Table of Contents

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 10-Q

 

 

(Mark One)

x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Quarterly Period Ended March 31, 2012

OR

 

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from             to             

Commission file number 1-13317

 

 

DOT HILL SYSTEMS CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   13-3460176

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

1351 S. Sunset Street, Longmont, CO   80501
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

(303) 845-3200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes   x     No   ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes   x     No   ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer   ¨    Accelerated filer   ¨
Non-accelerated filer   ¨ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)    Smaller reporting company   x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes   ¨     No   x

The registrant had 58,367,469 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value, outstanding as of April 30, 2012.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

DOT HILL SYSTEMS CORP.

FORM 10-Q

For the Quarter Ended March 31, 2012

INDEX

 

Part I. Financial Information

     3   

Item 1.

  

Financial Statements

     3   
  

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012

     3   
  

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2011 and 2012

     4   
  

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2011 and 2012

     5   
  

Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

     6   

Item 2.

  

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

     14   

Item 3.

  

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

     25   

Item 4.

  

Controls and Procedures

     25   

Part II. Other Information

     26   

Item 1.

  

Legal Proceedings

     26   

Item 1A.

  

Risk Factors

     26   

Item 6.

  

Exhibits

     37   

Signatures

     38   

EXHIBIT 31.1

  

EXHIBIT 31.2

  

EXHIBIT 32.1

  


Table of Contents

Part I. Financial Information

Item 1. Financial Statements

DOT HILL SYSTEMS CORP.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except par value data)

 

     December 31,
2011
    March 31,
2012
 
ASSETS     

Current Assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 46,168      $ 41,447   

Accounts receivable, net

     31,697        35,138   

Inventories

     5,251        4,753   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

     7,896        12,681   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

     91,012        94,019   

Property and equipment, net

     4,972        5,387   

Intangible assets, net

     2,601        2,160   

Other assets

     294        738   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 98,879      $ 102,304   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY     

Current Liabilities:

    

Accounts payable

   $ 31,434      $ 36,710   

Accrued compensation

     5,049        4,113   

Accrued expenses

     10,860        10,445   

Deferred revenue

     883        773   

Restructuring accrual

     1,328        1,739   

Current portion of long-term note payable

     71        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     49,625        53,780   

Other long-term liabilities

     552        426   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     50,177        54,206   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and Contingencies

    

Stockholders’ Equity:

    

Preferred stock, $.001 par value, 10,000 shares authorized, zero shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012

     —          —     

Common stock, $.001 par value, 100,000 shares authorized, 57,699 and 58,368 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively

     58        58   

Additional paid-in capital

     321,681        322,870   

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

     (3,662     (3,587 )

Accumulated deficit

     (269,375     (271,243
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

     48,702        48,098   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 98,879      $ 102,304   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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DOT HILL SYSTEMS CORP.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF

COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
     2011     2012  

NET REVENUE

   $ 49,174      $ 54,744   

COST OF GOODS SOLD

     37,072        39,570   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

GROSS PROFIT

     12,102        15,174   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

OPERATING EXPENSES:

    

Research and development

     7,986        9,942   

Sales and marketing

     3,033        3,533   

General and administrative

     2,341        3,068   

Restructuring charge (recovery)

     (41 )     601   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     13,319        17,144   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

OPERATING LOSS

     (1,217 )     (1,970 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

OTHER INCOME:

    

Interest income (expense), net

     (6 )     8   

Other Income, net

     2        3   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total other income (expense), net

     (4     11   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAXES

     (1,221 )     (1,959 )

INCOME TAX EXPENSE

     50        (91 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET LOSS

   $ (1,271 )   $ (1,868 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET LOSS PER SHARE:

    

Basic and diluted

   $ (0.02 )   $ (0.03 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES USED TO CALCULATE NET LOSS PER SHARE:

    

Basic and diluted

     54,334        56,030   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

COMPREHENSIVE LOSS:

    

Net loss

   $ (1,271 )   $ (1,868 )

Foreign currency translation adjustment

     9        75   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss

   $ (1,262 )   $ (1,793 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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DOT HILL SYSTEMS CORP.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
     2011     2012  

Cash Flows From Operating Activities:

    

Net loss

   $ (1,271 )     (1,868 )

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:

    

Depreciation and amortization

     1,049        1,085   

Stock-based compensation expense

     803        1,142   

Write-off of property and equipment

     —          123   

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of business acquisition:

    

Accounts receivable

     8,003        (3,469 )

Inventories

     2,190        496   

Prepaid expenses and other assets

     (46 )     (5,250 )

Accounts payable

     (8,489 )     4,543   

Accrued compensation and other expenses

     (1,022 )     (1,286 )

Deferred revenue

     220        (96

Restructuring accrual

     (243 )     411   

Other long-term liabilities

     (244 )     (118 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

     950        (4,287 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash Flows From Investing Activities:

    

Purchases of property and equipment

     (604 )     (327 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

     (604 )     (327 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash Flows From Financing Activities:

    

Principal payment of note payable

     (68 )     (71 )

Shares withheld for tax purposes

     (191 )     (401 )

Proceeds from sale of stock to employees

     536        448   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

     277        (24 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Effect of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash and Cash Equivalents

     (46 )     (83 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents

     577        (4,721 )

Cash and Cash Equivalents, beginning of period

     45,732        46,168   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents, end of period

     46,309        41,447   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Supplemental Disclosures of Non-Cash Investing Activities:

    

Property and equipment acquired but not yet paid

   $ 223        855   

See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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DOT HILL SYSTEMS CORP.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The financial statements of Dot Hill Systems Corp. (referred to herein as Dot Hill, we, our or us) contained herein are unaudited and in the opinion of management contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments and certain write offs in the carrying value of our long-term assets) necessary for a fair presentation of financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. The interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, for interim financial information and with the instructions to Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, Form 10-Q and Article 10 of SEC Regulation S-X. They do not include all of the information and disclosures required by GAAP for complete financial statements. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for future quarters or the year ending December 31, 2012.

Use of Accounting Estimates

The preparation of our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements and the reported amounts of net revenue and expenses in the reporting periods. The accounting estimates that require management’s most significant and subjective judgments include revenue recognition, inventory valuation, recurring and specific issue warranty obligations (see Note 6), the valuation and recognition of stock-based compensation expense, and the valuation of long-lived assets, goodwill and other intangibles, as well as any other assets and liabilities acquired and accounted for under the purchase method of accounting for business combinations. In addition, we have other accounting policies that involve estimates such as the determination of useful lives of long-lived assets, accruals for restructuring and valuation allowance for deferred tax assets. Actual results may differ from these estimates and such differences could be material.

Concentration of Customers and Suppliers

A majority of our net revenue is derived from a limited number of customers. We currently have two customers that accounts for more than 10% of our total net revenue: Hewlett Packard, or HP, and Tektronix, Inc., or Tektronix. Our agreements with our original equipment manufacturers, or OEM, partners do not contain any minimum purchase commitments, do not obligate our OEM partners to purchase their storage solutions exclusively from us and may be terminated at any time upon notice from the applicable partner.

Net revenue by major customer is as follows (as a percentage of total net revenue):

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
     2011     2012  

HP

     76 %     61 %

Tektronix

     3        19   

Other customers less than 10%

     21       20  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

     100 %     100 %
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

HP continues to account for a significant percentage of our sales. If our relationship with HP were disrupted or declined significantly, we would lose a substantial portion of our anticipated net revenue and our business could be materially harmed. We cannot guarantee that our relationship with HP or our other customers will expand or not otherwise be disrupted.

We expect that the sale of our products to a limited number of customers will continue to account for a high percentage of net revenue for the foreseeable future. On October 31, 2011, we amended, or the Amendment, the Product Purchase Agreement originally entered into with HP on September 10, 2007. The Amendment extends the agreement with HP for a five year period through October 30, 2016. In addition, the Amendment provides that we will continue to comply with the contractually required cost reduction process and to support HP with respect to certain products or statements of work upon any assignment of the agreement for a specified period of time. The Amendment does not contain any minimum purchase commitments by HP. Simultaneously with the extension of the Product Purchase Agreement, we agreed to extend until October 30, 2016 the expiration date of the warrant previously issued to HP to purchase 1,602,489 shares of our common stock at the original exercise price of $2.40 per share.

We currently rely on a limited number of contract manufacturing partners to produce substantially all of our products. As a result, should any of our current manufacturing partners such as Foxconn Technology Group, or parts suppliers not produce and deliver inventory for us to sell on a timely basis, operating results may be adversely impacted.

Sales of products to Tektronix increased in the current quarter as a result of an increase in demand combined with fulfilling orders that were on backlog from the prior year. We do not anticipate revenue from Tektronix to exceed 10% in any of the remaining quarters in 2012.

 

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Long-lived asset impairment

We periodically review the recoverability of the carrying value of long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying value may not be recoverable. An impairment in the carrying value of an asset group is recognized whenever anticipated future undiscounted cash flows from an asset group are estimated to be less than its carrying value. The amount of impairment recognized is the difference between the carrying value of the asset group and its fair value. Fair value estimates are based on assumptions concerning the amount and timing of estimated future cash flows and assumed discount rates, reflecting varying degrees of perceived risk. All long-lived assets identified with the Israel Technology Development Center, or ITC reporting unit are considered one asset group, and are included as a component of the “Standalone Storage Software” reportable segment. Recent events involving our ITC reporting unit resulted in a significant decline in actual and planned earnings.

As of September 30, 2011, we identified a change in circumstances that indicated the carrying amount of our long-lived assets may not be recoverable, as our primary AssuredUVS customer informed us that the AssuredUVS software would no longer be a component of its business strategy, which would result in a significant decline in revenues for the Company. Our long-lived assets consist of the intangible assets associated with our acquisition of certain identified Cloverleaf Communications, Inc., or Cloverleaf, assets acquired in January 2010 with a carrying value of $5.0 million and property and equipment of $1.2 million.

Since we did not have an immediate replacement for our AssuredUVS customer, management’s forecasted undiscounted cash flows indicated that the assets were potentially not recoverable, and proceeded to estimate the fair value of each long-lived asset. Property and equipment comprise mostly machinery and equipment used for testing and development of our AssuredUVS technology. Management determined that carrying value approximated fair value, as property was either acquired in the 2010 acquisition of Cloverleaf, has been purchased subsequently, or could be re-deployed, establishing recent evidence of fair value. It is depreciated over a 3 – 5 year estimated useful life.

Intangible assets consist primarily of acquired software of $4.9 million and a trade name of $0.1 million. We determined the fair value of the acquired software by estimating the replacement cost of the software, taking into account both the software as acquired and subsequent development work, as well as the business alternatives we were considering and the corresponding value of the software in these alternative approaches. We estimated the value of the software based on the probabilities of each of the business alternatives. We determined the fair value of the trade name using an income approach and considered the fact that the software’s trade name at the time of acquisition was no longer being used. All estimates were based on management using appropriate assumptions and projections.

Our impairment analysis at September 30, 2011 identified $2.9 million of impaired long-lived assets, consisting entirely of intangible assets recognized as part of the Cloverleaf acquisition in 2010. Long-lived asset impairment charges are recorded consistent with our treatment of related amortization expense specific to each acquired intangible assets. We recorded $2.8 million of impaired acquired software and $0.1 million of impaired acquired trade name as a component of cost of goods sold for the year ended December 31, 2011.

In February 2012, our Board of Directors approved a plan to exit our AssuredUVS business and close down our Israel Technology Development Center (see Note 7). We evaluated the potential impact, if any, on our valuation of our acquired software and other long-lived assets maintained at our Israel Technology Development Center, and based on the facts and circumstances in existence at March 31, 2012, we believe the current valuations are appropriate. However, we will continue to assess the recorded long-lived asset valuation for Israel Technology Development Center in light of our decision to shut down operations.

Valuation of Goodwill

We review goodwill for impairment on an annual basis at November 30 and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. Our ITC reporting unit, which was developing our AssuredUVS software, is a component of the Standalone Storage Software reporting segment identified in the notes to our consolidated financial statements. During September 2011, our primary AssuredUVS customer became delinquent on the settlement of its payables to us and upon our investigation it became evident that its financial resources were limited. It also informed us that they were changing their strategy which would result in a significant decline in revenue for the Company, and we determined it was “more-likely-than-not” that the reporting unit was less than its carrying value.

Current accounting standards require that a two-step impairment test be performed on goodwill. In the first step, we compare the fair value of our reporting unit to its carrying value. We determine the fair value of our reporting unit using a combination of the income approach and market capitalization approach. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets, goodwill is not impaired, and we are not required to perform further testing. If the carrying value of the net assets exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit, then we must perform the second step in order to determine the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill and compare it to the carrying value of the reporting unit’s goodwill. If the carrying value of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, then we must record an impairment charge equal to the difference.

Under the income approach, we calculate the fair value of a reporting unit based on the present value of estimated future discounted cash flows. Under the market capitalization approach, valuation multiples are calculated based on operating data from publicly traded companies within our industry. Multiples derived from companies within our industry provide an indication of how much a knowledgeable investor in the marketplace would be willing to pay for a company. These multiples are applied to the operating data for the reporting unit to arrive at an indicated fair value. Significant management judgment is required in the forecasts of future operating results that are used in the estimated future discounted cash flow method of valuation. The estimates we have used are consistent with the plans and estimates that we use to manage our business. We base our fair value estimates on forecasted revenue and operating costs along with business plans. Our forecasts consider the effect

 

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of a number of factors including, but not limited to, the current future projected competitiveness and market acceptance of the product, technological risk, the ease of use and ease of implementation of the product, the likely outcome of sales and marketing efforts and projected costs associated with product development, customer support and selling, general and administrative costs. It is possible, however, that the plans may change and that actual results may differ significantly from our estimates. The valuation resulted in the recognition of an impairment charge to goodwill of $4.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2011. No additional goodwill remains on the balance sheet of the Company as of March 31, 2012.

 

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Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

We establish an allowance for doubtful accounts for accounts receivable amounts that may not be collectible. We determine the allowance for doubtful accounts based on the aging of our accounts receivable balances and an analysis of our historical experience of bad debt write-offs. Bad debt expense was $0.0 and $0.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Balance sheet details are as follows, (in thousands):

 

     March 31,
2011
     March 31,
2012
 

Balance, beginning of the year

   $ —         $ 203   

Additions to allowance

     —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Balance, quarter ended

   $ —         $ 203   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs.  The pronouncement was issued to provide a uniform framework for fair value measurements and related disclosures between U.S. GAAP and IFRS. ASU 2011-04 changes certain fair value measurement principles and enhances the disclosure requirements particularly for Level 3 fair value measurements. This pronouncement is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2011. The adoption of ASU
2011-04 resulted in additional required disclosures within the Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, but did not have a material impact on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, Comprehensive Income Presentation of Comprehensive Income . ASU 2011-05 allows an entity the option to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. In both choices, an entity is required to present each component of net income along with total net income, each component of other comprehensive income along with a total for other comprehensive income, and a total amount for comprehensive income. ASU
2011-05 eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in stockholders’ equity. The amendments to the Codification in the ASU do not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income or when an item of other comprehensive income must be reclassified to net income and are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011. In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05 . The provisions of ASU 2011-12 indefinitely defer portions of ASU 2011-05 related to the presentation of reclassifications of items out of accumulated other comprehensive income. The adoption of ASU 2011-05 and ASU 2011-12 did not have a material impact on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

2. Net Loss Per Share

Basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing net loss for the period by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss for the period by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period and including the dilutive effect of common stock that would be issued assuming conversion or exercise of outstanding warrants, stock options, share based compensation awards and other dilutive securities. No such items were included in the computation of diluted loss per share in the three months ended March 31, 2011 or 2012 because we incurred a net loss in each of these periods and the effect of inclusion would have been anti-dilutive.

Outstanding equity awards not included in the calculation of diluted net loss per share because their effect was anti-dilutive were as follows:

 

     March 31, 2011      March 31, 2012  
     Number of
Potential
Shares
     Range of
Exercise Prices
     Number of
Potential
Shares
     Range of
Exercise Prices
 

Stock options

     6,323,898       $  0.47 - $16.36        9,402,732       $  0.47 - $16.36  

Unvested restricted stock awards

     1,894,715       $ —          1,584,618       $ —    

Warrants

     1,602,489       $ 2.40         1,602,489       $ 2.40   

3. Inventories

The components of inventories consist of the following (in thousands):

 

     December 31,
2011
     March 31,
2012
 

Purchased parts and materials

   $ 3,994       $ 3,187   

Finished goods

     1,257         1,566   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total inventory

   $ 5,251       $ 4,753   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Inventories are valued at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out method) or market value. The valuation of inventory requires us to estimate excess or obsolete inventory. The determination of excess or obsolete inventory requires us to estimate the future demand for our products. Our markets are volatile, subject to technological risks and price changes and inventory reduction programs by our customers. In addition, we are required to make last time buys of certain components on occasion. These factors result in a risk that we will forecast incorrectly and purchase excess inventories of particular products or have commitments to purchase excess inventory components from our suppliers. As a result, actual demand will differ from forecasts, and such a difference has in the past and may in the future have a material effect on our financial statements. Any write downs to inventory due to the existence of excess quantities, physical obsolescence, changes in pricing, damage, or other causes establish a new cost basis for the inventory. When we sell or dispose of reserved inventory the new cost basis is charged to cost of sales.

4. Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, notes payable and certain other long-term liabilities. The carrying values on our balance sheet of our cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, notes payable and contingent consideration due to Ciprico, Inc. or Ciprico, in connection with the acquisition of certain intangible assets, approximate their fair values due to their short maturities (see Note 9).

 

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5. Intangible Assets

Identifiable intangible assets are as follows (in thousands):

 

            December 31, 2011  
     Estimated Useful Life      Gross      Accumulated
Amortization
    Net  

RaidCore technology

     4 years       $ 4,256       $ (3,477   $ 779   

NAS technology

     3 years         214         (214     —     

Software

     3 years         2,050         (228     1,822   
     

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total intangible assets

      $ 6,520       $ (3,919   $ 2,601   
     

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

            March 31, 2012  
     Estimated Useful Life      Gross      Accumulated
Amortization
    Net  

RaidCore technology

     4 years       $ 4,256       $ (3,743     513   

Software

     Less than 1 year         2,050         (403     1,647   
     

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total intangible assets

      $ 6,306       $ (4,146   $ 2,160   
     

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2011, we recorded a $2.8 million impairment of our acquired internally developed software and $0.1 million impairment of our trade name (see Note 1). Effective with the February 6, 2012 announced restructuring plan, the AssuredUVS product family would no longer be marketed to customers and the underlying UVS technology would either be disposed of through a sale to a potential acquirer or, in the event a buyer could not be located, abandoned. Accordingly, the acquired software was temporarily idled, and no additional amortization expense incurred subsequent to the February 6, 2012 announcement of the 2012 restructuring plan. In accordance with ASC 350, we evaluated the software for impairment as of February 6, 2012. As of the time of that evaluation we were actively marketing the software for sale and currently believe the cash flows from a potential sale will recover the recorded book value. We are continuing to actively market the software as of the date of these financial statements. Accordingly, we did not record further impairment in the first quarter. However, if we are unsuccessful in locating a buyer we will abandon the software and at that time would record additional impairment. We expect to finalize this determination in the second quarter. Additionally, we expect to report the underlying business as discontinued operations commencing in the second quarter. Amortization expense related to intangible assets totaled $0.5 million and $0.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Estimated future amortization expense related to intangible assets as of March 31, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):

 

2012 (Remaining 9 months)

   $  513   

Thereafter

     —     
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 513   
  

 

 

 

6. Product Warranties

Our standard warranty provides that if our systems do not function to published specifications, we will repair or replace the defective component or system without charge generally for a period of approximately three years. We generally extend to our customers the warranties provided to us by our suppliers and, accordingly, the majority of our warranty obligations to customers are typically intended to be covered by corresponding supplier warranties. For warranty costs not covered by our suppliers, we provide for estimated warranty costs in the period the revenue is recognized. There can be no assurance that our suppliers will continue to provide such warranties to us in the future or that our warranty obligations to our customers will be covered by corresponding warranties from our suppliers, the absence of which could have a material effect on our financial statements. Estimated liabilities for product warranties are included in accrued expenses.

In October 2009, we discovered a quality issue associated with certain power supply devices provided by a long-term component supplier, which resulted in a higher than expected level of power supply failures to us and our customers. While we were able to promptly identify and resolve the cause of the failures, we are required to provide replacement products or make repairs to the affected power supply units that had been sold between March and October 2009. Through June 30, 2011, our component supplier had repaired all of the faulty power supplies at no cost to us, and reimbursed us for our out-of-pocket costs which has constituted a reimbursement to customers for certain out-of-pocket costs they incurred in connection with these power supply failures. The total amount reimbursed to us by our component supplier approximated $1.0 million through June 30, 2011.

