service or bandwidth providers for any reason or if their services are disrupted, for example due to viruses or denial of service or other attacks on their systems, or due to human error, intentional bad acts, power loss, hardware failures, telecommunications failures, fires, wars, terrorist attacks, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, or similar catastrophic events, we could experience disruption in our ability to offer our solution and adverse perception of our solution’s reliability, termination of our agreements or we could be required to retain the services of replacement providers, which could increase our operating costs and harm our business and reputation.
Actual or perceived 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 bugs, errors, failures, defects, or other performance problems, particularly when a client is onboarded, systems are first introduced, or 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 bugs, errors, failures, defects, or other performance problems could be costly for us to remedy, damage our clients’ businesses and harm our reputation, and cause our clients to seek to terminate their agreements, elect not to renew their subscriptions, delay or withhold payment, or assert liability claims against us. Any of these actions could also result in lost business, increased insurance costs, difficulty in collecting our accounts receivable, costly litigation, adverse publicity, 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 believe that our reputation and name recognition are critical factors in our ability to compete in our industry and generate sales, and the occurrence or perception of the occurrence of bugs, errors, failures, defects or other performance problems in our solution or client dissatisfaction with our maintenance services may damage our reputation in the market and our relationships with our existing clients, and as a result, we may be unable to attract or retain clients, which could seriously harm our sales and our results of operations and financial condition.
We and our clients leverage third-party software, content, connectivity, and services for use with our solution. Performance issues, errors and defects, or failure to successfully integrate or license necessary third-party software, content, connectivity, or services, could cause delays, errors, or failures of our solution, cause reputational harm, increases in our expenses and reductions in our sales, each of which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We and our clients use software and content licensed from, and services provided by, a variety of third parties in connection with the operation of our solution. Any errors, failures, defects, bugs, or other performance problems in third-party software, content, or services could result in errors or a failure of our solution, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations. In the future, we might need to license other software, content, or services to enhance our solution and meet evolving client demands and requirements. Any limitations in our ability to use third-party software, content or services could significantly increase our expenses and otherwise result in delays, a reduction in functionality, errors, or failures of our solution until equivalent technology or content is either developed by us or, if available, identified, obtained through purchase or license, and integrated into our solution. In addition, third-party licenses may expose us to increased risks, including risks associated with the integration of new technology, the diversion of resources from the development of our own proprietary technology, and our inability to generate revenues from new technology sufficient to offset associated acquisition and maintenance costs, all of which may increase our expenses and materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.