internationally will require substantial management effort, infrastructure and operational capabilities. To support our growth, we must continue to improve our management resources and our operational and financial controls and systems, and these improvements may increase our expenses more than anticipated and result in a more complex business. We will also have to expand and enhance the capabilities of our sales, relationship management, implementation, client service, research and development and other personnel to support our growth and continue to achieve high levels of client service and satisfaction. Our success will depend on our ability to plan for and manage this growth effectively. If we fail to anticipate and manage our growth or are unable to continue to provide high levels of client service, our reputation, as well as our business and results of operations, could be materially and adversely affected.
Defects, errors, or vulnerabilities in our solution, including failures in connection with client market orders, could harm our reputation, result in significant costs to us, impair our ability to sell our solution and subject us to substantial liability.
Our cloud-based investment management solution is inherently complex and may contain errors, failures, defects, bugs, or other performance problems, particularly when first introduced or as new versions are released. Despite extensive testing, from time to time we have discovered errors, failures, defects, bugs, or other performance problems in our systems. In addition, due to changes in regulatory requirements relating to our clients, we may discover deficiencies in our software processes related to those requirements. Material performance problems or defects in our systems might arise in the future.
Any such errors, failures, defects, bugs, or other performance problems, or disruptions in service to provide bug fixes or upgrades, whether in connection with day-to-day operations or otherwise, could be costly for us to remedy, damage our clients' businesses and harm our reputation. In addition, if we have any such errors, failures, defects, bugs, or other performance problems, our clients could seek to terminate their agreements, elect not to renew their subscriptions, delay or withhold payment or make claims against us. Any of these actions could result in lost business, increased insurance costs, difficulty in collecting our accounts receivable, costly litigation and adverse publicity. Such errors, defects, or other problems could also result in reduced sales or a loss of, or delay in, the market acceptance of our solution.
Moreover, software development is time-consuming, expensive, complex and requires regular maintenance. Unforeseen difficulties can arise including failures in connection with client market orders and failures in delivering software development in a timely manner. If we do not complete our periodic maintenance according to schedule or if clients are otherwise dissatisfied with the frequency and/or duration of our maintenance services, clients could elect not to renew, or delay or withhold payment to us or cause us to issue credits, make refunds, or pay penalties. We might also encounter technical obstacles, and it is possible that we discover problems that prevent our solution from operating properly. If our solution does not function reliably or fail to achieve client expectations in terms of performance, clients could seek to cancel their agreements with us and assert liability claims against us, which could damage our reputation, impair our ability to attract or maintain clients and harm our results of operations.
If we fail to effectively anticipate and respond to changes in the industry in which we operate, our ability to attract and retain clients could be impaired and our competitive position could be harmed.
The financial services industry is subject to rapid change and the introduction of new technologies to meet the needs of this industry will continue to have a significant effect on competitive conditions in our market. If we are unable to successfully expand our product offerings beyond our current solution, our clients could migrate to competitors who