In the second and third quarters of 2011, a material customer provided us with a framework estimating the potential claims precipitated by the power supply failures. As previously disclosed, the customer’s preliminary framework of potential claims provided to us included additional costs related to the customer’s internal overhead for other internal indirect costs, in addition to third-party direct costs. Based on preliminary discussions for settlement and our analysis of the framework provided by the customer, including future potential claims through the warranty period, we estimated that we had incurred a probable loss of approximately $2.8 million. Consequently, in addition to the $1.3 million previously recognized as of June 30, 2011, we recorded an estimated liability of $1.5 million as of September 30, 2011 within “Accrued expenses” on our condensed consolidated balance sheet.

Negotiations continued with our customer throughout the fourth quarter of 2011 into the first quarter of 2012. Based on the results of ongoing negotiations with the material customer, we increased our estimated liability at December 31, 2011 to $5.5 million, resulting in a charge of $2.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2011 within “Accrued expenses” on our condensed consolidated balance sheet, and are reported gross of any third-party recoveries.

 

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Negotiations with this material customer have been ongoing. While no final settlement has been agreed-to by each party, we continue to maintain that our estimated liability remains at $5.5 million, resulting in no additional charge during the first quarter of 2012.

While our estimated liability relating to failed power supply units is subject to some uncertainty until settled, based on our current expectation of what the terms of the final negotiated settlement will stipulate, we do not believe the incurrence of an additional loss is either probable or reasonably possible at this time.

During the second quarter of 2011, based on the advice of legal counsel, we established that our component supplier is contractually obligated to reimburse us for fair and reasonable costs we incur with our customers associated with these power supply failures. Our component supplier had continued to re-work and distribute to our customer the affected population of power supplies at no cost to us. In addition, at the time, our collection experience with similar amounts already reimbursed to us by our supplier and our belief that our component supplier and its parent companies had the financial ability to continue to reimburse us for any additional costs we may incur, we recorded a current asset within “Prepaid expenses and other assets” on our consolidated balance sheet of $1.3 million as of June 30, 2011.

During the third quarter of 2011, as the claims from our customer became clearer, we commenced negotiations with our component supplier for fair and reasonable costs that we have and are likely to incur through the warranty period associated with this component failure. While we have not agreed to an amount to cover the costs associated with replacing customers’ power supplies, we continue to maintain that we have legal recourse against this component supplier. Originally we determined that the supplier was unlikely to make an up-front cash payment for the original settlement amount of $1.3 million, but it indicated a willingness to provide some form of reimbursement for costs incurred, in the form of cash and/or note receivable of $0.5 million plus future product rebates. Based on our judgment at the time, we reduced the previously recorded current asset of $1.3 million within “Prepaid expenses and other assets” to $0.5 million as of September 30, 2011. We continued to negotiate this settlement with our supplier and subsequent to December 31, 2011, the supplier signed a letter of intent providing for additional reimbursements above what was recognized as of September 30, 2011. Pursuant to the signed letter of intent, the supplier has agreed to cash consideration of $1.2 million, of which $0.6 million will be received upon the subsequent signing of the Settlement Agreement, with the remainder to be received in four quarterly installments commencing three months from the date the Settlement Agreement is signed. Additionally, our supplier committed to product rebates and/or price concessions on post-2011 product orders for a period of approximately three years, commencing three months from the date of signing the Settlement Agreement, in return for our agreement to release our supplier from all obligations relating to the power supply failures known by us to date. This agreement is not subject to any required future purchases. Based on our judgment, we increased the previously recorded current asset of $0.5 million within “Prepaid expenses and other assets” to $1.2 million as of December 31, 2011. There has been no change to the above facts and circumstances during the first quarter of 2012, as any final settlement with the component supplier is pending a final resolution to potential claims made against the Company by the material customer.

In addition, we have commenced discussions with our General Liability and Errors and Omissions Insurance and underwriters and will continue to pursue our rights to cover any damages we incur and that are not reimbursed by our supplier. The insurance company has issued a reservation of rights letter to us and at this time, it is not possible to estimate to what extent the residual amounts, if any, we will be covered by our carrier. As of March 31, 2012 we have not assumed or recorded any insurance reimbursement.

To the extent that we are unsuccessful in negotiating settlement agreements with our customer and our component supplier on mutually beneficial terms, or our component supplier does not continue to reimburse us for the expenses incurred by us or our customers, and we are unsuccessful in recovering such expenses from our insurance provider, we could incur additional expenses which could potentially have a material effect on our financial statements.

Our warranty accrual and cost activity is as follows as of and for the three months ended March 31, (in thousands):

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
       2011         2012    

Balance, beginning of period

   $ 982      $ 6,871   

Charged to operations

     484        368   

Deductions for costs incurred

     (585     (309
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, end of period

   $ 881      $ 6,930   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The table above includes $5.5 million of charges recorded to cost of sales in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2011 related to the liability established for certain third-party material and service costs incurred by our customer related to replacing failed power supplies. The table above does not include the corresponding $1.2 million benefit recorded within cost of sales in 2011 related to the current asset established for the recovery of such costs incurred by our customer which are to be reimbursed to us by our component supplier.

 

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7. Restructuring

2008 Plan

In December 2008, our management approved, committed to, and initiated a restructuring plan, or the 2008 Plan, to improve efficiencies in our operations, which was largely driven by our plan to consolidate our facility in Carlsbad, California into the Longmont, Colorado facility. As a result of this relocation, we terminated approximately 70 California employees whose positions have been relocated to Colorado and incurred approximately $1.5 million in severance-related costs, all of which was recognized and paid as of December 31, 2010.

As part of the 2008 Plan, we also incurred contract termination costs of $3.8 million since the inception of the 2008 Plan through September 30, 2011. We record charges for contract termination and other associated costs as restructuring expense, which is presented as a separate component within operating expenses. Accrued contract termination and other associated costs are recorded in the restructuring accrual line on our consolidated balance sheets. We expect to pay these contract lease termination costs over the remainder of the lease term ending in April 2013. Based on our estimates, we do not expect to receive any material amounts of sublease income through the remainder of the lease term.

All of the 2008 Plan activity relates to our storage systems operating segment.

The following table summarizes our 2008 Plan activities (in thousands):

 

     Contract
Termination
and Other
Associated
Costs
 

Accrued restructuring balance as of December 31, 2011

   $ 1,212   

Restructuring plan expense

     16   

Adjustments to restructuring plan

     (73

Cash payments

     (163
  

 

 

 

Accrued restructuring balance as of March 31, 2012

   $ 992   
  

 

 

 

The adjustment to the 2008 Plan resulted from certain credits received in the first quarter 2012 for previously paid common area maintenance (CAM) charges relating to our lease of the Carlsbad, California facility. We recorded this benefit as a reduction of restructuring expense, which is presented as a separate component within operating expenses.

2010 Plan

In the second quarter of 2010, our management approved, committed to, and initiated a restructuring and cost reduction plan, or the 2010 Plan, to better align our resources in order to lower our breakeven point. The 2010 Plan includes severance and related costs for the reduction of approximately 10% of our workforce, and fees associated with the acceleration of the closure of our Carlsbad, California facility. As a result of these actions, we intend to terminate approximately 26 employees located in the United States, of which 25 have been terminated as of September 30, 2011. We expect to incur approximately $0.4 million in severance-related costs, all of which was recognized as of December 31, 2010. Accrued severance-related costs are recorded in the restructuring accrual line on our consolidated balance sheets. The remainder of the severance and related restructuring costs attributable to our 2010 Plan were paid out in the third quarter of 2011.

As part of the 2010 Plan, we also incurred contract termination costs of $0.3 million since the inception of the 2010 Plan through September 30, 2011 for facility lease and other associated costs that we continue to incur without economic benefit, as we exited the remaining portion of our Carlsbad, California facility. We record charges for contract termination costs and other associated costs as restructuring expense, which is presented as a separate component within operating expenses. Accrued contract termination and other associated costs are recorded in the restructuring accrual line on our consolidated balance sheets. We expect to pay these contract lease termination costs over the remainder of the lease term ending in April 2013. Based on our estimates, we do not expect to receive any material amounts of sublease income through the remainder of the lease term.

The majority of the 2010 Plan activity relates to our storage systems operating segment.

The following table summarizes our 2010 Plan activities (in thousands):

 

     Contract
Termination
and Other
Associated
Costs
 

Accrued restructuring balance as of December 31, 2011

   $ 116   

Restructuring plan expense

     1   

Adjustments to restructuring plan

     (4

Cash payments

     (19
  

 

 

 

Accrued restructuring balance as of March 31, 2012

   $ 94   
  

 

 

 

The adjustment to the 2010 Plan resulted from certain credits received in the first quarter 2012, for previously paid CAM charges relating to our lease of the Carlsbad, California facility. We recorded this benefit as a reduction of restructuring expense, which is presented as a separate component within operating expenses.

2012 Plan

In the first quarter 2012, our management approved, committed to, and initiated a restructuring and cost reduction plan, or the 2012 Plan, that is associated with the closure of our Israel Technology Development Center. The 2012 Plan is designed to re-align our software investments to focus on accelerating the development of embedded software features, in order to launch a competitive set of mid-range storage array products in 2012, and to provide more differentiated entry-level products for both OEM and channel customers. As a result of these actions, we intend to terminate approximately 32 employees located in our Israel Technology Development Center, of which 24 have been terminated as of March 31, 2012.

 

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We expect to incur approximately $0.3 million in severance-related costs. Accrued severance-related costs are recorded in the restructuring accrual line on our consolidated balance sheets. Severance related restructuring costs attributable to our 2012 plan were paid out in the second quarter of 2012.

As part of the 2012 Plan, we also expect to incur approximately $0.2 million in contract termination costs for facility lease and other associated costs that we continue to incur without economic benefit, as we exited our Petah Tivka, Israel facility. We record charges for contract termination costs and other associated costs as restructuring expense, which is presented as a separate component within operating expenses. Accrued contract termination and other associated costs are recorded in the restructuring accrual line on our consolidated balance sheets. We expect to pay the majority of the contract lease termination costs over the remainder of the facility lease term ending in December 2012. Based on our estimates, we do not expect to receive any material amounts of sublease income through the remainder of the lease term. Approximately $0.1 million of our contractual commitments are expected to remain obligations of the Company through December 2013.

The majority of the activities comprising the 2012 Plan are expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

The following table summarizes our 2012 Plan activities (in thousands):

 

     Severance
and Related
Costs
    Contract
Termination
and Other
Associated
Costs
    Total  

Accrued restructuring balance as of December 31, 2011

   $ —        $ —        $ —     

Restructuring plan charges

     301        362        663   

Reclass of prepaid maintenance agreements

       129        129   

Cash payments

     (2 )     (137 )     (139 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrued restructuring balance as of March 31, 2012

   $ 299      $ 354      $ 653   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

As part of the 2012 Plan, the Company announced that it will no longer support the UVS product effective December 31, 2012. The adjustment to the 2012 Plan represents customer prepaid UVS maintenance agreements for terms covering periods after December 31, 2012, that we expect will require future refunds to those customers impacted by this decision. As these were previously recognized as a component of deferred revenue, there was no impact to earnings, but this adjustment reflects a reclass within the balance sheet as of March 31, 2012.

8. Credit Facilities

We maintain a credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank for cash advances and letters of credit of up to an aggregate of $30 million based upon an advance rate of 85% of eligible accounts receivable. Borrowings under the credit facility bear interest at the prime rate and are secured by substantially all of our accounts receivable, deposit and securities accounts. The agreement provides for a negative pledge on our inventory and intellectual property, subject to certain exceptions, and contains usual and customary covenants for an arrangement of its type, including an obligation that we maintain at all times a net worth, as defined in the agreement, of $50 million (subject to certain increases). The agreement also includes provisions to increase the financing facility by $20 million subject to our meeting certain requirements, including $40 million in borrowing base for the immediately preceding 90 days, and Silicon Valley Bank locating a lender willing to finance the additional facility. In addition, if our cash and cash equivalents net of the total amount outstanding under the credit facility fall below $20 million (measured on a rolling three-month basis), the interest rate will increase to prime plus 1% and additional restrictions will apply. Our credit facility also provides for a cash management services sublimit under the revolving credit line of up to $300,000. As of March 31, 2012 we had no outstanding letters of credit. As of March 31, 2012, there were no amounts outstanding under the Silicon Valley Bank line of credit.

9. Fair Value Measurements

Assets Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

 

            Fair Value Measurements Using         

Description

   December 31,
2011
     Quoted Prices
for Active
Markets for
Identical Assets
(Level 1)
     Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2)
     Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
     Total
(Losses)
 
     (in thousands)  

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 41,447       $ 41,447         —           —           —     

 

            Fair Value Measurements Using         

Description

   March 31, 2012      Quoted Prices
for Active
Markets for
Identical Assets
(Level 1)
     Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2)
     Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
     Total
(Losses)
 
     (in thousands)  

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 41,447       $ 41,447         —           —           —     

The short-term nature of our all of our financial instruments expose the Company to limited credit risk and have no stated maturities or have short-term maturities and carry interest rates that approximate market interest rates. There were no transfers between Level I and Level II inputs for any of our assets measured on a recurring basis during the reporting period.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The following disclosures relate to financial instruments for which the ending balances at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, are not carried at fair value in their entirety on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands):

 

     December 31, 2011  

Description

   Carrying
Value
     Fair
Value
 

Accounts receivable

     31,697         31,697   

Accounts payable

     31,434         31,434   

Notes payable

     71         71   

Contingent consideration due to Ciprico

     100         100   

The following table presents the carrying value and fair value, by fair value hierarchy, of our financial instruments, excluding cash and cash equivalents at March 31, 2012 (in thousands).

            Fair Value Measurements Using         

Description

   March 31, 2012      Quoted Prices
for Active
Markets for
Identical Assets
(Level 1)
     Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2)
     Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
     Total
(Losses)
 

Accounts receivable

     35,138         —           35,138         —           —     

Accounts payable

     36,710         —           36,710         —           —     

Contingent consideration due to Ciprico

     100         —              100         —     

The short-term nature of our all of our financial instruments expose the Company to limited credit risk and have no stated maturities or have short-term maturities and carry interest rates that approximate market interest rates.

The note payable owed to the former owners of Ciprico was initially determined by discounting both principal and interest cash flows expected to be collected using a discount rate for similar instruments with adjustments we believes a market participant would consider in determining fair value. As the final installment of this note payable was settled in the first quarter 2012 the short-term nature is such that the carrying value approximates market value.

Our contingent consideration to the former owners of Ciprico includes assumptions about estimated future sales of our AssuredVRA technology over the agreed-upon royalty term, of which approximately 6.67% is required to be paid to Ciprico under the royalty agreement. This valuation is sensitive to changes in customer demand and forecasted sales of our AssuredVRA technology through March 31, 2012. There were no transfers between Level I and Level II inputs for any of our assets measured on a recurring basis during the reporting period.

 

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10. Commitments and Contingencies

We are involved in certain legal actions and claims from time to time arising in the ordinary course of business. Management believes that the outcome of such litigation and claims could have a material effect on our financial statements.

11. Segment Information

Operating segments, as defined Accounting Standard Codification, or ASC, 280 Segment Reporting , are components of an enterprise for which separate financial information is available and is evaluated regularly by the Chief Operating Decision Maker, or CODM, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. ASC 280 also requires disclosures about products and services, geographic areas and significant customers.

As a result of our decision to exit our AssuredUVS line of business, and close down our Israel Technology Development Center during the first quarter of 2012, our CODM now operates our business in one reportable operating segment. Prior year information has been recast to conform to current year presentation.

Geographic Revenues

Net revenue is recorded in the geographic area in which the sale is originated. Information concerning principal geographic areas in which we operate is as follows (in thousands):

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
     2011      2012  

Net revenue:

     

United States

   $ 48,071       $ 54,127   

Europe

     45         5   

Asia

     1,058         612   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 49,174       $ 54,744   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

12. Subsequent Events

Third Amendment to the Longmont Technology Center (LTC) Facility Lease

During the second quarter of 2012, we entered into an amendment to our lease contract with Circle Capital Longmont LLC, under which we currently lease office and laboratory space located at 1351 South Sunset in Longmont, Colorado. Among other things, the lease amendment (i) extends the expiration date of the lease from January 31, 2013 to May 31, 2018, (ii) expands the rented premises from 58,064 square feet to 87,664 square feet, effective on or about August 1, 2012, (iii) increases the rent as of the date of such expansion from the current rate of $46,306 per month ($0.80 per square foot) to $62,095 per month ($0.71 per square foot), subject to a three percent annual increase at the end of each 12 month period during the lease extension term, (iv) provides for an abatement of rent during the first five months of the lease extension term in a total amount equal to $310,477, (v) provides that we have two renewal options for five-year terms following the lease extension term, (vi) provides that, subject to certain conditions and an early termination fee, we have a right to early termination as of December 31, 2015 and (vii) provides for a tenant improvement allowance of $1,320,000, of which a minimum of $440,000 must be allocated to the expanded portion of the premises, which will be located at 1841 Lefthand Circle, Longmont, Colorado.

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Cautionary Statement for Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, including, statements regarding the development, growth and expansion of our business, our intent, belief or current expectations, primarily with respect to our future operating performance and the products we expect to offer, and other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and are subject to the “safe harbor” created by these sections. Because such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements can be found in Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” and in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they are made.

 

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The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the preceding pages in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q and our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Overview

We design, manufacture and market a range of software and hardware storage systems for the entry and midrange storage markets. Beginning in the second half of 2009, we began placing more emphasis on selling higher gross margin products which includes appliance products and hardware products through indirect sales channels.

Typical customers for our storage systems operating segment, which includes our AssuredSAN line of storage array products, include organizations requiring high reliability, high performance networked storage and data management solutions in an open systems architecture. Our storage solutions consist of integrated hardware, firmware and software products employing a modular system that allows end-users to add various protocol, performance, capacity or data protection schemes as needed. Our broad range of products, from small capacity direct attached to complete multi-hundred terabyte, or TB, storage area networks, or SANs, provide end-users with a cost-effective means of addressing increasing storage demands at compelling price-performance points. Our current product family based on our AssuredSAN architecture provides high performance and large disk array capacities for a broad variety of environments, employing Fibre Channel, Internet Small Computer Systems Interface, or iSCSI or Serial Attached SCSI, or SAS, interconnects to switches and/or hosts. In addition, our Assured family of data protection software products provides additional layers of data protection options to complement our line of storage disk arrays. Our current mainstream 2000 and 3000 series of entry-level storage products and Just a Bunch of Disks, or JBOD, arrays are targeted primarily at mainstream enterprise and small-to-medium business, or SMB, applications. Our AssuredSAN 5000 Series products have been distinguished by certification as Network Equipment Building System, or NEBS, Level 3 (a telecommunications standard for equipment used in central offices) and are MIL-STD-810F (a military standard created by the U.S. government) compliant based on their ruggedness and reliability. In February 2010, we launched the latest AssuredSAN 3000 series of storage arrays that provide high speed interface options including 8 gigabyte, or GB, Fibre Channel, 1GB and 10GB iSCSI over Ethernet and 6GB SAS connectivity.

In September 2008, we acquired certain assets, namely RAIDCore from Ciprico Inc., or Ciprico. These products are marketed to OEM accounts as the AssuredVRA product line. This acquisition opened up new markets for us in the enterprise server and workstation markets for data protection internal to the servers and workstations. In particular, the RAIDCore acquisition allows us to broaden our product portfolio in the redundant array of independent disks, or RAID, market while allowing us to sell into the Band 1 market, and to pursue opportunities at current and target OEM customers. We signed our first customer agreement relating to RAIDCore products in May 2009 and began selling to this customer during the third quarter of 2009. Sales of AssuredVRA products were not significant in 2011 or in the three months ended March 31, 2012. Although sales of our AssuredVRA products increased in 2011, such sales do not represent a significant percentage of our total net revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

We have decided to expand our routes to market beyond our focus on OEMs, and in October of 2009, we launched a Dot Hill channel program targeted at selling through distributors and open storage partners, or OSPs. We continued to expand our channel program in 2011 and we believe this will provide Dot Hill with additional sales channels for all of our products. The majority of sales to our channel partners were represented by our AssuredSAN line of products in 2011 and in the first three months of 2012.

Our agreements with our customers do not contain any minimum purchase commitments and may be terminated at any time upon notice from the applicable customer. Our ability to achieve and maintain profitability will depend on, among other things, the level and mix of orders we actually receive from such customers, the actual amounts we spend on marketing support, the actual amounts we spend for inventory support and incremental internal investment, our ability to reduce product cost, our product lead time, our ability to meet delivery schedules required by our customers and the economic environment.

Our products and services are sold worldwide to facilitate server and SAN storage implementations, primarily through OEMs, and supplemented by system integrators, or SIs, distributors and value added resellers, or VARs. Our storage system operating segment OEM partners currently include, among others, Hewlett-Packard, or HP, Sony Ericsson, or Ericsson, Motorola, Inc., or Motorola, General Dynamics Government Systems Corporation, or General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin Corporation, or Lockheed Martin, NEC Corporation, or NEC, Tektronix Inc., or Tektronix, Samsung Electronics, or Samsung, Stratus Technologies, or Stratus, and Fujitsu Technology Solutions GmbH, or FTS and Concurrent Computer Corporation, or Concurrent. Our standalone storage software operating segment OEM partners currently include, among others, Dell Inc., or Dell. Although our products and services are sold worldwide, the majority of our net revenue is derived from our U.S. operations.

We began shipping products to HP in the fourth quarter of 2007. In January 2008, we amended our agreement with HP to allow for sales of additional products to additional divisions within HP. Our products are primarily sold as HP’s MSA 2000/P2000 product family. Sales to HP increased significantly during 2008 and increased again in 2009 primarily as a result of the successful launch and market acceptance of the HP MSA 2000 products. HP launched its third generation product line, now called the P2000 product line, in February 2010. Sales to HP increased again in 2010 as we began selling our next generation host interfaces across the HP P2000 product line. The agreement with HP does not contain any minimum purchase commitments. In October 2011, we extended our supply agreement with HP by five years to expire in October 2016 and also extended the expiration of 1.6 million warrants granted to HP in March 2008 to expire concurrently with the supply agreement in October 2016. Net revenue from HP approximated 73% of our total net revenue in 2011 and 61% of our total net revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2012. We expect sales to HP to continue to represent a substantial percentage of our total net revenue in 2012.We expect to generate additional revenue from our indirect channel as well as new and potential new OEM customers.

 

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In addition, the demand for our products has been affected in the past, and may continue to be affected in the future, by various factors, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

   

our ability to maintain and enhance relationships with our customers, in particular our OEM customers, as well as our ability to win new business;

 

   

our ability to source critical components such as integrated circuits, hard disk drives, memory and other components on a timely basis;

 

   

the amount of field failures resulting in product replacements or recalls;

 

   

our ability to launch new products in accordance with OEM specifications, schedules and milestones;

 

   

general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address, including the continuing volatility in the technology sector, current general economic volatility and trends in the data storage markets in various geographic regions;

 

   

the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer orders and our ability, as well as the ability of our customers, to manage inventory; and

 

   

the inability of certain of our customers who depend on credit to have access to their traditional sources of credit to finance the purchase of products from us, particularly in the current global economic environment, which may lead them to reduce their level of purchases or to seek credit or other accommodations from us.

For these and other reasons, our net revenue and results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and prior periods may not necessarily be indicative of future net revenue and results of operations.

Our manufacturing strategy includes outsourcing substantially all of our manufacturing to third-party manufacturers in order to reduce sales cycle times and manufacturing infrastructure, enhance working capital and improve margins by taking advantage of the third parties’ manufacturing and procurement economies of scale. In September 2008, we entered into a manufacturing agreement with Foxconn Technology Group, or Foxconn. Under the terms of the agreement, Foxconn supplies us with manufacturing, assembly and test services from its facilities in China and final integration services including final assembly, testing and configure-to-order services, through its worldwide facilities. In November 2011, we amended our agreement with Foxconn to extend the manufacturing agreement for a period of three years. In addition, Foxconn agreed to waive the requirement for a letter of credit and improved our payment terms. Foxconn began manufacturing products for us in July 2009 and we began shipping products for general availability under the Foxconn agreement during the second half of 2009. The majority of our products sold in 2011 and in the three months ended March 31, 2012 were manufactured by Foxconn. We expect Foxconn to manufacture substantially all of our products for the remainder of 2012.

We derive the majority of our net revenue primarily from sales of our Series 2000 and 3000 family of products, which are included in our AssuredSAN product line within the storage systems operating segment.

Cost of goods sold includes costs of materials, subcontractor costs, salary and related benefits for the production and service departments, depreciation of equipment used in the production and service departments, production facility rent and allocation of overhead as well as manufacturing variances and freight.

Research and development expenses consist primarily of project-related expenses, consulting charges and salaries for employees directly engaged in research and development.

Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and commissions, marketing related costs, advertising, customer-related evaluation unit expenses, promotional costs and travel expenses.

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation to officers and employees performing administrative functions, as well as expenditures for legal, accounting and other administrative services and fluctuations in currency valuations.

Other income is comprised primarily of interest income earned on our cash and cash equivalents and other miscellaneous income and expense items.

In the first quarter of 2012, our management approved, committed to, and initiated a restructuring and cost reduction plan or the 2012 Plan that is associated with the closure of our Israel Technology Development Center. The 2012 Plan is designed to re-align our software investments to focus on accelerating the development of embedded software features, in order to launch a competitive set of mid-range storage array products in 2012, and to provide more differentiated entry-level products for both OEM and channel customers. Substantially all of our 2012 Plan workforce reductions were completed by April 30, 2012.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

An accounting policy is deemed to be critical if it requires an accounting estimate to be made based on assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time the estimate is made, if different estimates reasonably could have been used, or if changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur could materially impact the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. Except as noted below, management believes that there have been no significant changes during the three months ended March 31, 2012, to the items that we disclosed as our critical accounting policies and estimates in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

 

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Warranty and Related Obligations

Our standard warranty provides that if our systems do not function to published specifications, we will repair or replace the defective component or system without charge generally for a period of approximately three years. We generally extend to our customers the warranties provided to us by our suppliers and, accordingly, the majority of our warranty obligations to customers are intended to be covered by corresponding supplier warranties. For warranty costs not covered by our suppliers, we provide for estimated warranty costs in the period the revenue is recognized. There can be no assurance that our suppliers will continue to provide such warranties to us in the future or that our warranty obligations to our customers will be covered by corresponding warranties from our suppliers, the absence of which could have a material effect on our financial statements. Estimated liabilities for product warranties are included in accrued expenses.

In October 2009, we discovered a quality issue associated with certain power supply devices provided by a long-term component supplier, which resulted in a higher than expected level of power supply failures to us and our customers. While we were able to promptly identify and resolve the cause of the failures, we are required to provide replacement products or make repairs to the affected power supply units that had been sold between March and October 2009. Through June 30, 2011, our component supplier had repaired all of the faulty power supplies at no cost to us, and reimbursed us for our out-of-pocket costs which has constituted a reimbursement to customers for certain out-of-pocket costs they incurred in connection with these power supply failures. The total amount reimbursed to us by our component supplier approximated $1.0 million through June 30, 2011.

In the second and third quarters of 2011, a material customer provided us with a framework estimating the potential claims precipitated by the power supply failures. As previously disclosed, the customer’s preliminary framework of potential claims provided to us included additional costs related to the customer’s internal overhead for other internal indirect costs, in addition to third-party direct costs. Based on preliminary discussions for settlement and our analysis of the framework provided by the customer including future potential claims through the warranty period, we estimated that we had incurred a probable loss of approximately $2.8 million. Consequently, in addition to the $1.3 million previously recognized as of June 30, 2011, we recorded an estimated liability of $1.5 million as of September 30, 2011 within “Accrued expenses” on our condensed consolidated balance sheet.

Negotiations continued with the material customer throughout the fourth quarter of 2011 into the first quarter of 2012. Based on the results of such ongoing negotiations, we increased our estimated liability at December 31, 2011 to $5.5 million, resulting in a charge of $2.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2011 within “Accrued expenses” on our condensed consolidated balance sheet, and are reported gross of any third-party recoveries.

Negotiations with the material customer are still ongoing. While no final settlement has been agreed-to by each party, we continue to maintain that our estimated liability remains at $5.5 million, resulting in no charge during the first quarter of 2012.

While our estimated liability relating to failed power supply units is subject to some uncertainty until settled, based on our current expectation of what the terms of the final negotiated settlement will stipulate, we do not believe the incurrence of an additional loss is either probable or reasonably possible at this time.

During the second quarter of 2011, based on the advice of legal counsel, we established that our component supplier is contractually obligated to reimburse us for fair and reasonable costs we incur with our customers associated with these power supply failures. Our component supplier had continued to re-work and distribute to our customer the affected population of power supplies at no cost to us. In addition, at the time, our collection experience with similar amounts already reimbursed to us by our supplier and our belief that our component supplier and its parent companies had the financial ability to continue to reimburse us for any additional costs we may incur, we recorded a current asset within “Prepaid expenses and other assets” on our consolidated balance sheet of $1.3 million as of June 30, 2011.

During the third quarter of 2011, as the claims from the material customer became clearer, we commenced negotiations with our component supplier for fair and reasonable costs that we have and are likely to incur through the warranty period associated with this component failure. While we have not agreed to an amount to cover the costs associated with replacing customers’ power supplies, we continue to maintain that we have legal recourse against this component supplier. Originally we determined that the supplier was unlikely to make an up-front cash payment for the original settlement amount of $1.3 million, but it indicated a willingness to provide some form of reimbursement for costs incurred, in the form of cash and/or note receivable of $0.5 million plus future product rebates. Based on our judgment at the time, we reduced the previously recorded current asset of $1.3 million within “Prepaid expenses and other assets” to $0.5 million as of September 30, 2011. We continued to negotiate this settlement with our supplier and subsequent to December 31, 2011, the supplier signed a letter of intent providing for additional reimbursements above what was recognized as of September 30, 2011. Pursuant to the signed letter of intent, the supplier has agreed to cash consideration of $1.2 million, of which $0.6 million will be received upon the subsequent signing of the Settlement Agreement, with the remainder to be received in four quarterly installments commencing three months from the date the Settlement Agreement is signed. Additionally, our supplier committed to product rebates and/or price concessions on post-2011 product orders for a period of approximately three years, commencing three months from the date of signing the Settlement Agreement, in return for our agreement to release our supplier from all obligations relating to the power supply failures known by us to date. This agreement is not subject to any required future purchases. Based on our judgment, we increased the previously recorded current asset of $0.5 million within “Prepaid expenses and other assets” to $1.2 million as of December 31, 2011. There has been no change to the above facts and circumstances during the first quarter of 2012, as any final settlement with the component supplier is pending a final resolution to potential claims made against the Company by the material customer.

In addition, we have commenced discussions with our General Liability and Errors and Omissions Insurance and underwriters and will continue to pursue our rights to cover any damages we incur and not reimbursed by our supplier. The insurance company has issued a reservation of rights letter to us and at this time, it is not possible to estimate to what extent, if any, we will be covered by our carrier. As of March 31, 2012 we have not assumed or recorded any insurance reimbursement.

 

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To the extent that we are unsuccessful in negotiating settlement agreements with our customer and our component supplier on mutually beneficial terms, or our component supplier does not continue to reimburse us for the expenses incurred by us or our customers, and we are unsuccessful in recovering such expenses from our insurance provider, we could incur additional expenses which could potentially have a material effect on our financial statements.

Long-lived asset impairment

We periodically review the recoverability of the carrying value of long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying value may not be recoverable. An impairment in the carrying value of an asset group is recognized whenever anticipated future undiscounted cash flows from an asset group are estimated to be less than its carrying value. The amount of impairment recognized is the difference between the carrying value of the asset group and its fair value. Fair value estimates are based on assumptions concerning the amount and timing of estimated future cash flows and assumed discount rates, reflecting varying degrees of perceived risk. All long-lived assets identified with the Israel Technology Development Center, or ITC reporting unit are considered one asset group, and are included as a component of the “Standalone Storage Software” reportable segment. Recent events involving our ITC reporting unit resulted in a significant decline in actual and planned earnings.

As of September 30, 2011, we identified a change in circumstances that indicated the carrying amount of our long-lived assets may not be recoverable, as our primary AssuredUVS customer informed us that the AssuredUVS software would no longer be a component of its business strategy, which would result in a significant decline in revenues for the Company. Our long-lived assets consist of the intangible assets associated with our acquisition of certain identified Cloverleaf Communications, Inc., or Cloverleaf, assets acquired in January 2010 with a carrying value of $5.0 million and property and equipment of $1.2 million.

Since we did not have an immediate replacement for our AssuredUVS customer, management’s forecasted undiscounted cash flows indicated that the assets were potentially not recoverable, and proceeded to estimate the fair value of each long-lived asset. Property and equipment comprise mostly machinery and equipment used for testing and development of our AssuredUVS technology. Management determined that carrying value approximated fair value, as property was either acquired in the 2010 acquisition of Cloverleaf, has been purchased subsequently, or could be re-deployed, establishing recent evidence of fair value. It is depreciated over a 3 – 5 year estimated useful life.

Intangible assets consist primarily of acquired software of $4.9 million and a trade name of $0.1 million. We determined the fair value of the acquired software by estimating the replacement cost of the software, taking into account both the software as acquired and subsequent development work, as well as the business alternatives we were considering and the corresponding value of the software in these alternative approaches. We estimated the value of the software based on the probabilities of each of the business alternatives. We determined the fair value of the trade name using an income approach and considered the fact that the software’s trade name at the time of acquisition was no longer being used. All estimates were based on management using appropriate assumptions and projections.

Our impairment analysis at September 30, 2011 identified $2.9 million of impaired long-lived assets, consisting entirely of intangible assets recognized as part of the Cloverleaf acquisition in 2010. Long-lived asset impairment charges are recorded consistent with our treatment of related amortization expense specific to each acquired intangible assets. We recorded $2.8 million of impaired acquired software and $0.1 million of impaired acquired trade name as a component of cost of goods sold for the year ended December 31, 2011.

In February 2012, our Board of Directors approved a plan to exit our AssuredUVS business and close down our Israel Technology Development Center (see Note 7 of the Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements). We evaluated the potential impact, if any, on our valuation of our acquired software and other long-lived assets maintained at our Israel Technology Development Center, and based on the facts and circumstances in existence at March 31, 2012, we believe the current valuations are appropriate. However, we will continue to assess the recorded long-lived asset valuation for Israel Technology Development Center in light of our decision to shut down operations.

Valuation of Goodwill

We review goodwill for impairment on an annual basis at November 30 and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. Our ITC reporting unit, which was developing our AssuredUVS software, is a component of the Standalone Storage Software reporting segment identified in the notes to our consolidated financial statements. During September 2011, our primary AssuredUVS customer became delinquent on the settlement of its payables to us and upon our investigation it became evident that its financial resources were limited. It also informed us that they were changing their strategy which would result in a significant decline in revenue for the Company, and we determined it was “more-likely-than-not” that the reporting unit was less than its carrying value.

Current accounting standards require that a two-step impairment test be performed on goodwill. In the first step, we compare the fair value of our reporting unit to its carrying value. We determine the fair value of our reporting unit using a combination of the income approach and market capitalization approach. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets, goodwill is not impaired, and we are not required to perform further testing. If the carrying value of the net assets exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit, then we must perform the second step in order to determine the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill and compare it to the carrying value of the reporting unit’s goodwill. If the carrying value of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, then we must record an impairment charge equal to the difference.

 

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Under the income approach, we calculate the fair value of a reporting unit based on the present value of estimated future discounted cash flows. Under the market capitalization approach, valuation multiples are calculated based on operating data from publicly traded companies within our industry. Multiples derived from companies within our industry provide an indication of how much a knowledgeable investor in the marketplace would be willing to pay for a company. These multiples are applied to the operating data for the reporting unit to arrive at an indicated fair value. Significant management judgment is required in the forecasts of future operating results that are used in the estimated future discounted cash flow method of valuation. The estimates we have used are consistent with the plans and estimates that we use to manage our business. We base our fair value estimates on forecasted revenue and operating costs along with business plans. Our forecasts consider the effect of a number of factors including, but not limited to, the current future projected competitiveness and market acceptance of the product, technological risk, the ease of use and ease of implementation of the product, the likely outcome of sales and marketing efforts and projected costs associated with product development, customer support and selling, general and administrative costs. It is possible, however, that the plans may change and that actual results may differ significantly from our estimates. The valuation resulted in the recognition of an impairment charge to goodwill of $4.1 million during the year-ended December 31, 2011. No additional goodwill remains on the balance sheet of the Company as of March 31, 2012.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth certain items from our statements of operations as a percentage of net revenue for the periods indicated (percentages may not aggregate due to rounding):

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
     2011     2012  

Net revenue

     100 %     100 %

Cost of goods sold

     75.4        72.3   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross profit

     24.6        27.7   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating expenses:

    

Research and development

     16.2        18.2   

Sales and marketing

     6.2        6.5   

General and administrative

     4.8        5.6   

Restructuring charge

     (0.1 )     1.0   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     27.1        31.3   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating loss

     (2.5     (3.6 )

Other income (expense), net

     0.0        0.0   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

     (2.5 )     (3.6 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income tax expense

     0.1        (0.2 )
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

     (2.6 )%     (3.4 )%
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31, 2011 Compared to the Three Months Ended March 31, 2012

Net Revenue

 

     Three Months Ended March 31,  
     2011      2012      Increase      % Change  
     (in thousands, except percentages)  

Net Revenue

   $ 49,174       $ 54,744       $ 5,570         11.3 %
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net revenues increased approximately $5.6 million from $49.2 million for the three-months ended March 31, 2011 to $54.7 million for the three-months ended March 31, 2012. The increase in net revenue was primarily due to an approximate $8.8 million increase in revenue from Tektronix from $1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 to $10.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012. The increase in Tektronix revenue was the result of a spike in demand combined with fulfilling orders that were on backlog from the prior year. We do not anticipate revenue from Tektronix to exceed 10% in any other quarter in 2012.

 

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This increase was partially offset by an approximately $4.1 million decrease in HP revenue from $37.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 to $33.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012. The decrease in revenue from HP was due to a general decrease in demand and product mix. However, we expect sales to HP to continue to represent a substantial portion of our net revenue during 2012.

There were additional revenue changes which contributed to the fluctuation. Sales of our AssuredUVS and AssuredVRA products decreased from $1.3 million to $0.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively, due to our decision to exit our Assured UVS business (see Note 7 of the Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements). Service revenue increased slightly from $2.4 million for three months ended March 31, 2011 to $2.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012. This increase was primarily attributable to an increase in spare part sales on legacy products. Sales to our channel partners doubled, increasing from $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 to $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012. This was due to several large orders over the prior year’s quarter.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Profit

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31, 2011
    Three Months Ended
March 31, 2012
    Increase      %
Change
 
     Amount      % of Net
Revenue
    Amount      % of Net
Revenue
              
     (in thousands, except percentages)  

Cost of Goods Sold

   $ 37,072         75.4 %   $ 39,570         72.3 %   $ 2,498         6.7 %

Gross Profit

   $ 12,102         24.6 %   $ 15,174         27.7 %   $ 3,072         25.4 %
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cost of goods sold increased for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2011 primarily as a result of the increase in sales revenue, offset partially by increased incentive rebates from certain manufacturers.

Gross profit margin increased from 24.6% for the three months ended March 31, 2011 to 27.7% for the three months ended March 31, 2012. Gross profit margins benefited from manufacturing cost reductions, component cost reductions, including rebates and product and customer mix. Although sales to HP decreased from March 31, 2011 to March 31, 2012, the mix of sales in 2012 were at a slightly higher margin than those in 2011 which had an overall positive impact to our margin. Sales to HP approximated 75.9% of our net revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2011 compared to 60.7% of our net revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

Furthermore, gross profit and gross margins for the three months ended March 31, 2012 were negatively impacted by increased manufacturing support costs which increased from $3.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 to $3.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012. This was due primarily to increased salaries and stock compensation expense related to the Israel Technology Development Center for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

Research and Development Expenses

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31, 2011
    Three Months Ended
March 31, 2012
    Increase      %
Change
 
     Amount      % of Net
Revenue
    Amount      % of Net
Revenue
              
     (in thousands, except percentages)  

Research and Development Expenses

   $  7,986         16.2 %   $ 9,942         18.2 %   $ 1,956         24.5 %
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Research and development expense increased $2.0 million to $10.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to $8.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase was primarily due to an increase in salaries and payroll related expenses for research and development personnel of $1.0 million, an increase in consulting expense of $0.3 million, an increase in stock-based compensation of $0.2 million, an increase in depreciation expense of $0.1 million, an increase in asset write-offs of $0.1 million and an increase of $0.3 million in maintenance, allocated costs and other miscellaneous costs. The increase in salaries and payroll related expense is the result of salary reductions in effect for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and their full re-instatement during the three months ended March 31, 2012. The increase in salaries is also a result of the incremental engineering investment the Company is making to service new customers and attract prospective customers, the development and launch of a mid-range product line in 2012 and next generation technologies. The increase in consulting expense is primarily the result of certain engineering functions being performed by consultants in India and an increase in the use of domestic engineering consultants to assist with certain strategic development projects. The increase in stock-based compensation is due to an overall increase in the number of equity-based stock options and awards outstanding in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter 2011. The increase in depreciation expense is the result of additional capital expenditures for our Longmont and Israel engineering labs. The increase in asset write-offs is related to assets being written-off in conjunction with the shutdown of the Israel Technology Development Center (see Note 7 of the Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements). The increase in maintenance and allocated costs were primarily the result of increased support costs for acquired software and equipment.

We expect that the timing of our engineering material purchases and additional headcount requirements to support new product releases will affect the amount of research and development expenses in future periods.

 

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Sales and Marketing Expenses

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31, 2011
    Three Months Ended
March 31, 2012
    Increase      %
Change
 
     Amount      % of Net
Revenue
    Amount      % of Net
Revenue
              
     (in thousands, except percentages)  

Sales and Marketing Expenses

   $  3,033         6.2 %   $ 3,533         6.5 %   $ 500         16.5 %
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Sales and marketing expense increased approximately $0.5 million to $3.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to $3.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase was primarily due to an increase in credit card fees of $0.3 million, associated with a specific customer that remits payments to us through a credit card, an increase in commissions and sales bonuses of $0.1 million and an increase in evaluation unit expenses of $0.1 million. The increase in customer-related credit card fees is the result of increased sales to customers that remit payment to us using a credit card for which we are charged a fee by our bank to process the credit card transaction. The increase commissions and sales bonuses was primarily the result of an increase in net revenue. The increase in evaluation unit expenses was due to an increase in customer interest in new products.

General and Administrative Expenses

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31, 2011
    Three Months Ended
March 31, 2012
    Increase      %
Change
 
     Amount      % of Net
Revenue
    Amount      % of Net
Revenue
              
     (in thousands, except percentages)  

General and Administrative Expenses

   $  2,341         4.8 %   $ 3,068         5.6 %   $ 727         31.1 %
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

General and administrative expenses increased approximately $0.7 million to $3.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to $2.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase was due to the change in foreign currency gains and losses of $0.3 million, an increase in salaries and payroll related expenses of approximately $0.1 million, an increase in consultant fees of $0.1 million, a $0.1 million increase in professional service fees and a $0.1 million increase in stock-based compensation. The increase in foreign currency gains and losses resulted from the changes in the value of the Euro, British Pound, Israeli Shekel and Japanese Yen in relation to the United States dollar. The increase in salaries and payroll expenses were a result of salary reductions in effect for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and their full re-instatement during the three months ended March 31, 2012. The increase in consultant fees was related to filling in for departmental turnover. The increase in professional services fees was due to specific projects to review asset impairment and software license compliance. The increase in stock-based compensation is due to an overall increase in the number of equity-based stock options and awards outstanding in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter 2011.

Restructuring Charge (Recoveries)

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31, 2011
    Three Months Ended
March 31, 2012
    Increase      %
Change
 
     Amount      % of Net
Revenue
    Amount      % of Net
Revenue
              
     (in thousands, except percentages)  

Restructuring Charge (Recovery)

   $  (41)        (0.1 )%   $ 601         1.0 %   $ 642         15.7 %
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Restructuring expenses increased $0.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to $0.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase relates to management’s decision to shut down the Israel Technology Development Center. This increase was somewhat offset by the reimbursement of common area maintenance expenses related to the Carlsbad, CA building lease. See Note 7 of Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for more details regarding our restructuring activities.

 

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Other Income (Expense), net

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31, 2011
    Three Months Ended
March 31, 2012
    Increase      %
Change
 
     Amount      % of Net
Revenue
    Amount      % of Net
Revenue
              
     (in thousands, except percentages)  

Other Income (Expense), net

   $  (4)         0.0 %   $ 11         0.0 %   $ 15        375.0 %
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Other income (expense), net consists of interest income on our cash and cash equivalents, interest expense related to our note payable and other miscellaneous items Other income increased for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2011 primarily as a result of income generated from a miscellaneous transaction.

Income Taxes

We recorded an income tax benefit of $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and an income tax provision of $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Our benefit for income taxes primarily represents the reversal of a liability related to a foreign entity.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The primary drivers affecting cash and liquidity are net losses, working capital requirements and capital expenditures. Historically, the payment terms we have had to offer our customers have been relatively similar to the terms received from our creditors and suppliers. We typically bill customers on an open account basis subject to our standard credit quality and payment terms ranging between net 30 and net 45 days. If our net revenue increases, it is likely that our accounts receivable balance will also increase. Conversely, if our net revenue decreases, it is likely that our accounts receivable will also decrease. Our accounts receivable could increase if customers, such as large OEM customers, delay their payments or if we grant them extended payment terms. Our accounts payable increase or decrease in connection with changes in volumes as well as our cash conservation strategies.

As of March 31, 2012, we had $41.4 million of cash and cash equivalents and $40.2 million of working capital compared to $46.2 million of cash and cash equivalents and $41.4 million of working capital as of December 31, 2011. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents is further described below.

Cash equivalents include highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of 90 days or less and consist principally of money market funds.

Operating Activities

Net cash used by operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was $4.3 million compared to $1.0 million of cash provided by operations for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The operating activities that affected cash consisted primarily of a net loss, which totaled $1.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to a net loss of $1.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The increase in our net loss was primarily attributable to increased operating costs, the majority of which were due to increased engineering costs as we continue to invest in new and prospective customers, in our next generation technologies and in our mid-range storage array products scheduled for launch in 2012, and to provide more differentiated entry-level products for both OEM and channel customers.

The adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2012 for items that did not affect cash consisted of depreciation and amortization of $1.1 million, loss on the write-off of fixed assets of $0.1 million and stock-based compensation expense of $1.1 million.

Cash flows from operations reflects the negative impact of $3.5 million related to an increase in accounts receivable, which was primarily due to an increase in revenue from Tektronix particularly at the end of the first quarter and other OEM and software customers, offset by a decrease in the number of days sales outstanding, which decreased from 62 days at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011 to 58 days at the end of the first quarter of 2012. Cash flows from operations also reflects the negative impact of $5.3 million related to an overall increase in prepaid expenses and other assets at March 31, 2012, which was primarily due to our contract manufacturer buying hard disk drives that were in short supply and that we had sourced from the open market. Accrued compensation and other expenses also negatively impacted the cash from operations by $1.3 million due to settling a large invoice for software licenses and a significant decrease in the employee stock purchase plan accrual. Deferred revenue had a $0.1 million negative impact to cash from operations due to the reduction in prepaid maintenance agreements related to our AssuredUVS technology which we will no longer support after 2012.

Cash flows from operations reflect a positive impact of $4.5 million due to an increase in our accounts payable balance, which is also reflected in our days payable outstanding which increased from 75 days to 82 days as we implemented certain cash preservation measures. Inventories decreased from March 31, 2011 to March 31, 2012, contributing $0.5 million to cash from operations. This decrease was primarily due to increased sales of controllers to a specific customer along with multiple other transactions which, individually, are not significant, but contributed to the decrease. These include purchase price variances and accrual reversals from the prior period.

Cash flows from operations also include an increase in our restructuring accrual of $0.4 million which is due primarily to recording the net expense related to shutting down the Israel Technology Development Center, offset by continued reductions in our 2008 Plan and 2010 Plan contractual commitments. In addition, we used $0.1 million of cash from operations for long-term liabilities primarily resulting from deferred rent amortization.

 

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Investing Activities

Cash used in investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was approximately $0.3 million compared to $0.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Cash used in investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was due to purchases of property and equipment primarily associated with test and other equipment used by our contract manufacturing partners to produce our products and for equipment used in our Longmont engineering lab.

Financing Activities

Cash used by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was approximately $0.0 million compared to cash provided by financing activities of $0.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was due to the sale of stock to employees under our employee stock plans of $0.5 million, which was partially offset by $0.4 million of tax liability payments made by Dot Hill associated with employee equity awards and $0.1 million for the ongoing pay-down of our note payable associated with our 2008 acquisition of certain intangible assets from Ciprico.

Based on current macro-economic conditions and conditions in the state of the data storage systems markets, our own organizational structure and our current outlook, we presently expect our cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our operations, working capital and capital requirements for at least the next 12 months. However, our capital resources could be negatively impacted by unforeseen future events.

Our standard warranty provides that if our systems do not function to published specifications, we will repair or replace the defective component or system without charge generally for a period of approximately three years. We generally extend to our customers the warranties provided to us by our suppliers and, accordingly, the majority of our warranty obligations to customers are intended to be covered by corresponding supplier warranties. For warranty costs not covered by our suppliers, we provide for estimated warranty costs in the period the revenue is recognized. There can be no assurance that our suppliers will continue to provide such warranties to us in the future or that our warranty obligations to our customers will be covered by corresponding warranties from our suppliers, the absence of which could have a material effect on our financial statements. Estimated liabilities for product warranties are included in accrued expenses.

In October 2009, we discovered a quality issue associated with certain power supply devices provided by a long-term component supplier, which resulted in a higher than expected level of power supply failures to us and our customers. While we were able to promptly identify and resolve the cause of the failures, we are required to provide replacement products or make repairs to the affected power supply units that had been sold between March and October 2009. Through June 30, 2011, our component supplier had repaired all of the faulty power supplies at no cost to us, and reimbursed us for our out-of-pocket costs which has constituted a reimbursement to customers for certain out-of-pocket costs they incurred in connection with these power supply failures. The total amount reimbursed to us by our component supplier approximated $1.0 million through June 30, 2011.

In the second and third quarters of 2011, a material customer provided us with a framework estimating the potential claims precipitated by the power supply failures. As previously disclosed, the customer’s preliminary framework of potential claims provided to us included additional costs related to the customer’s internal overhead for other internal indirect costs, in addition to third-party direct costs. Based on preliminary discussions for settlement and our analysis of the framework provided by the customer including future potential claims through the warranty period, we estimated that we had incurred a probable loss of approximately $2.8 million. Consequently, in addition to the $1.3 million previously recognized as of June 30, 2011, we recorded an estimated liability of $1.5 million as of September 30, 2011 within “Accrued expenses” on our condensed consolidated balance sheet.

Negotiations continued with the material customer throughout the fourth quarter of 2011 into the first quarter of 2012. Based on the results of such ongoing negotiations with the material customer, we increased our estimated liability at December 31, 2011 to $5.5 million, resulting in a charge of $2.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2011 within “Accrued expenses” on our condensed consolidated balance sheet, and are reported gross of any third-party recoveries.

During the first quarter-ended March 31, 2012, we continued negotiations with the customer through the second quarter of 2012. While no final settlement has been agreed-to by each party, we continue to maintain that our estimated liability remains at $5.5 million, resulting in no charge during the first quarter of 2012.

While our estimated liability relating to failed power supply units is subject to some uncertainty until settled, based on our current expectation of what the terms of the final negotiated settlement will stipulate, we do not believe the incurrence of an additional loss is either probable or reasonably possible at this time.

During the second quarter of 2011, based on the advice of legal counsel, we established that our component supplier is contractually obligated to reimburse us for fair and reasonable costs we incur with our customers associated with these power supply failures. Our component supplier had continued to re-work and distribute to the material customer the affected population of power supplies at no cost to us. In addition, at the time, our collection experience with similar amounts already reimbursed to us by our supplier and our belief that our component supplier and its parent companies had the financial ability to continue to reimburse us for any additional costs we may incur, we recorded a current asset within “Prepaid expenses and other assets” on our consolidated balance sheet of $1.3 million as of June 30, 2011.

During the third quarter of 2011, as the claims from the material customer became clearer, we commenced negotiations with our component supplier for fair and reasonable costs that we have and are likely to incur through the warranty period associated with this component failure. While we have not agreed to an amount to cover the costs associated with replacing customers’ power supplies, we continue to maintain that we have legal recourse against this component supplier. Originally we determined that the supplier was unlikely to make an up-front cash payment for the original settlement amount of $1.3 million, but it indicated a willingness to provide some form of reimbursement for costs incurred, in the form of cash and/or note receivable of $0.5 million plus future product rebates. Based on our judgment at the time, we reduced the previously recorded

 

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current asset of $1.3 million within “Prepaid expenses and other assets” to $0.5 million as of September 30, 2011. We continued to negotiate this settlement with our supplier and subsequent to December 31, 2011, the supplier signed a letter of intent providing for additional reimbursements above what was recognized as of September 30, 2011. Pursuant to the signed letter of intent, the supplier has agreed to cash consideration of $1.2 million, of which $0.6 million will be received upon the subsequent signing of a settlement agreement, with the remainder to be received in four quarterly installments commencing three months from the date a settlement agreement is signed. Additionally, our supplier committed to product rebates and/or price concessions on post-2011 product orders for a period of approximately three years, commencing three months from the date of signing a settlement agreement, in return for our agreement to release our supplier from all obligations relating to the power supply failures known by us to date. This agreement is not subject to any required future purchases. Based on our judgment, we increased the previously recorded current asset of $0.5 million within “Prepaid expenses and other assets” to $1.2 million as of December 31, 2011. There has been no change to the above facts and circumstances during the first quarter of 2012, as any final settlement with the component supplier is pending a final resolution to potential claims made against the Company by the material customer.

In addition, we have commenced discussions with our General Liability and Errors and Omissions Insurance and underwriters and will continue to pursue our rights to cover any damages we incur and not reimbursed by our supplier. The insurance company has issued a reservation of rights letter to us and at this time, it is not possible to estimate to what extent, if any, we will be covered by our carrier. As of March 31, 2012 we have not assumed or recorded any insurance reimbursement.

To the extent that we are unsuccessful in negotiating settlement agreements with the material customer and our component supplier on mutually beneficial terms, or our component supplier does not continue to reimburse us for the expenses incurred by us or our customers, and we are unsuccessful in recovering such expenses from our insurance provider, we could incur additional expenses which could potentially have a material effect on our financial statements.

Recently, the hard disk drive component supply chain has been significantly disrupted as a result of severe flooding in Thailand. In addition, some disk drive manufacturers have substantial manufacturing facilities in Thailand that have been closed down due to flooding. It is estimated that over 30% of the worldwide production of hard disk drives or critical component occurs in Thailand. While over 75% of our revenue typically comes from customers who purchase our AssuredSAN products on a drive-less basis, hard disk drives are a critical component in our AssuredSAN storage array products and can represent 30-70% of the cost of such products. Given the severity of the situation and the potential for extensive hard disk drive shortages for us and our customers, we believe the effects on our business and the data storage industry are likely to be substantial and could extend over multiple quarters.

We will make every effort to secure and hold inventory of hard disk drives to incorporate into our products Any purchase of hard drives beyond our immediate requirements, will likely result in increased inventory and a use of cash, but we expect any increase in hard drive inventory holdings to be consumed through our normal sales to customers over the near term. Given that approximately only one quarter of revenue are dependent on hard disk drive supplies, and given our current cash balances and the availability of additional working capital through Silicon Valley Bank, we do not believe we would be constrained in our ability to secure hard disk drives.

During September 2011, our primary AssuredUVS customer became delinquent on the settlement of its payables to us and upon our investigation it became evident that its financial condition had deteriorated. The customer also informed us that the AssuredUVS software would no longer be a component of its business strategy which would result in a significant decline in revenue for the Company, and we determined it was “more-likely-than-not” that the reporting unit was less than its carrying value.

The actual amount and timing of working capital and capital expenditures that we may incur in future periods may vary significantly and will depend upon numerous factors, including the timing and extent of net revenue and expenditures from our core business and strategic investments, the overall level of net profits or losses, our ability to manage our relationships with our contract manufacturers, the potential growth or decline in inventory to support our customers, costs associated with product quality issues and the recovery, if any, of such costs from a supplier, the status of our relationships with key customers, partners and suppliers, the timing and extent of the introduction of new products and services, growth in operations and the economic environment. In addition, the actual amount and timing of working capital will depend on our ability to maintain payment terms with our suppliers consistent with the credit terms of our customers. For example, if Foxconn, our major contract manufacturing partner, were to shorten our payment terms with them or if HP were to lengthen their payment terms with us, our financial condition could be harmed.

We maintain a credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank for cash advances and letters of credit of up to an aggregate of $30 million based upon an advance rate of 85% of eligible accounts receivable. Borrowings under the credit facility bear interest at the prime rate and are secured by substantially all of our accounts receivable, deposit and securities accounts. The agreement provides for a negative pledge on our inventory and intellectual property, subject to certain exceptions, and contains usual and customary covenants for an arrangement of its type, including an obligation that we maintain at all times a net worth, as defined in the agreement, of $50 million (subject to certain increases). The agreement also includes provisions to increase the financing facility by $20 million subject to our meeting certain requirements, including $40 million in borrowing base for the immediately preceding 90 days, and Silicon Valley Bank locating a lender willing to finance the additional facility. In addition, if our cash and cash equivalents net of the total amount outstanding under the credit facility fall below $20 million (measured on a rolling three-month basis), the interest rate will increase to prime plus 1% and additional restrictions will apply. Our credit facility also provides for a cash management services sublimit under the revolving credit line of up to $300,000. As of March 31, 2012 we had no outstanding letters of credit. As of March 31, 2012, there were no amounts outstanding under the Silicon Valley Bank line of credit.

At March 31, 2012, our long-term commitments had not materially changed from those disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.

 

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Off — Balance Sheet Arrangements

At March 31, 2012, we did not have any relationship with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance variable interest, or special purpose entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes. In addition, we did not engage in trading activities involving non-exchange traded contracts. As a result, we are not exposed to any financing, liquidity, market or credit risk that could arise if we had engaged in such relationships. We do not have relationships and transactions with persons and entities that derive benefits from their non-independent relationship with us or our related parties except as disclosed herein.

We enter into indemnification agreements with third parties in the ordinary course of business that generally require us to reimburse losses suffered by the third party due to various events, such as lawsuits arising from patent or copyright infringement. These indemnification obligations are considered off-balance sheet arrangements under accounting guidance. It is not possible to determine the maximum potential amount under these indemnification agreements due to the limited history of prior indemnification claims and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. Such indemnification agreements may not be subject to maximum loss clauses. Historically, we have not incurred material costs as a result of obligations under these agreements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Please see Note 1 of the Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Interest Rate Risk

We place our cash equivalents with high-credit-quality financial institutions, investing primarily in money market accounts. We have established guidelines relative to credit ratings, diversification and maturities that seek to maintain safety and liquidity. Our investment strategy generally results in lower yields on investments but reduces the risk to principal in the short term prior to these funds being invested in our business. Our interest income is sensitive to changes in the general level of interest rates. In this regard, changes in interest rates can affect the interest earned on our cash equivalents. A 10% unfavorable change in the interest rate would not materially impact our March 31, 2012 financial statements.

We have a line of credit agreement, which accrues interest on any outstanding balances at the prime rate. As of March 31, 2012, there were no amounts outstanding under this line. If we make borrowings under this line, we will be exposed to interest rate risk on such debt.

Indicated changes in interest rates are based on hypothetical movements and are not necessarily indicative of the actual results that may occur. Future earnings and losses will be affected by actual fluctuations in interest rates.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk

We conduct a portion of our business in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, the currency in which our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are reported. The most significant foreign currencies that subjected us to foreign currency exchange rate risk for the three months March 31, 2012 were the Euro, British Pound, Japanese Yen and the Israeli Shekel. Correspondingly, our operating results could be adversely affected by foreign currency exchange rate volatility relative to the U.S. dollar. Although we continue to evaluate strategies to mitigate risks related to the effect of fluctuations in currency exchange rates, we will likely continue to recognize gains or losses from international transactions and foreign currency changes. Although foreign currency transaction gains and losses have not historically been material, we incurred $0.4 million in foreign currency transaction losses during the three months ended March 31, 2012, primarily resulting from the re-measurement process of certain of our foreign subsidiaries that maintain their books of record in a currency other than the functional currency. Future changes in foreign currency rates could adversely impact our financial statements. A 10% unfavorable change in exchange rates would result in foreign currency losses of approximately $1.0 million.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Based on management’s evaluation (with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer), as of the end of the period covered by this report, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)), are effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes to our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the period covered by this quarterly report on Form 10-Q that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

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Part II. Other Information

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

We are involved in certain legal actions and claims from time to time arising in the ordinary course of business. Management believes the outcome of such litigation and claims could have a material effect on our financial statements.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

The following sets forth risk factors that may affect our future results, including certain revisions to the risk factors included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011. Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected due to any of the following risks. We face risks described but not limited to those detailed below. Additional risks we are not presently aware of or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business operations. The trading price of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks. In assessing these risks, you should also refer to the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, including our financial statements and related notes.

We are dependent on sales to a relatively small number of customers and a disruption in sales to any one of these customers could materially harm our financial results.

Our business is highly dependent on a limited number of customers. For example, sales to HP accounted for 57% of our net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2010, 73% of our net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2011 and 61% of our net revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2012. We expect HP will represent much greater than 10% of our overall net revenue for the year ending December 31, 2012. If our relationships with HP or certain of our other customers were disrupted or declined significantly, we would lose a substantial portion of our anticipated net revenue and our business could be materially harmed. We cannot guarantee that our relationship with HP or our other customers will expand or not otherwise be disrupted.

Going forward, we expect to generate additional revenue from our indirect channel sales, from sales of our AssuredUVS and AssuredVRA products and from potential new OEM customers. However, if we are unable to generate sufficient revenue and gross profit from these sources , our financial results could be harmed.

Factors that could influence our relationship with our significant customers and other potential new customers include:

 

   

our ability to maintain our products at prices that are competitive with those of our competitors;

 

   

our ability to maintain quality levels for our products sufficient to meet the expectations of our customers;

 

   

our ability to produce, ship and deliver a sufficient quantity of our products in a timely manner to meet the needs of our customers;

 

   

our ability to continue to develop and launch new products that our customers feel meet their needs and requirements, with respect to cost, timeliness, features, performance and other factors;

 

   

our ability to provide timely, responsive and accurate customer support to our customers; and

 

   

the ability of our customers to effectively deliver, market and increase sales of their own solutions based on our products.

The impact of flooding in Thailand on the hard disk drive supply chain

Recently, the hard disk drive component supply chain has been significantly disrupted as a result of severe flooding in Thailand. In addition, some disk drive manufacturers have substantial manufacturing facilities in Thailand that have been closed down due to flooding. Hard disk drives are a critical component in our AssuredSAN storage array products and can represent 30-70% of the cost of such products. While over 75% of our revenue typically comes from customers who purchase our AssuredSAN products on a drive-less basis, these customers need to purchase and install qualified hard disk drives to make these products operational. In addition, these customers may also purchase hard disk drives to incorporate into other products that they might sell such as computer servers, which are often sold as bundles with storage arrays. If these customers experience disk shortages, their demand for our AssuredSAN systems could also decline significantly.

Given the severity of the situation and the potential for extensive hard disk drive shortages for us and our customers, we believe the effects on our business and the data storage industry are likely to be substantial and could extend over multiple quarters. We will make every effort to secure and hold inventory of hard disk drives to incorporate into our products . Any purchase of hard drives beyond our immediate requirements, will likely result in increased inventory and a use of cash. In addition to experiencing shortages for our hard disk drive requirements, we could experience severe price increases of hard disk drives, which we may or may not be able to pass on to our customers, and hence could negatively impact our revenues and margins. At this time, we cannot fully assess the impact of the flooding in Thailand to us, our customers or to the broader hard disk drive ecosystem, but it could potentially have a very significant negative impact on our operations and financial results for multiple quarters. In addition, if conditions worsen in Thailand for our suppliers that could further adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Product recalls, epidemic failures, post-manufacture repairs of our products, liability claims and associated costs could harm our reputation, divert resources, reduce sales and increase costs and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

Our products may contain undetected errors, or failures that become epidemic failures, which may be discovered after shipment, resulting in a loss of net revenue, an increase in costs to rework or replace failed products, product liability claims, a tarnished reputation, a loss of customers,

 

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or a loss or delay in market acceptance of our products, any of which could harm or disrupt our business. Product failures or recalls could be the result of components purchased from our suppliers not meeting the required specifications or containing undetected quality errors and manufacturing defects or from our own design deficiencies.

Even if the errors are detected before shipment, such errors still could result in the halting of production, delay of shipments, recovery costs, loss of goodwill, tarnishment of reputation and/or a substantial decrease in net revenue. Our standard warranty provides that if our systems do not function to published specifications, we will repair or replace the defective component or system without charge generally for a period of approximately three years. We generally extend to our customers the warranties provided to us by our suppliers and, accordingly, the majority of our warranty obligations to customers are intended to be covered by corresponding supplier warranties. There can be no assurance that our suppliers will continue to provide such warranties to us in the future or that our warranty obligations to our customers will be covered by corresponding warranties from our suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. Significant warranty costs could decrease our gross margin and negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, defects in our products could result in our customers claiming property damages, consequential damages, or bodily injury, which could also result in our loss of customers and goodwill. There can be no assurance that our customers will not assert claims that our products have failed to meet agreed-to specifications or that they have sustained injuries from our products, and we may be subject to lawsuits relating to these claims. There is a risk that these claims or liabilities may exceed, or fall outside of the scope of our insurance coverage. Significant claims exceeding our expected warranty provisions could distract management’s attention from operating our business and, if successful, result in material claims against us that might not be covered by our insurance.

In October 2009, we discovered a quality issue associated with certain power supply devices provided by a long-term component supplier, which resulted in a higher than expected level of power supply failures to us and our customers. While we were able to promptly identify and resolve the cause of the failures, we are required to provide replacement products or make repairs to the affected power supply units that had been sold between

March and October 2009. Through December 31, 2011, our component supplier had repaired all of the faulty power supplies at no cost to us, and reimbursed us for our out-of-pocket costs which was in effect a reimbursement to customers for certain out-of-pocket costs they incurred in connection with these power supply failures. The total amount reimbursed to us by our component supplier approximated $1.0 million through December 31, 2011. In the second and third quarters of 2011, a material customer provided us with a framework estimating the potential claims precipitated by the power supply failures. Negotiations continued with our customer throughout the fourth quarter of 2011 into the first quarter of 2012. In our judgment, the negotiations have resulted in an increase in our estimated liability at December 31, 2011 to $5.5 million, resulting in a charge of $2.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2011 within “Accrued expenses” on our condensed consolidated balance sheet, and are recorded gross of any third-party recoveries, if any.

In February 2012 we signed a letter of intent with the supplier that will probably result in additional cash compensation of $1.2 million, a warranty extension on the affected power supply units and incremental product discounts for future product purchases. We recorded a current asset within “Prepaid expenses and other assets” on our consolidated balance sheet of $1.2 million as of December 31, 2011.

In addition, we have commenced discussions with our General Liability and Errors and Omissions Insurance and underwriters and will continue to pursue our rights to cover any damages we incur and not reimbursed by our supplier. The insurance company has issued a reservation of rights letter to us and at this time, it is not possible to estimate to what extent, if any, we will be covered by our carrier. As of March 31, 2012, we have not assumed or recorded any insurance reimbursement.

To the extent that we are unsuccessful executing the settlement agreements with our customer and our component supplier on mutually beneficial terms, or our component supplier does not continue to reimburse us for the expenses incurred by us or our customers, and we are unsuccessful in recovering such expenses from our insurance provider, we could incur additional expenses which could potentially have a material effect on our financial statements.

Our acquisition of Cloverleaf, and potential future acquisitions, may not be successfully integrated or produce the results we anticipate.

As part of our strategy, we are continuously evaluating opportunities to buy other businesses or technologies that would complement our current products, expand the breadth of our markets, or enhance our technical capabilities. The acquisition and ongoing integration of new businesses into our business may adversely affect our operations or profitability.

In January 2010, we acquired Cloverleaf, a privately held software company, based primarily in Israel for approximately $9.5 million in stock and $2.5 million in cash. The Cloverleaf acquisition provided us with a new team of software development and other professionals. Cloverleaf’s products provide heterogeneous storage virtualization and unified storage technologies that can simplify data center management, eliminate downtime and reduce storage costs.

The accounting treatment for the Cloverleaf acquisition resulted in significant amortizable intangible assets, which when amortized negatively affects our consolidated results of operations. As of September 30, 2011, we identified a change in circumstances that indicated the carrying amount of our goodwill and long-lived assets may not be recoverable, as our primary AssuredUVS customer informed us that they were changing their strategy which would result in a significant decline in revenue for the Company. Thus, as of the end of September, we tested the carrying values of Goodwill and Long-Lived Assets. The results were that we impaired the entire goodwill amount of $4.1 million, impaired the entire trade name by $0.1 million, and reduced the carrying value of the software from $4.9 million to $2.1 million.

 

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In February 2012, our Board of Directors approved a plan to exit our AssuredUVS business and close down our Israel Technology Development Center. We evaluated the potential impact, if any, on our valuation of our acquired software and other long-lived assets maintained at our Israel Technology Development Center, and based on the facts and circumstances in existence at March 31, 2012, we believe the current valuations are appropriate. However, we will continue to assess the recorded long-lived asset valuation for Israel Technology Development Center in light of our decision to shut down such operations.

Our inability to grow and manage our indirect sales channel may significantly impact our ability to increase net revenue, gross margin and operating income.

We have recently expanded our indirect sales model to access end-user markets primarily through our distributors, VARs and OSPs and are investing significant monetary and human resources in order to grow this indirect sales channel. If we cannot successfully identify, manage, develop, and generate sufficient net revenue through our indirect sales channel, our business could be harmed. In addition, even if we are able to grow our indirect sales channel, managing the interaction of our OEMs’, distributors’, VARs’ and OSPs’ efforts to reach various potential customer segments for our products and services is a complex process. Moreover, since each channel method has distinct risks and gross margins, our failure to implement the most advantageous balance in the delivery model for our products and services could adversely affect our net revenue and gross margin and our profitability.

Recent turmoil in the global economy, credit markets and the financial services industry may negatively impact our net revenue, access to capital, our customers’ access to capital and ability to pay for their purchases in a timely manner, and our suppliers’ access to capital and ability to provide us with goods and timely delivery, or willingness to provide credit terms to us.

The current global economic condition could continue to affect the demand for our products and negatively impact our net revenue and operating profit. We are unable to predict changes in general macroeconomic conditions and when, or if, global IT spending rates will be affected and to what degree they will be impacted. Furthermore, even if IT spending rates increase, we cannot be certain that the market for external storage solutions will be positively impacted. If there are future reductions in either domestic or international IT spending rates, or if IT spending rates do not increase, our net revenue, operating results and financial condition may be adversely affected. In addition, the global economic condition could also adversely impact our customers, and/or their customers, ability to finance the purchase of storage systems from us or our suppliers’ ability to provide us with product, any of which may negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our smaller customers may not be as well capitalized as, nor do they have the financial resources of, our larger customers. In addition, sales to all our customers are typically made on credit without collateral. There is a risk that customers will not pay, or that payment may be delayed, because of their liquidity constraints or because they are awaiting payment from their customers, or other factors beyond our control, which could increase our exposure to losses from bad debts or increase accounts receivable, and thus reduce cash.

Our third-party manufacturers rely on other third parties to supply key components of our storage products. Some of these components are available only from one or limited sources in the quantities and quality we require. Should any of the component suppliers cease to operate due to current economic conditions or otherwise, we would have to qualify and locate alternative suppliers. We estimate that replacing key components we currently use in our products with those of another supplier could involve several months of hardware and software modification, which could significantly harm our ability to meet our customers’ orders for our products, damage our customer relationships and result in a loss of sales.

Our manufacturing suppliers provide us with credit terms that have in some cases been negotiated and documented in our manufacturing agreements. The credit terms we receive from these suppliers vary amongst our manufacturing partners but they all provide for adequate credit limits and credit terms. Should any of our manufacturing partners reduce our credit limits or shorten payment terms, due to their inability to purchase credit insurance or due to uncertainty regarding our financial position, our cash resources and working capital could be significantly impacted.

Our contracts with our customers do not include minimum purchase requirements and are not exclusive, and we cannot assure you that our relationship with these customers will not be terminated or will generate significant sales.

None of our contracts with our existing customers, including HP, contain minimum purchase commitments and while our contracts typically contain a specified term, our customers may cancel purchase orders at any time, cease making purchases or elect not to renew the applicable contract upon the expiration of the current term. Consequently, our customers generally order only through written purchase orders. Further, we do not expect that future contracts with customers, if any, will include any minimum purchase commitments. Changes in the timing or volume of purchases by our major customers could result in lower net revenue. For example, we cannot be certain that our sales to any of our customers will continue at historical levels or will reach expected levels. In addition, our existing contracts do not require our customers to purchase our products exclusively or on a preferential basis over the products of any of our competitors. Consequently, to the extent they are not sole sourced, our customers may sell the products of our competitors. The decision by any of our customers to cancel purchase orders, cease making purchases or terminate their respective contracts could cause our net revenue to decline substantially, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be significantly harmed.

We sell on a purchase order basis, making us subject to uncertainties and variability in demand by our customers, and our component suppliers may make obsolete certain components we incorporate into our products, either of which could decrease net revenue and adversely affect our operating results.

We sell to our customers on a purchase order basis rather than pursuant to long-term contracts or contracts with minimum purchase requirements. Consequently, our sales are subject to demand variability by our customers. The level and timing of orders placed by our customers vary for a variety of reasons, including seasonal buying by end-users, the introduction of new technologies and general economic conditions.

 

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Customers submitting a purchase order may cancel, reduce or delay their orders. If we are unable to anticipate and respond to the demands of our customers, we may lose customers because we have an inadequate supply of products, or we may have excess inventory which may have to be sold in the open market at a substantial discount, if at all possible, either of which may harm our business, financial position and operating results.

In addition, there are occasions when some of our component suppliers make obsolete certain components that we incorporate into our products. In these situations we may be required to purchase such components on a “last time buy” basis, based on our forecasts of customer demand. If we incorrectly forecast customer demand or if our customers over or under forecast demand, we may have an inadequate supply of products, or we may have excess inventory which may have to be sold in the open market at a substantial discount, if at all possible, either of which may harm our business, financial position and operating results.

Furthermore, we are contractually obligated to purchase excess and obsolete material and finished goods from our contract manufacturer if not consumed within 90 days of contract manufacturer’s purchase, which could have a material effect on our financial results.

Our sales cycle varies substantially from customer to customer and future net revenue in any period may be lower than our historical net revenue or forecasts.

Our sales are difficult to forecast because the open systems storage market is rapidly evolving and our sales cycle varies substantially from customer to customer. Customer orders for our products can range in value from a few thousand dollars to over a million dollars. The length of time between initial contact with a potential customer and the sale of our product may last from 6 to 36 months. This is particularly true during times of economic slowdown and when selling products that require complex installations.

Additional factors that may extend our sales cycle, particularly orders for new products, include:

 

   

the amount of time needed for technical evaluations by customers;

 

   

customers’ budget constraints and changes to customers’ budgets during the course of the sales cycle;

 

   

customers’ internal review and testing procedures;

 

   

our engineering work necessary to integrate a storage solution with a customer’s system;

 

   

the complexity of technical challenges that need to be overcome during the development, testing and/or qualification process for new products and/or new customers;

 

   

meeting unique customer specifications and requirements; and

 

   

difficulties by our customers in integrating our products and technologies into their own products.

Our net revenue is difficult for us to predict since it is directly affected by the timing of large orders. We may ship products representing a significant portion of our net revenue for a quarter during the last month of that quarter. In addition, our expense levels are based, in part, on our expectations as to future sales. As a result, if sales levels are below expectations, our operating results may be disproportionately affected. We cannot assure you that our sales will not decline in future periods.

The open systems storage market is rapidly changing and we may be unable to keep pace with or properly prepare for the effects of those changes and if we fail to develop and market new software and hardware products that meet customer requirements, our business will be harmed.

The open systems data storage market in which we operate is characterized by rapid technological change, frequent new product introductions, new interface protocol, evolving industry standards and consolidation among our competitors, suppliers and customers. Customer preferences in this market are difficult to predict and changes in those preferences and the introduction of new products by our competitors, new entrants into the open systems storage market, or us could render our existing products obsolete or uncompetitive. Our success will depend upon our ability to address the increasingly sophisticated needs of customers, to enhance existing products, and to develop and introduce on a timely basis, new competitive products, including new software and hardware, and enhancements to existing software and hardware that keep pace with technological developments and emerging industry standards. If we cannot successfully identify, manage, develop, manufacture or market product enhancements or new products, our business will be harmed. In addition, consolidation among our competitors, suppliers and customers may harm our business by increasing the resources of our competitors, reducing the number of suppliers available to us for our product components and increasing competition for customers by reducing the number of customer-purchasing decisions.

We believe that to remain competitive, we will need to continue to develop new hardware and software products, which will require a significant investment in new product development. Our competitors and new market participants may be developing alternative technologies, which may adversely affect the market acceptance of our products. If alternative technologies and interface protocols are adopted by the industry that we have not incorporated into our products, we may become uncompetitive and not have product offerings for select market segments. Even if our new products are developed on time, we may not be able to manufacture them at competitive prices or in sufficient volumes.

We may not be able to reduce expenses timely in response to any shortfalls in net revenue or gross margin.

We primarily sell to HP and thus do not need to make substantial incremental investments in sales and marketing to generate demand for our products to our largest customer. Additionally we outsource substantially all of our manufacturing to very large contract manufacturing partners in Asia. Hence, there is little incremental cost required to increase our production capacity. Furthermore, we have an adopted modular architecture to our storage systems products and consequently if our customers do not require substantial customization, we are able to launch products based on existing product platforms for new OEMs or channel partners at modest incremental expenditures.

 

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In the past we have taken and may have to take further measures to reduce expenses if net revenue or gross margins decline and we experience greater operating losses or do not achieve profitable results. A number of factors could preclude us from successfully bringing variable costs and expenses in line with our net revenue, such as the fact that our variable expense levels are based in part on our expectations as to future sales. This limits our ability to reduce expenses quickly in response to any shortfalls in net revenue or gross margin. Consequently, if net revenue does not generate enough gross margin to cover operating expenses, our operating results may be negatively affected.

The market for storage products is intensely competitive and subject to substantial pricing pressure that may harm our net revenue, gross margin and operating results.

The storage market is intensely competitive and is characterized by rapidly changing technology. For our AssuredSAN storage hardware products, we compete primarily against independent storage system suppliers, including EMC Corp., or EMC, Hitachi Data Systems Corp., or Hitachi, Infortrend, Promise Technology, Inc., or Promise, NEC and NetApp as a result of its acquisition of LSI’s Engenio Division in May 2011. We also compete with traditional suppliers of computer systems, including IBM, Oracle, Dell and HP, which market storage systems as well as other computer products.

Many of our existing and potential competitors have longer operating histories, greater name recognition and substantially greater financial, technical, sales, marketing and other resources than we do. In addition, some of our competitors have much lower labor costs than we do. As a result, they may have more advanced technology, larger distribution channels, stronger brand names, better customer service, more financial leverage and access to more customers than we do. Other large companies with significant resources could become direct competitors, either through acquiring a competitor or through internal efforts. Additionally, a number of public and privately held companies are currently attempting to enter the storage market, some of which may become significant competitors in the future. In the future, it is conceivable that we could compete with some of the original design manufacturers, one of whom is currently our manufacturing partner, as they develop expertise in chassis design and power and cooling technologies.

We could also lose current or future business to certain of our suppliers or manufacturers, some of which directly and indirectly compete with us. Currently, we leverage our supply and manufacturing relationships to provide substantially all of our products. Our suppliers and manufacturers are very familiar with the specific attributes of our products and may be able to provide our customers with similar products.

We also expect that competition will increase as a result of industry consolidation and the creation of companies with new, innovative product offerings. Current and potential competitors have established or may establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties to increase the ability of their products to address the needs of our prospective customers.

Accordingly, it is possible that new competitors, or alliances among competitors, may emerge and rapidly acquire significant market share. Increased competition is likely to result in price reductions, and may reduce operating margins and create a potential loss of market share, any of which could harm our business. We believe that the principal competitive factors affecting the storage systems market include: performance, features, scalability and reliability; price; product breadth; product availability and quality; timeliness of new product introductions; interoperability; and ease of management.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully incorporate these factors into our products and compete against current or future competitors or that competitive pressures we face will not harm our business. If we are unable to cost effectively develop and market products to compete with the products of competitors, our business will be materially and adversely affected. In addition, if major customers who are also competitors cease purchasing our products in order to concentrate on sales of their own products, our business will be harmed.

Additional pricing pressures are due, in part, to continuing decreases in component prices, such as those of disks, memory, semiconductors and RAID controllers. Decreases in component prices are typically passed on to customers by storage companies through a continuing decrease in the price of storage hardware systems.

Pricing pressures could also result when we cannot pass increased material costs onto our customers. For example, a significant increase in fuel prices could result in higher steel and freight costs which we may not be able to pass onto our customers.

Pricing pressures also exist from our significant customers that may attempt to change the terms, including pricing and payment terms of their agreements, with us. As our customers are pressured to reduce prices as a result of competitive factors, we may be required to contractually, or otherwise, commit to price reductions for our products prior to determining if we can implement corresponding cost reductions. If we are unable to achieve such cost reductions, or are unable to pass along cost increases to our customers, and have to reduce the pricing of our products, our gross margin may be negatively impacted which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our inability to lower product costs or changes in the mix of products we sell may significantly impact our gross margin and results of operations.

Our gross margin is determined in large part based on our contract manufacturing costs, our component costs, the timing and magnitude of product cost reductions, and our ability to include RAID controllers and value added features into our products, such as DMS, as well as the prices at which we sell our products. The amount of revenue recognized from software and service sales and the relative mix of such sales in comparison to sales of our other products will also impact our gross margin, as the gross margin on sales of software and services is higher than that of our other products. If we are unable to lower production costs to be consistent with our projections or if we experience any decline in selling prices, our gross margin and results of operations may suffer. Some of the new products we are currently shipping or expect to begin shipping are in the early stages of their lifecycle. Our historical experience indicates that gross margin on new products are low initially and increase over time as a result of maturing manufacturing processes, component cost reductions and re-engineering the products to reduce costs. If we fail to achieve these improvements, our gross margin will be negatively impacted and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be significantly harmed.

 

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In addition, we typically plan our production and inventory levels based on internal forecasts of customer demand, which is highly unpredictable and can fluctuate substantially. Such forecasts have not historically demonstrated a high degree of accuracy. From time to time, in response to anticipated long lead times to obtain inventory and materials from our outside suppliers, we may order materials in advance of anticipated customer demand. This advance ordering may result in excess inventory levels or unanticipated inventory write-downs due to expected orders that fail to materialize.

Additional factors which could adversely impact gross margin dollars and gross margin percentage include:

 

   

changes in the mix of products we sell to our customers;

 

   

increased price competition;

 

   

introduction of new products by us or our competitors, including products with price performance advantages;

 

   

our inability to reduce production or component costs;

 

   

entry into new markets or the acquisition of new customers;

 

   

sales discounts and marketing development funds;

 

   

increases in material or labor costs;

 

   

excess inventory, inventory shrinkages and losses and inventory holding charges;

 

   

the timing of purchase price variances resulting from reductions in component costs purchased on our behalf by our contract manufacturers or owned by us in inventory versus the original cost of those components;

 

   

increased warranty costs and costs associated with any potential future product quality and product defect issues;

 

   

our inability to sell our higher performance products, or our software products and our services;

 

   

component shortages which can result in expedite fees, overtime or increased use of air freight; and

 

   

increased freight costs resulting from higher fuel prices, or from the need to expedite shipments of components to our contract manufacturers or finished goods to some of our customers and their hub locations.

Our customers may have very aggressive product launch and ramp schedules and our efforts to accommodate these schedules may divert our management’s attention, cause component shortages and force us to allocate products across many customers, all of which could harm our customer relations.

Our efforts to accommodate our customers’ aggressive launch and ramp schedules can divert management’s attention from the rest of our business and force us to allocate product volumes across many customers due to component shortages, all of which could harm our relations with customers. In addition, we could incur overtime, expedite charges, and other charges such as shipping products by air as opposed to by ocean as a result of efforts to meet such schedules. Any of these factors could result in lower net revenue and gross margin as well as increased operating expenses which could have an impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Manufacturing and supplier disruptions could harm our business.

We primarily rely on Foxconn to manufacture the majority of all of our products. If our agreement with Foxconn is terminated, or if they do not perform their obligations under our agreement, or if we otherwise determine to transition manufacturing of our products to another third party manufacturer, it could take several months to establish and qualify alternative manufacturing for our products and we may not be able to fulfill our customers’ orders in a timely manner. If our agreement with Foxconn terminates, we cannot be certain that we will be able to identify a suitable alternative manufacturing partner that meets the requirements of our customers and one that is cost competitive. Failure to identify a suitable alternative manufacturing partner could impact our customer relationships and our financial condition.

Due to our use of third-party manufacturers, our ability to control the timing of shipments could decrease. Delayed shipment could result in the deferral or cancellation of purchases of our products. Any significant deferral or cancellation of these sales would harm our results of operations in any particular quarter. Net revenue for a period may be lower than predicted if large orders forecasted for that period are delayed or are not realized, which could also impact cash flow or result in a decline in our stock price. To the extent we establish a relationship with an alternative manufacturer for our products, we may be able to partially mitigate potential disruptions to our business. We may also suffer manufacturing disruptions as we ramp up manufacturing processes for newly introduced products, which could result in delays in delivery of these products to our customers and adversely affect our results of operations. We also generally extend to our customers the warranties provided to us by our suppliers and, accordingly, the majority of our warranty obligations to customers are covered by supplier warranties. For warranty costs not covered by our suppliers, we reserve for estimated warranty costs in the period the net revenue is recognized. There can be no assurance that our suppliers will continue to provide such warranties to us in the future, or that we have estimated these costs correctly, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Any shortage of disk drives, memory or other components could increase our costs or harm our ability to manufacture and deliver our storage products to our customers in a timely manner.

From time to time there is significant market demand for disk drives, semiconductors, memory and other components, and we may experience component shortages, selective supply allocations and increased prices of such components. In such event, we may be required to purchase our components from alternative suppliers, and we cannot be certain that alternative sources of supplies will be available on competitive terms. Even if alternative sources of supply for critical components such as disk drives and memory become available, incorporating substitute components into our products could delay our ability to deliver our products in a timely manner.

Demand for disk drives and memory has at times surpassed supply, forcing drive, memory and component suppliers, including those who supply the components that are integrated into many of our storage products, to manage allocation of their inventory. If such a shortage were prolonged, we may be forced to pay higher prices for disk drives, memory or components or may be unable to purchase sufficient quantities of these components to meet our customers’ demand for our storage products in a timely manner or at all.

We may continue to experience losses in the future, and may have difficulty forecasting future operating results, which could result in revenue and earnings volatility, which could cause our stock price to decline.

For the three months ended March 31, 2012 we incurred a net loss of $1.9 million. For the year ended December 31, 2011 we incurred a net loss of $22.0 million. For the year ended December 31, 2010 we incurred a net loss of $13.3 million. We expect our business to remain volatile as we are often unable to reliably predict net revenue from HP and our other customers. Net revenue from our customers, the mix of products sold to our customers, our ability to introduce new products as planned and our ability to reduce product costs and manage our operating expenses and manufacturing variances will continue to affect our financial results for 2012. Consequently, we cannot assure you that we will be profitable in any future period.

Our future operating results and profitability will depend on, and could vary substantially as a result of many factors, including:

 

   

our ability to maintain and enhance relationships with our customers, in particular our OEM customers, as well as our ability to win new business;

 

   

our ability to implement and achieve targeted gross margin and cost reduction objectives and;

 

   

our ability to contain operating expenses and manufacturing variances;

 

   

our ability to meet product delivery schedules for HP and other customers which could result in increased air freight, expedite and overtime charges;

 

   

the extent to which we invest in new initiatives such as channel sales and software development;

 

   

our plans to maintain and enhance our engineering, research, development and product testing programs;

 

   

the success of our manufacturing strategy and relationships with our contract manufacturing partners;

 

   

the success of our sales and marketing efforts;

 

   

the amount of field failures resulting in product replacements, recalls or customer penalties;

 

   

the extent and terms of any development, marketing or other arrangements;

 

   

changes in economic, regulatory or competitive conditions, including the current worldwide economic crisis;

 

   

increased costs associated with our Israeli operations;

 

   

costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing intellectual property rights;

 

   

costs of litigating and defending law suits; and

 

   

our ability to capitalize on new customer opportunities resulting from industry consolidation.

Our success depends significantly upon our ability to protect our intellectual property and to avoid infringing the intellectual property of third parties, which has already resulted in costly, time-consuming litigation and could result in the inability to offer certain products.

We rely primarily on patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, nondisclosure agreements and common law to protect our intellectual property. Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy aspects of our products or obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. In addition, the laws of foreign countries may not adequately protect our intellectual property rights. Our efforts to protect our intellectual property from third party discovery and infringement may be insufficient and third parties may independently develop technologies similar to ours, duplicate our products or design around our patents.

Furthermore, third parties may assert infringement claims against us, which would require us to incur substantial license fees, legal fees and other expenses, and distract management from the operations of our business. In addition, we enter into indemnification agreements with third parties in the ordinary course of business that generally require us to reimburse losses suffered by the third party due to various events, such as lawsuits arising from patent or copyright infringement.

We expect that providers of storage products will increasingly be subject to infringement claims as the number of products and competitors increase. We receive, from time to time, letters from third parties suggesting that we may require a license from such third parties to manufacture or sell our products. We evaluate all such communications to assess whether to seek a license from the patent owner. We may be required to purchase licenses that could have a material impact on our business, or, we may not be able to obtain the necessary license from a third party on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Consequently, we could be prohibited from selling and marketing products that incorporate the protected technology or incur substantial costs to redesign our products in a manner to avoid infringement of third party intellectual property rights.

 

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Our success depends on our ability to attract and retain key personnel.

Our performance depends in significant part on our ability to attract and retain talented senior management and other key personnel. Our key personnel include Dana Kammersgard, our Chief Executive Officer and President, Hanif Jamal, our Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Corporate Secretary, James Kuenzel, our Senior Vice President of Engineering and Ernest Hafersat, our Senior Vice President of World-Wide Manufacturing, Operations, and Supply Base Management. If any of these individuals were to terminate his employment with us, we would be required to locate and hire a suitable replacement. In addition, if any of our additional key engineering, sales and general and administrative employees were to terminate their employment with us, our business could be harmed. Competition for attracting talented employees in the technology industry can be intense. We may be unable to identify suitable replacements for any employees that we lose. In addition, even if we are successful in locating suitable replacements, the time and cost involved in recruiting, hiring, training and integrating new employees, particularly key employees responsible for significant portions of our operations, could harm our business by delaying our production schedule, our research and development efforts, our ability to execute on our business strategy and our client development and marketing efforts.

In the second quarter of 2010, our management approved, committed to and initiated a restructuring and cost reduction plan, or the 2010 Plan, to better align our resources in order to lower our breakeven point. The 2010 Plan included, among other things, severance and related costs for the reduction of approximately 10% of our workforce, a 10% salary reduction for all employees at or above the vice-president level and a 5% salary reduction for certain other employee groups. As of December 31, 2011, we had restored a limited number of employee salaries for retention purposes, and had restored all employee salaries to their pre-2010 Plan levels by January 31, 2012. As a result of these actions, we may experience higher employee attrition rates, which would require us to locate and hire suitable replacements and could cause our business to be harmed.

Many of our customer relationships are based on personal relationships between the customer and our executives or sales representatives. If these representatives terminate their employment with us, we may be forced to expend substantial resources to attempt to retain the customers that the sales representatives serviced. Ultimately, if we were unsuccessful in retaining these customers, our net revenue would decline.

Our inability to further develop and increase sales from our AssuredVRA software may significantly impact our ability to increase net revenue, gross margin and operating income.

In September 2008, we bought certain assets from Ciprico including RAIDCore, now AssuredVRA. We have an agreement with one primary partner to market or integrate AssuredVRA into their solutions. While we restructured the agreement in the third quarter of 2010 so that the revenue generated under the agreement should exceed the costs of developing, manufacturing and marketing these products, we cannot be assured that revenue will exceed costs in the future, which could cause our financial results to be negatively impacted and could also result in an impairment of our related intangible assets.

Protective provisions in our charter and bylaws and the existence of our stockholder rights plan could prevent a takeover which could harm our stockholders.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain a number of provisions that could impede a takeover or prevent us from being acquired, including, but not limited to, a classified board of directors, the elimination of our stockholders’ ability to take action by written consent and limitations on the ability of our stockholders to remove a director from office without cause. Our board of directors may issue additional shares of common stock or establish one or more classes or series of preferred stock with such designations, relative voting rights, dividend rates, liquidation and other rights, preferences and limitations as determined by our board of directors without stockholder approval. In addition, we adopted a stockholder rights plan in May 2003 that is designed to impede takeover transactions that are not supported by our board of directors. Each of these charter and bylaw provisions and the stockholder rights plan gives our board of directors, acting without stockholder approval, the ability to prevent, or render more difficult or costly, the completion of a takeover transaction that our stockholders might view as being in their best interests.

Unanticipated changes in tax laws or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income tax returns could adversely affect our results of operations.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Our effective income tax rates have recently been and could in the future be adversely affected by changes in tax laws or interpretations of those tax laws, by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, by discovery of new information in the course of our tax return preparation process, or by changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities. Our effective income tax rates are also affected by intercompany transactions for licenses, services, funding and other items. Additionally, we are subject to the continuous examination of our income tax returns by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities which may result in the assessment of additional income taxes. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations. However, there can be no assurance that the outcomes from these examinations will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The exercise of outstanding stock options and warrants may result in dilution to our stockholders.

We have a large number of outstanding stock options and warrants. Dilution of the per share value of our common stock could result from the exercise of outstanding stock options and warrants. When the exercise price of outstanding stock options and warrants is less than the trading price of our common stock, the exercise of such stock options and warrants would have a dilutive effect on our stockholders. The possibility of the issuance of shares of our common stock upon exercise of stock options and warrants could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline.

 

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Furthermore, it is also possible that future large customers or suppliers may make our relationship with them contingent on receiving warrants to purchase shares of our common stock. The impact of potentially issuing additional warrants could have a dilutive effect on our stockholders.

Our stock price may be highly volatile and could decline substantially and unexpectedly, which can and has in some cases resulted in litigation.

The market price of our common stock has fluctuated substantially, and there can be no assurance that such volatility will not continue. Several factors could impact our stock price including, but not limited to:

 

   

differences between our actual operating results and the published expectations of analysts;

 

   

quarterly fluctuations in our operating results;

 

   

mergers and acquisitions in the data storage marketplace;

 

   

introduction of new products or changes in product pricing policies by our competitors or us;

 

   

conditions in the markets in which we operate;

 

   

changes in market projections by industry forecasters;

 

   

changes in estimates of our earnings by us or industry analysts;

 

   

overall market conditions for high technology equities;

 

   

rumors or dissemination of false information; and

 

   

general economic and geopolitical conditions.

It is often the case that securities class action litigation is brought against a company following periods of volatility in the market price of its securities. Securities litigation could result in the expenditure of substantial funds, divert management’s attention and resources, harm our reputation in the industry and the securities markets and reduce our profitability.

Future sales of our common stock may hurt our market price.

A significant portion of our common stock is owned by a few institutional stockholders. As a result, a substantial number of shares of our common stock may become available for resale. If these or other of our stockholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, the market price of our common stock could decline. These sales might also make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at times and prices that we deem appropriate.

Our system of internal controls may be inadequate.

We maintain a system of internal controls in order to ensure we are able to collect, process, summarize, and disclose the information required by the Securities and Exchange Commission within the time periods specified. Any system of controls, however well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the system are met. In addition, the design of any control system is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events. Due to these and other inherent limitations of control systems, there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions, regardless of how remote. Additionally, public companies in the United States are required to review their internal controls under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. If the internal controls put in place by us are not adequate or fail to perform as anticipated, errors could occur that would not be detected, which could require us to restate our consolidated financial statements, receive an adverse audit opinion on the effectiveness of our internal controls, and/or take other actions that will divert significant financial and managerial resources, as well as be subject to fines and/or other government enforcement actions. Furthermore, the price of our stock could be adversely affected.

Environmental compliance costs could adversely affect our results of operations.

Many of our products are subject to various laws governing chemical substances in products, including those regulating the manufacture and distribution of chemical substances and those restricting the presence of certain substances in electronic products. We could incur substantial costs, or our products could be restricted from entering certain countries, if our products become non-compliant with environmental laws.

We face increasing complexity in our product design and procurement operations as we adjust to new and future requirements relating to the materials composition of our products, including the restrictions on lead and certain other substances that apply to specified electronic products put on the market in the European Union as of July 1, 2006 (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, or RoHS). We design our products to ensure that they comply with these requirements as well as related requirements imposed by our customers. We are also working with our suppliers to provide us with compliant materials, parts and components. If our products do not comply with the European substance restrictions, we could become subject to fines, civil or criminal sanctions, and contract damage claims. In addition, we could be prohibited from shipping non-compliant products into the European Union, and required to recall and replace any products already shipped, if such products were found to be non-compliant, which would disrupt our ability to ship products and result in reduced net revenue, increased obsolete or excess inventories and harm to our business and customer relationships. Various other countries and states in the United States have issued, or are in the process of issuing, other environmental regulations that may impose additional restrictions or obligations and require further changes to our products. These regulations could impose a significant cost of doing business in those countries and states.

 

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The European Union has enacted the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, which makes producers of electrical goods financially responsible for specified collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of past and future covered products. Similar legislation has been or may be enacted in other jurisdictions, including in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China and Japan, the cumulative impact of which could be significant.

Due to the global nature of our business, risks inherent in our international operations could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Although a substantial portion of our business is located and conducted in the United States, a significant portion of our operations are located outside of the United States. A substantial portion of our products are manufactured outside of the U.S., and we have research and development and service centers overseas. Accordingly, our business and our future operating results could be adversely affected by a variety of factors affecting our international operations, some of which are beyond our control, including regulatory, political, or economic conditions in a specific country or region, trade protection measures and other regulatory requirements, government spending patterns, and acts of terrorism and international conflicts. In addition, we may not be able to maintain or increase international market demand for our products.

We face exposure to adverse movements in foreign currency exchange rates as a result of our international operations. These exposures may change over time as business practices evolve, and they could have a material adverse impact on our financial results and cash flows. Our international sales are denominated in U.S. dollars and in foreign currencies. An increase in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies could make our products more expensive and therefore potentially less competitive in foreign markets. Conversely, lowering our price in local currency may result in lower U.S.-based revenues. A decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies could increase operating expenses in foreign markets. Prices for our products are substantially U.S. dollar denominated, even when sold to customers that are located outside the United States. Therefore, as a substantial portion of our sales are from countries outside the United States, fluctuations in currency exchanges rates, most notably the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against other foreign currencies, contribute to variations in sales of products in impacted jurisdictions and could adversely impact demand and revenue growth. In addition, currency variations can adversely affect margins on sales of our products in countries outside the United States.

Additional risks inherent in our international business activities generally include, among others, difficulties in managing international operations.

In addition, due to the global nature of our business, we are subject to complex legal and regulatory requirements in the United States and the foreign jurisdictions in which we operate and sell our products, including antitrust and anti-competition laws, rules and regulations, and regulations related to data privacy. We are also subject to the potential loss of proprietary information due to piracy, misappropriation or laws that may be less protective of our intellectual property rights than U.S. laws. Such factors could have an adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial position.

Moreover, in many foreign countries, particularly in those with developing economies, it is common to engage in business practices that are prohibited by our internal policies and procedures, or U.S. laws and regulations applicable to us, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. There can be no assurance that all of our employees, contractors and agents, as well as those companies to which we outsource certain of our business operations, will comply with these policies, procedures, laws and/or regulations. Any such violation could subject us to fines and other penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations

Our business could be materially and adversely affected as a result of a natural disaster, terrorist acts or other catastrophic events.

We depend on the ability of our personnel, raw materials, equipment and products to move reasonably unimpeded around the world. Any political, military, terrorism, global trade, world health or other issue that hinders this movement or restricts the import or export of materials could lead to significant business disruptions. Furthermore, any strike, economic failure or other material disruption caused by fire, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, power loss, power shortages, environmental disasters, telecommunications or business information systems failures, break-ins and similar events, such as the recent flooding in Thailand, could also adversely affect our ability to conduct business. If such disruptions result in cancellations of customer orders or contribute to a general decrease in economic activity or corporate spending on information technology, or directly impact our marketing, manufacturing, financial and logistics functions, or impair our ability to meet our customer demands, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

Our business is subject to increasingly complex corporate governance, public disclosure, and accounting and tax requirements that have increased both our costs and the risk of noncompliance.

Because our common stock is publicly traded, we are subject to certain rules and regulations of federal, state and financial market exchange entities charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded. These entities, including the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the SEC, and NASDAQ have implemented requirements and regulations and continue developing additional regulations and requirements in response to corporate scandals and laws enacted by Congress, most notably the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Our efforts to comply with these regulations have resulted in, and are likely to continue resulting in, increased general and administrative expenses and diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.

On July 21, 2010, the President signed into law the Dodd-Frank Act. Many aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act are subject to rulemaking and will take effect over several years, making it difficult to anticipate the overall financial impact on us. However, as we continue to implement changes in response to this new law and its associated regulations, we expect to incur additional operating costs that could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

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A change in accounting standards or practices and varying interpretations of existing accounting pronouncements, such as the changes to revenue recognition standards, the increased use of fair value measures, additional proposed changes to revenue recognition, lease accounting, financial instruments and other accounting standards, and the potential requirement that U.S. registrants prepare financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), could have a significant effect on our reported financial results or the way we conduct our business. Implementation of accounting regulations and related interpretations and policies, particularly those related to revenue recognition, could cause us to defer recognition of revenue or recognize lower revenue, which may affect our results of operations.

Because new and modified laws, regulations, and standards are subject to varying interpretations in many cases due to their lack of specificity, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices.

We are subject to risks related to the provision of employee health care benefits and recent health care reform legislation.

In March 2010, comprehensive health care reform legislation under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590) and the Health Care Education and Affordability Reconciliation Act (HR 4872) was passed and signed into law. Among other things, the health reform legislation includes guaranteed coverage requirements, eliminates pre-existing condition exclusions and annual and lifetime maximum limits, restricts the extent to which policies can be rescinded and imposes new and significant taxes on health insurers and health care benefits. Provisions of the health reform legislation become effective at various dates over the next several years. The Department of Health and Human Services, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the Department of Labor and the Treasury Department have yet to issue necessary enabling regulations and guidance with respect to the health care reform legislation.

Due to the breadth and complexity of the health reform legislation, the lack of implementing regulations and interpretive guidance, and the phased-in nature of the implementation, it is difficult to predict the overall impact of the health reform legislation on our business over the coming years. Our results of operations, financial position and cash flows could be materially adversely affected due to this health reform legislation.

If we are unable to establish fair value for any undelivered element of a sales arrangement, all or a portion of the revenues relating to the arrangement could be deferred to future periods.

In the course of our sales efforts, we may enter into multiple element arrangements that include software and hardware related elements and maintenance. If we are required to change the pricing of our software-related elements through discounting, or otherwise introduce variability in the pricing of such elements, we may be unable to maintain Vendor Specific Objective Evidence of fair value of the undelivered elements of the arrangement, and would therefore be required to delay the recognition of all or a portion of the related arrangement. A delay in the recognition of revenues may cause fluctuations in our financial results and may adversely affect our operating margins. To date, these types of transactions have not been significant, but they will become more significant in the future as we expand our product offerings.

We are exposed to the credit and non-payment risk of our customers, resellers, and distributors, especially during times of economic uncertainty and tight credit markets, which could result in material losses.

Most of our sales to customers are on an open credit basis, with typical payment terms between net 30 and net 45 days. While we monitor individual customer payment capability in granting such open credit arrangements, and seek to limit such open credit to amounts we believe are reasonable, we may experience losses due to a customer’s inability to pay.

In the past, there have been bankruptcies by our customers to whom we had extended open credit, causing us to incur bad debt charges. We may be subject to similar losses in future periods. Any future losses could harm our business and have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. Additionally, to the extent that the recent turmoil in the credit markets makes it more difficult for customers to obtain open credit or financing, those customers’ ability to purchase our products could be adversely impacted, which in turn could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and operating results.

We make significant investments in research and development to improve our technology and develop new technologies, and unsuccessful investments could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Over the past several years, our business strategy has been to derive a competitive advantage by moving from being a follower of new technologies to being a leader in the innovation and development of new technologies. This strategy requires us to make significant investments in research and development and, in attempting to remain competitive, we may increase our capital expenditures and expenses above our historical run-rate model. There can be no assurance that these investments will result in viable technologies or products, or if these investments do result in viable technologies or products, that they will be profitable or accepted by the market. Significant investments in unsuccessful research and development efforts could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, increased investments in technology could cause our cost structure to fall out of alignment with demand for our products, which would have a negative impact on our financial results.

 

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Violation of applicable laws, including labor or environmental laws, and certain other practices by our suppliers could harm our business.

We expect our suppliers to operate in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including labor and environmental laws, and to otherwise meet our required supplier standards of conduct. While our internal operating guidelines promote ethical business practices, we do not control our suppliers or their labor or environmental practices. The violation of labor, environmental or other laws by any of our suppliers, or divergence of a supplier’s business practices from those generally accepted as ethical in the United States, could harm our business by:

 

   

interrupting or otherwise disrupting the shipment of our product components;

 

   

damaging our reputation;

 

   

forcing us to find alternate component sources;

 

   

reducing demand for our products (for example, through a consumer boycott); or

 

   

exposing us to potential liability for our supplier’s wrongdoings.

We are vulnerable to system failures or attacks, which could harm our business.

We are heavily dependent on our technology infrastructure, among other functions, to operate our factories, sell our products, fulfill orders, manage inventory and bill, collect and make payments. Our systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural disasters, power loss, telecommunication failures, computer viruses, computer denial-of-service attacks and other events. Our business is also subject to break-ins, sabotage and intentional acts of vandalism by third parties as well as employees. Despite any precautions we may take, such problems could result in, among other consequences, interruptions in our business, which could harm our reputation and financial condition.

Item 6. Exhibits

The following exhibits are included as part of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q:

 

    2.1    Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization dated as of January 4, 2010, among Dot Hill Systems Corp., Telluride Acquisition Sub, Inc., Cloverleaf Communications Inc., Cloverleaf Communications (Israel) Ltd., Cloverleaf Communications Corporation (BVI) and E. Shalev Management 2000 (1999) Ltd. (1)
    3.1    Certificate of Incorporation of Dot Hill Systems Corp. (2)
    3.2    Amended and Restated Bylaws of Dot Hill Systems Corp. (3)
    4.1    Certificate of Incorporation of Dot Hill Systems Corp. (2)
    4.2    Amended and Restated Bylaws of Dot Hill Systems Corp. (3)
    4.3    Form of Common Stock Certificate. (4)
    4.4    Certificate of Designation of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, as filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware on May 19, 2003. (5)
    4.5    Form of Rights Certificate. (5)
    4.6    Warrant to Purchase Shares of Common Stock dated January 4, 2008. (6)
  10.1    2009 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended.†
  31.1    Certification pursuant to 17 CFR 240.13a-14(a) or 17 CFR 240.15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
  31.2    Certification pursuant to 17 CFR 240.13a-14(a) or 17 CFR 240.15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
  32.1    Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
101.INS    XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.LAB    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

 

 †  Indicates management or compensatory plan or arrangement
(1) Filed as an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 5, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference.
(2) Filed as an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 19, 2001 and incorporated herein by reference.
(3) Filed as an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 26, 2007 and incorporated herein by reference.
(4) Filed as an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 14, 2003 and incorporated herein by reference.
(5) Filed as an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 19, 2003 and incorporated herein by reference.
(6) Filed as an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 7, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference.

Dot Hill’s Current Reports on Form 8-K have a Commission File Number of 001-13317.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

    Dot Hill Systems Corp.
Date: May 10, 2012    
  By:  

/s/ DANA W. KAMMERSGARD

    Dana W. Kammersgard
    Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
    (Principal Executive Officer)
Date: May 10, 2012    
  By:  

/s/ HANIF I. JAMAL

    Hanif I. Jamal
    Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
    (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 

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Exhibit 10.1

D OT H ILL S YSTEMS C ORP .

2009 E QUITY I NCENTIVE P LAN

A DOPTED BY THE B OARD OF D IRECTORS : A PRIL  27, 2009

A PPROVED BY THE S TOCKHOLDERS : J UNE  15, 2009

A MENDMENT A DOPTED BY THE B OARD OF D IRECTORS : M ARCH  1, 2011

A MENDMENT A PPROVED BY THE S TOCKHOLDERS : M AY  2, 2011

A MENDMENT A DOPTED BY THE B OARD OF D IRECTORS : F EBRUARY  20, 2012

T ERMINATION D ATE : A PRIL  26, 2019

1. G ENERAL .

(a) Successor to and Continuation of Prior Plans. The Plan is intended as the successor to and continuation of the Dot Hill Systems Corp. 2000 Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan and the Dot Hill Systems Corp. 1995 Incentive Program, as Amended and Restated (the “ Prior Plans ”). Following the Effective Date, no additional stock awards shall be granted under the Prior Plans. Any shares remaining available for issuance pursuant to the exercise of options or settlement of stock awards under the Prior Plans as of the Effective Date (the “ Prior Plans’ Available Reserve ”) shall become available for issuance pursuant to Stock Awards granted hereunder. From and after the Effective Date, all outstanding stock awards granted under the Prior Plans shall remain subject to the terms of the Prior Plans; provided, however , any shares subject to outstanding stock awards granted under the Prior Plans that expire or terminate for any reason prior to exercise or settlement (the “ Returning Shares ”) shall become available for issuance pursuant to Awards granted hereunder. All Awards granted on or after the Effective Date of this Plan shall be subject to the terms of this Plan.

(b) Eligible Award Recipients. The persons eligible to receive Awards are Employees, Directors and Consultants.

(c) Available Awards. The Plan provides for the grant of the following Awards: (i) Incentive Stock Options, (ii) Nonstatutory Stock Options, (iii) Stock Appreciation Rights (iv) Restricted Stock Awards, (v) Restricted Stock Unit Awards, (vi) Performance Stock Awards, (vii) Performance Cash Awards, and (viii) Other Stock Awards.

(d) Purpose. The Company, by means of the Plan, seeks to secure and retain the services of the group of persons eligible to receive Awards as set forth in Section 1(b), to provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company and any Affiliate and to provide a means by which such eligible recipients may be given an opportunity to benefit from increases in value of the Common Stock through the granting of Awards.

2. A DMINISTRATION .

(a) Administration by Board. The Board shall administer the Plan unless and until the Board delegates administration of the Plan to a Committee or Committees, as provided in Section 2(c).

 

1.


(b) Powers of Board. The Board shall have the power, subject to, and within the limitations of, the express provisions of the Plan:

(i) To determine from time to time (A) which of the persons eligible under the Plan shall be granted Awards; (B) when and how each Award shall be granted; (C) what type or combination of types of Award shall be granted; (D) the provisions of each Award granted (which need not be identical), including the time or times when a person shall be permitted to receive cash or Common Stock pursuant to a Stock Award; (E) the number of shares of Common Stock with respect to which a Stock Award shall be granted to each such person; and (F) the Fair Market Value applicable to a Stock Award.

(ii) To construe and interpret the Plan and Awards granted under it, and to establish, amend and revoke rules and regulations for its administration. The Board, in the exercise of this power, may correct any defect, omission or inconsistency in the Plan or in any Stock Award Agreement or in the written terms of a Performance Cash Award, in a manner and to the extent it shall deem necessary or expedient to make the Plan or Award fully effective.

(iii) To settle all controversies regarding the Plan and Awards granted under it.

(iv) To accelerate the time at which an Award may first be exercised or the time during which an Award or any part thereof will vest in accordance with the Plan, notwithstanding the provisions in the Award stating the time at which it may first be exercised or the time during which it will vest.

(v) To suspend or terminate the Plan at any time. Suspension or termination of the Plan shall not impair rights and obligations under any Award granted while the Plan is in effect except with the written consent of the affected Participant.

(vi) To amend the Plan in any respect the Board deems necessary or advisable, including, without limitation, by adopting amendments relating to Incentive Stock Options and certain nonqualified deferred compensation under Section 409A of the Code and/or to bring the Plan or Awards granted under the Plan into compliance therewith, subject to the limitations, if any, of applicable law. However, except as provided in Section 9(a) relating to Capitalization Adjustments, to the extent required by applicable law or listing requirements, stockholder approval shall be required for any amendment of the Plan that either (A) materially increases the number of shares of Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan, (B) materially expands the class of individuals eligible to receive Awards under the Plan, (C) materially increases the benefits accruing to Participants under the Plan or materially reduces the price at which shares of Common Stock may be issued or purchased under the Plan, (D) materially extends the term of the Plan, or (E) expands the types of Awards available for issuance under the Plan. Except as provided above, rights under any Award granted before amendment of the Plan shall not be impaired by any amendment of the Plan unless (1) the Company requests the consent of the affected Participant, and (2) such Participant consents in writing.

(vii) To submit any amendment to the Plan for stockholder approval, including, but not limited to, amendments to the Plan intended to satisfy the requirements of (A) Section 162(m) of the Code regarding the exclusion of performance-based compensation from the limit on corporate deductibility of compensation paid to Covered Employees, (B) Section 422 of the Code regarding “incentive stock options” or (C) Rule 16b-3.

 

2.


(viii) To approve forms of Award Agreements for use under the Plan and to amend the terms of any one or more Awards, including, but not limited to, amendments to provide terms more favorable to the Participant than previously provided in the Award Agreement, subject to any specified limits in the Plan that are not subject to Board discretion; provided however , that except with respect to amendments that disqualify or impair the status of an Incentive Stock Option, a Participant’s rights under any Award shall not be impaired by any such amendment unless (A) the Company requests the consent of the affected Participant, and (B) such Participant consents in writing. Notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to the limitations of applicable law, if any, the Board may amend the terms of any one or more Awards without the affected Participant’s consent if necessary to maintain the qualified status of the Award as an Incentive Stock Option or to bring the Award into compliance with Section 409A of the Code.

(ix) Generally, to exercise such powers and to perform such acts as the Board deems necessary or expedient to promote the best interests of the Company and that are not in conflict with the provisions of the Plan or Awards.

(x) To adopt such procedures and sub-plans as are necessary or appropriate to permit participation in the Plan by Employees, Directors or Consultants who are foreign nationals or employed outside the United States.

( C ) D ELEGATION TO C OMMITTEE .

(i) General. The Board may delegate some or all of the administration of the Plan to a Committee or Committees. If administration of the Plan is delegated to a Committee, the Committee shall have, in connection with the administration of the Plan, the powers theretofore possessed by the Board that have been delegated to the Committee, including the power to delegate to a subcommittee of the Committee any of the administrative powers the Committee is authorized to exercise (and references in this Plan to the Board shall thereafter be to the Committee or subcommittee), subject, however, to such resolutions, not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan, as may be adopted from time to time by the Board. The Board may retain the authority to concurrently administer the Plan with the Committee and may, at any time, revest in the Board some or all of the powers previously delegated.

(ii) Section 162(m) and Rule 16b-3 Compliance. The Committee may consist solely of two or more Outside Directors, in accordance with Section 162(m) of the Code, or solely of two or more Non-Employee Directors, in accordance with Rule 16b-3.

(d) Delegation to an Officer. The Board may delegate to one (1) or more Officers the authority to do one or both of the following (i) designate Employees who are not Officers to be recipients of Options and SARs (and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, other Stock Awards) and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, the terms of such Awards, and (ii) determine the number of shares of Common Stock to be subject to such Stock Awards granted to such Employees; provided, however , that the Board resolutions regarding such delegation will

 

3.


specify the total number of shares of Common Stock that may be subject to the Stock Awards granted by such Officer and that such Officer may not grant a Stock Award to himself or herself. Any such Stock Awards will be granted on the form of Award Agreement most recently approved for use by the Board, unless otherwise provided in the resolutions approving the delegation authority. The Board may not delegate authority to an Officer who is acting solely in the capacity of an Officer (and not also as a Director) to determine the Fair Market Value pursuant to Section 13(w)(iii) below.

(e) Effect of Board’s Decision. All determinations, interpretations and constructions made by the Board in good faith shall not be subject to review by any person and shall be final, binding and conclusive on all persons.

(f) Cancellation and Re-Grant of Stock Awards . Neither the Board nor any Committee shall have the authority to: (i) reduce the exercise price of any outstanding Options or Stock Appreciation Rights under the Plan, or (ii) cancel any outstanding Options or Stock Appreciation Rights that have an exercise price or strike price greater than the current Fair Market Value of the Common Stock in exchange for cash or other Stock Awards under the Plan, unless the stockholders of the Company have approved such an action within twelve (12) months prior to such an event.

3. S HARES S UBJECT TO THE P LAN .

(a) Share Reserve. Subject to Section 9(a) relating to Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Stock Awards from and after the Effective Date shall not exceed 20,520,535 shares (the “ Share Reserve ”), which number is the sum of (i) the number of shares subject to the Prior Plans’ Available Reserve, (ii) an additional 12,500,000 new shares, plus (iii) an additional number of shares in an amount not to exceed 7,112,217 shares (which number consists of the Returning Shares, if any, as such shares become available from time to time). For clarity, the Share Reserve in this Section 3(a) is a limitation on the number of shares of the Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to the Plan and does not limit the granting of Stock Awards except as provided in Section 7(a). Shares may be issued in connection with a merger or acquisition as permitted by, as applicable, NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 4350(i)(1)(A)(iii), NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A.08, AMEX Company Guide Section 711 or other applicable stock exchange rules, and such issuance shall not reduce the number of shares available for issuance under the Plan. Furthermore, if a Stock Award or any portion thereof (i) expires or otherwise terminates without all of the shares covered by such Stock Award having been issued or (ii) is settled in cash ( i.e. , the Participant receives cash rather than stock), such expiration, termination or settlement shall not reduce (or otherwise offset) the number of shares of Common Stock that may be available for issuance under the Plan.

(b) Subject to subsection 3(c), the number of shares available for issuance under the Plan shall be reduced by: (i) one (1) share for each share of stock issued pursuant to (A) an Option granted under Section 5, or (B) a Stock Appreciation Right granted under Section 5 with respect to which the strike price is at least one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the underlying Common Stock on the date of grant; and (ii) 1.5 shares for each share of Common Stock issued pursuant to a Restricted Stock Award, Restricted Stock Unit Award, Performance Stock Award or Other Stock Award.

 

4.


(c) Reversion of Shares to the Share Reserve.

(i) Shares Available For Subsequent Issuance. If any shares of common stock issued pursuant to a Stock Award are forfeited back to the Company because of the failure to meet a contingency or condition required to vest such shares in the Participant, then the shares that are forfeited shall revert to and again become available for issuance under the Plan. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 3(c)(i), any such shares shall not be subsequently issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options. To the extent there is issued a share of Common Stock pursuant to a Restricted Stock Award, Restricted Stock Unit Award, Performance Stock Award or Other Stock Award, and such share of Common Stock again becomes available for issuance under the Plan pursuant to this Section 3(c), then the number of shares of Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan shall increase by 1.5 shares.

(ii) Shares Not Available For Subsequent Issuance. If any shares subject to a Stock Award are not delivered to a Participant because the Stock Award is exercised through a reduction of shares subject to the Stock Award ( i.e ., “net exercised”), the number of shares that are not delivered to the Participant shall not remain available for issuance under the Plan. Also, any shares reacquired by the Company pursuant to Section 8(g) or as consideration for the exercise of an Option shall not again become available for issuance under the Plan.

(d) Incentive Stock Option Limit. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 3 and, subject to the provisions of Section 9(a) relating to Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options shall be the number of shares in the Share Reserve.

(e) Source of Shares. The stock issuable under the Plan shall be shares of authorized but unissued or reacquired Common Stock, including shares repurchased by the Company on the open market or otherwise.

4. E LIGIBILITY .

(a) Eligibility for Specific Stock Awards . Incentive Stock Options may be granted only to employees of the Company or a “parent corporation” or “subsidiary corporation” thereof (as such terms are defined in Sections 424(e) and (f) of the Code). Stock Awards other than Incentive Stock Options may be granted to Employees, Directors and Consultants; provided, however , Nonstatutory Stock Options and SARs may not be granted to Employees, Directors, and Consultants who are providing Continuous Services only to any “parent” of the Company, as such term is defined in Rule 405 promulgated under the Securities Act, unless such Stock Awards comply with the distribution requirements of Section 409A of the Code.

(b) Ten Percent Stockholders. A Ten Percent Stockholder shall not be granted an Incentive Stock Option unless the exercise price of such Option is at least one hundred ten percent (110%) of the Fair Market Value on the date of grant and the Option is not exercisable after the expiration of five (5) years from the date of grant.

 

5.


(c) Section 162(m) Limitation on Annual Grants . Subject to the provisions of Section 9(a) relating to Capitalization Adjustments, at such time as the Company may be subject to the applicable provisions of Section 162(m) of the Code, no Participant shall be eligible to be granted during any calendar year Options, Stock Appreciation Rights and Other Stock Awards whose value is determined by reference to an increase over an exercise or strike price of at least one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value on the date the Stock Award is granted covering more than 2,000,000 shares of Common Stock.

5. P ROVISIONS RELATING TO O PTIONS AND S TOCK A PPRECIATION R IGHTS .

Each Option or SAR shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Board shall deem appropriate. All Options shall be separately designated Incentive Stock Options or Nonstatutory Stock Options at the time of grant, and, if certificates are issued, a separate certificate or certificates shall be issued for shares of Common Stock purchased on exercise of each type of Option. If an Option is not specifically designated as an Incentive Stock Option, then the Option shall be a Nonstatutory Stock Option. The provisions of separate Options or SARs need not be identical; provided, however , that each Option Agreement or Stock Appreciation Right Agreement shall conform to (through incorporation of provisions hereof by reference in the applicable Award Agreement or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:

(a) Term. Subject to the provisions of Section 4(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, no Option or SAR shall be exercisable after the expiration of seven (7) years from the date of its grant or such shorter period specified in the Award Agreement.

(b) Exercise Price. Subject to the provisions of Section 4(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, the exercise price (or strike price) of each Option or SAR shall be not less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Option or SAR on the date the Option or SAR is granted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an Option or SAR may be granted with an exercise price (or strike price) lower than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Option or SAR if such Option or SAR is granted pursuant to an assumption of or substitution for another option or stock appreciation right pursuant to a Corporate Transaction and in a manner consistent with the provisions of Sections 409A and, if applicable, 424(a) of the Code. Each SAR will be denominated in shares of Common Stock equivalents.

(c) Purchase Price for Options. The purchase price of Common Stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of an Option shall be paid, to the extent permitted by applicable law and as determined by the Board in its sole discretion, by any combination of the methods of payment set forth below. The Board shall have the authority to grant Options that do not permit all of the following methods of payment (or otherwise restrict the ability to use certain methods) and to grant Options that require the consent of the Company to utilize a particular method of payment. The permitted methods of payment are as follows:

(i) by cash, check, bank draft or money order payable to the Company;

 

6.


(ii) pursuant to a program developed under Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board that, prior to the issuance of the stock subject to the Option, results in either the receipt of cash (or check) by the Company or the receipt of irrevocable instructions to pay the aggregate exercise price to the Company from the sales proceeds;

(iii) by delivery to the Company (either by actual delivery or attestation) of shares of Common Stock;

(iv) if the option is a Nonstatutory Stock Option, by a “net exercise” arrangement pursuant to which the Company will reduce the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise by the largest whole number of shares with a Fair Market Value that does not exceed the aggregate exercise price; provided, however , that the Company shall accept a cash or other payment from the Participant to the extent of any remaining balance of the aggregate exercise price not satisfied by such reduction in the number of whole shares to be issued; provided, further, that shares of Common Stock will no longer be subject to an Option and will not be exercisable thereafter to the extent that (A) shares issuable upon exercise are reduced to pay the exercise price pursuant to the “net exercise,” (B) shares are delivered to the Participant as a result of such exercise, and (C) shares are withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations; or

(v) in any other form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to the Board.

(d) Exercise and Payment of a SAR. To exercise any outstanding Stock Appreciation Right, the Participant must provide written notice of exercise to the Company in compliance with the provisions of the Stock Appreciation Right Agreement evidencing such Stock Appreciation Right. The appreciation distribution payable on the exercise of a Stock Appreciation Right will be not greater than an amount equal to the excess of (A) the aggregate Fair Market Value (on the date of the exercise of the Stock Appreciation Right) of a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of Common Stock equivalents in which the Participant is vested under such Stock Appreciation Right, and with respect to which the Participant is exercising the Stock Appreciation Right on such date, over (B) the strike price that will be determined by the Board at the time of grant of the Stock Appreciation Right. The appreciation distribution in respect to a Stock Appreciation Right may be paid in Common Stock, in cash, in any combination of the two or in any other form of consideration, as determined by the Board and contained in the Stock Appreciation Right Agreement evidencing such Stock Appreciation Right.

(e) Transferability of Options and SARs. The Board may, in its sole discretion, impose such limitations on the transferability of Options and SARs as the Board shall determine. In the absence of such a determination by the Board to the contrary, the following restrictions on the transferability of Options and SARs shall apply:

(i) Restrictions on Transfer. An Option or SAR shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Participant only by the Participant; provided, however , that the Board may, in its sole discretion, permit transfer of the Option or SAR in a manner that is not prohibited by applicable tax and securities laws upon the Participant’s request. Except as explicitly provided herein, neither an Option nor a SAR may be transferred for consideration.

 

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(ii) Domestic Relations Orders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an Option or SAR may be transferred pursuant to a domestic relations order; provided, however , that if an Option is an Incentive Stock Option, such Option may be deemed to be a Nonstatutory Stock Option as a result of such transfer.

(iii) Beneficiary Designation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Participant may, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form provided by or otherwise satisfactory to the Company and any broker designated by the Company to effect Option exercises, designate a third party who, in the event of the death of the Participant, shall thereafter be entitled to exercise the Option or SAR and receive the Common Stock or other consideration resulting from such exercise. In the absence of such a designation, the executor or administrator of the Participant’s estate shall be entitled to exercise the Option or SAR and receive the Common Stock or other consideration resulting from such exercise.

(f) Vesting Generally. The total number of shares of Common Stock subject to an Option or SAR may vest and therefore become exercisable in periodic installments that may or may not be equal. The Option or SAR may be subject to such other terms and conditions on the time or times when it may or may not be exercised (which may be based on the satisfaction of Performance Goals or other criteria) as the Board may deem appropriate. The vesting provisions of individual Options or SARs may vary. The provisions of this Section 5(f) are subject to any Option or SAR provisions governing the minimum number of shares of Common Stock as to which an Option or SAR may be exercised.

(g) Termination of Continuous Service. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement or other agreement between the Participant and the Company, if a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates (other than for Cause or upon the Participant’s death or Disability), the Participant may exercise his or her Option or SAR (to the extent that the Participant was entitled to exercise such Award as of the date of termination of Continuous Service) but only within such period of time ending on the earlier of (i) the date three (3) months following the termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service (or such longer or shorter period specified in the applicable Award Agreement), or (ii) the expiration of the term of the Option or SAR as set forth in the Award Agreement. If, after termination of Continuous Service, the Participant does not exercise his or her Option or SAR within the time specified herein or in the Award Agreement (as applicable), the Option or SAR shall terminate.

(h) Extension of Termination Date. If the exercise of an Option or SAR following the termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service (other than for Cause or upon the Participant’s death or Disability) would be prohibited at any time solely because the issuance of shares of Common Stock would violate the registration requirements under the Securities Act, then the Option or SAR shall terminate on the earlier of (i) the expiration of a total period of three (3) months (that need not be consecutive) after the termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service during which the exercise of the Option or SAR would not be in violation of such registration requirements, or (ii) the expiration of the term of the Option or SAR as set forth in the applicable Award Agreement. In addition, unless otherwise provided in a Participant’s

 

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Award Agreement, if the sale of any Common Stock received upon exercise of an Option or SAR following the termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service (other than for Cause) would violate the Company’s insider trading policy, then the Option or SAR shall terminate on the earlier of (i) the expiration of a period equal to the applicable post-termination exercise period after the termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service during which the exercise of the Option or SAR would not be in violation of the Company’s insider trading policy, or (ii) the expiration of the term of the Option or SAR as set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.

(i) Disability of Participant. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement or other agreement between the Participant and the Company, if a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates as a result of the Participant’s Disability, the Participant may exercise his or her Option or SAR (to the extent that the Participant was entitled to exercise such Option or SAR as of the date of termination of Continuous Service), but only within such period of time ending on the earlier of (i) the date twelve (12) months following such termination of Continuous Service (or such longer or shorter period specified in the Award Agreement), or (ii) the expiration of the term of the Option or SAR as set forth in the Award Agreement. If, after termination of Continuous Service, the Participant does not exercise his or her Option or SAR within the time specified herein or in the Award Agreement (as applicable), the Option or SAR (as applicable) shall terminate.

(j) Death of Participant. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement or other agreement between the Participant and the Company, if (i) a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates as a result of the Participant’s death, or (ii) the Participant dies within the period (if any) specified in the Award Agreement after the termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service for a reason other than death, then the Option or SAR may be exercised (to the extent the Participant was entitled to exercise such Option or SAR as of the date of death) by the Participant’s estate, by a person who acquired the right to exercise the Option or SAR by bequest or inheritance or by a person designated to exercise the Option or SAR upon the Participant’s death, but only within the period ending on the earlier of (i) the date eighteen (18) months following the date of death (or such longer or shorter period specified in the Award Agreement), or (ii) the expiration of the term of such Option or SAR as set forth in the Award Agreement. If, after the Participant’s death, the Option or SAR is not exercised within the time specified herein or in the Award Agreement (as applicable), the Option or SAR shall terminate.

(k) Termination for Cause. Except as explicitly provided otherwise in a Participant’s Award Agreement, if a Participant’s Continuous Service is terminated for Cause, the Option or SAR shall terminate upon the date on which the event giving rise to the termination occurred, and the Participant shall be prohibited from exercising his or her Option or SAR from and after the time of such termination of Continuous Service.

(l) Non-Exempt Employees . No Option or SAR granted to an Employee who is a non-exempt employee for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, shall be first exercisable for any shares of Common Stock until at least six months following the date of grant of the Option or SAR. Notwithstanding the foregoing, consistent with the provisions of the Worker Economic Opportunity Act, (i) in the event of the Participant’s death or Disability, (ii) upon a Corporate Transaction in which such Option or SAR is not assumed, continued, or substituted, (iii) upon a Change in Control, or (iv) upon the Participant’s retirement (as such term

 

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may be defined in the Participant’s Award Agreement or in another applicable agreement or in accordance with the Company’s then current employment policies and guidelines), any such vested Options and SARs may be exercised earlier than six months following the date of grant. The foregoing provision is intended to operate so that any income derived by a non-exempt employee in connection with the exercise or vesting of an Option or SAR will be exempt from his or her regular rate of pay.

6. P ROVISIONS OF S TOCK A WARDS OTHER THAN O PTIONS AND SAR S .

(a) Restricted Stock Awards. Each Restricted Stock Award Agreement shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Board shall deem appropriate. To the extent consistent with the Company’s Bylaws, at the Board’s election, shares of Common Stock may be (x) held in book entry form subject to the Company’s instructions until any restrictions relating to the Restricted Stock Award lapse; or (y) evidenced by a certificate, which certificate shall be held in such form and manner as determined by the Board. The terms and conditions of Restricted Stock Award Agreements may change from time to time, and the terms and conditions of separate Restricted Stock Award Agreements need not be identical; provided, however , that each Restricted Stock Award Agreement shall conform to (through incorporation of the provisions hereof by reference in the agreement or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:

(i) Consideration. A Restricted Stock Award may be awarded in consideration for (A) cash, check, bank draft or money order payable to the Company, (B) past services to the Company or an Affiliate, or (C) any other form of legal consideration (including future services) that may be acceptable to the Board, in its sole discretion, and permissible under applicable law.

(ii) Vesting. Shares of Common Stock awarded under the Restricted Stock Award Agreement may be subject to forfeiture to the Company in accordance with a vesting schedule to be determined by the Board.

(iii) Termination of Participant’s Continuous Service. If a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates, the Company may receive through a forfeiture condition or a repurchase right any or all of the shares of Common Stock held by the Participant that have not vested as of the date of termination of Continuous Service under the terms of the Restricted Stock Award Agreement.

(iv) Transferability. Rights to acquire shares of Common Stock under the Restricted Stock Award Agreement shall be transferable by the Participant only upon such terms and conditions as are set forth in the Restricted Stock Award Agreement, as the Board shall determine in its sole discretion, so long as Common Stock awarded under the Restricted Stock Award Agreement remains subject to the terms of the Restricted Stock Award Agreement.

(v) Dividends. A Restricted Stock Award Agreement may provide that any dividends paid on Restricted Stock will be subject to the same vesting and forfeiture restrictions as apply to the shares subject to the Restricted Stock Award to which they relate.

 

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(b) Restricted Stock Unit Awards. Each Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Board shall deem appropriate. The terms and conditions of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreements may change from time to time, and the terms and conditions of separate Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreements need not be identical; provided, however , that each Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement shall conform to (through incorporation of the provisions hereof by reference in the Agreement or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:

(i) Consideration. At the time of grant of a Restricted Stock Unit Award, the Board will determine the consideration, if any, to be paid by the Participant upon delivery of each share of Common Stock subject to the Restricted Stock Unit Award. The consideration to be paid (if any) by the Participant for each share of Common Stock subject to a Restricted Stock Unit Award may be paid in any form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to the Board, in its sole discretion, and permissible under applicable law.

(ii) Vesting. At the time of the grant of a Restricted Stock Unit Award, the Board may impose such restrictions on or conditions to the vesting of the Restricted Stock Unit Award as it, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate.

(iii) Payment . A Restricted Stock Unit Award may be settled by the delivery of shares of Common Stock, their cash equivalent, any combination thereof or in any other form of consideration, as determined by the Board and contained in the Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement.

(iv) Additional Restrictions. At the time of the grant of a Restricted Stock Unit Award, the Board, as it deems appropriate, may impose such restrictions or conditions that delay the delivery of the shares of Common Stock (or their cash equivalent) subject to a Restricted Stock Unit Award to a time after the vesting of such Restricted Stock Unit Award.

(v) Dividend Equivalents. Dividend equivalents may be credited in respect of shares of Common Stock covered by a Restricted Stock Unit Award, as determined by the Board and contained in the Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement. At the sole discretion of the Board, such dividend equivalents may be converted into additional shares of Common Stock covered by the Restricted Stock Unit Award in such manner as determined by the Board. Any additional shares covered by the Restricted Stock Unit Award credited by reason of such dividend equivalents will be subject to all of the same terms and conditions of the underlying Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement to which they relate.

(vi) Termination of Participant’s Continuous Service. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement, such portion of the Restricted Stock Unit Award that has not vested will be forfeited upon the Participant’s termination of Continuous Service.

( C ) P ERFORMANCE A WARDS .

(i) Performance Stock Awards . A Performance Stock Award is a Stock Award that may vest or may be exercised contingent upon the attainment during a Performance Period of certain Performance Goals. A Performance Stock Award may, but need not, require

 

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the completion of a specified period of Continuous Service. The length of any Performance Period, the Performance Goals to be achieved during the Performance Period, and the measure of whether and to what degree such Performance Goals have been attained shall be conclusively determined by the Committee, in its sole discretion. The maximum number of shares covered by an Award that may be granted to any Participant in a calendar year attributable to Stock Awards described in this Section 6(c)(i) (whether the grant, vesting or exercise is contingent upon the attainment during a Performance Period of the Performance Goals) shall not exceed 2,000,000 shares of Common Stock. The Board may provide for or, subject to such terms and conditions as the Board may specify, may permit a Participant to elect for, the payment of any Performance Stock Award to be deferred to a specified date or event. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and the applicable Award Agreement, the Board may determine that cash may be used in payment of Performance Stock Awards.

(ii) Performance Cash Awards . A Performance Cash Award is a cash award that may be paid contingent upon the attainment during a Performance Period of certain Performance Goals. A Performance Cash Award may also require the completion of a specified period of Continuous Service. At the time of grant of a Performance Cash Award, the length of any Performance Period, the Performance Goals to be achieved during the Performance Period, and the measure of whether and to what degree such Performance Goals have been attained shall be conclusively determined by the Committee, in its sole discretion. In any calendar year, the Committee may not grant a Performance Cash Award that has a maximum value that may be paid to any Participant in excess of $2,000,000. The Board may provide for or, subject to such terms and conditions as the Board may specify, may permit a Participant to elect for, the payment of any Performance Cash Award to be deferred to a specified date or event. The Committee may specify the form of payment of Performance Cash Awards, which may be cash or other property, or may provide for a Participant to have the option for his or her Performance Cash Award, or such portion thereof as the Board may specify, to be paid in whole or in part in cash or other property.

(iii) Section 162(m) Compliance . Unless otherwise permitted in compliance with the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code with respect to an Award intended to qualify as “performance-based compensation” thereunder, the Committee shall establish the Performance Goals applicable to, and the formula for calculating the amount payable under, the Award no later than the earlier of (a) the date ninety (90) days after the commencement of the applicable Performance Period, or (b) the date on which twenty-five (25%) of the Performance Period has elapsed, and in any event at a time when the achievement of the applicable Performance Goals remains substantially uncertain. Prior to the payment of any compensation under an Award intended to qualify as “performance-based compensation” under Section 162(m) of the Code, the Committee shall certify the extent to which any Performance Goals and any other material terms under such Award have been satisfied (other than in cases where such relate solely to the increase in the value of the Common Stock). Notwithstanding satisfaction of any completion of any Performance Goals, to the extent specified at the time of grant of an Award to “covered employees” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code, the number of Shares, Options, cash or other benefits granted, issued, retainable and/or vested under an Award on account of satisfaction of such Performance Goals may be reduced by the Committee on the basis of such further considerations as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine.

 

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(d) Other Stock Awards . Other forms of Stock Awards valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, Common Stock, including the appreciation in value thereof (e.g., options or stock rights with an exercise price or strike price less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock at the time of grant) may be granted either alone or in addition to Stock Awards provided for under Section 5 and the preceding provisions of this Section 6. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Board shall have sole and complete authority to determine the persons to whom and the time or times at which such Other Stock Awards will be granted, the number of shares of Common Stock (or the cash equivalent thereof) to be granted pursuant to such Other Stock Awards and all other terms and conditions of such Other Stock Awards.

7. C OVENANTS OF THE C OMPANY .

(a) Availability of Shares. During the terms of the Stock Awards, the Company shall keep available at all times the number of shares of Common Stock reasonably required to satisfy such Stock Awards.

(b) Securities Law Compliance. The Company shall seek to obtain from each regulatory commission or agency having jurisdiction over the Plan such authority as may be required to grant Stock Awards and to issue and sell shares of Common Stock upon exercise of the Stock Awards; provided, however , that this undertaking shall not require the Company to register under the Securities Act the Plan, any Stock Award or any Common Stock issued or issuable pursuant to any such Stock Award. If, after reasonable efforts, the Company is unable to obtain from any such regulatory commission or agency the authority that counsel for the Company deems necessary for the lawful issuance and sale of Common Stock under the Plan, the Company shall be relieved from any liability for failure to issue and sell Common Stock upon exercise of such Stock Awards unless and until such authority is obtained. A Participant shall not be eligible for the grant of a Stock Award or the subsequent issuance of Common Stock pursuant to the Stock Award if such grant or issuance would be in violation of any applicable securities law.

(c) No Obligation to Notify or Minimize Taxes. The Company shall have no duty or obligation to any Participant to advise such holder as to the time or manner of exercising such Stock Award. Furthermore, the Company shall have no duty or obligation to warn or otherwise advise such holder of a pending termination or expiration of a Stock Award or a possible period in which the Stock Award may not be exercised. The Company has no duty or obligation to minimize the tax consequences of a Stock Award to the holder of such Stock Award.

8. M ISCELLANEOUS .

(a) Use of Proceeds from Sales of Common Stock. Proceeds from the sale of shares of Common Stock pursuant to Stock Awards shall constitute general funds of the Company.

(b) Corporate Action Constituting Grant of Stock Awards. Corporate action constituting a grant by the Company of a Stock Award to any Participant shall be deemed completed as of the date of such corporate action, unless otherwise determined by the Board, regardless of when the instrument, certificate, or letter evidencing the Stock Award is communicated to, or actually received or accepted by, the Participant.

 

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(c) Stockholder Rights. No Participant shall be deemed to be the holder of, or to have any of the rights of a holder with respect to, any shares of Common Stock subject to such Stock Award unless and until (i) such Participant has satisfied all requirements for exercise of the Stock Award pursuant to its terms, if applicable, and (ii) the issuance of the Common Stock subject to such Stock Award has been entered into the books and records of the Company.

(d) No Employment or Other Service Rights. Nothing in the Plan, any Stock Award Agreement or any other instrument executed thereunder or in connection with any Award granted pursuant thereto shall confer upon any Participant any right to continue to serve the Company or an Affiliate in the capacity in effect at the time the Stock Award was granted or shall affect the right of the Company or an Affiliate to terminate (i) the employment of an Employee with or without notice and with or without cause, (ii) the service of a Consultant pursuant to the terms of such Consultant’s agreement with the Company or an Affiliate, or (iii) the service of a Director pursuant to the Bylaws of the Company or an Affiliate, and any applicable provisions of the corporate law of the state in which the Company or the Affiliate is incorporated, as the case may be.

(e) Incentive Stock Option $100,000 Limitation. To the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined at the time of grant) of Common Stock with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by any Optionholder during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and any Affiliates) exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), the Options or portions thereof that exceed such limit (according to the order in which they were granted) shall be treated as Nonstatutory Stock Options, notwithstanding any contrary provision of the applicable Option Agreement(s).

(f) Investment Assurances. The Company may require a Participant, as a condition of exercising or acquiring Common Stock under any Stock Award, (i) to give written assurances satisfactory to the Company as to the Participant’s knowledge and experience in financial and business matters and/or to employ a purchaser representative reasonably satisfactory to the Company who is knowledgeable and experienced in financial and business matters and that he or she is capable of evaluating, alone or together with the purchaser representative, the merits and risks of exercising the Stock Award; and (ii) to give written assurances satisfactory to the Company stating that the Participant is acquiring Common Stock subject to the Stock Award for the Participant’s own account and not with any present intention of selling or otherwise distributing the Common Stock. The foregoing requirements, and any assurances given pursuant to such requirements, shall be inoperative if (A) the issuance of the shares upon the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under the Stock Award has been registered under a then currently effective registration statement under the Securities Act, or (B) as to any particular requirement, a determination is made by counsel for the Company that such requirement need not be met in the circumstances under the then applicable securities laws. The Company may, upon advice of counsel to the Company, place legends on stock certificates issued under the Plan as such counsel deems necessary or appropriate in order to comply with applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, legends restricting the transfer of the Common Stock.

 

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(g) Withholding Obligations. Unless prohibited by the terms of a Stock Award Agreement, the Company may, in its sole discretion, satisfy any federal, state or local tax withholding obligation relating to an Award by any of the following means or by a combination of such means: (i) causing the Participant to tender a cash payment; (ii) withholding shares of Common Stock from the shares of Common Stock issued or otherwise issuable to the Participant in connection with the Award; provided, however, that no shares of Common Stock are withheld with a value exceeding the minimum amount of tax required to be withheld by law (or such lesser amount as may be necessary to avoid classification of the Stock Award as a liability for financial accounting purposes); (iii) withholding cash from an Award settled in cash; (iv) withholding payment from any amounts otherwise payable to the Participant; or (v) by such other method as may be set forth in the Award Agreement.

(h) Electronic Delivery . Any reference herein to a “written” agreement or document shall include any agreement or document delivered electronically or posted on the Company’s intranet.

(i) Deferrals. To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Board, in its sole discretion, may determine that the delivery of Common Stock or the payment of cash, upon the exercise, vesting or settlement of all or a portion of any Award may be deferred and may establish programs and procedures for deferral elections to be made by Participants. Deferrals by Participants will be made in accordance with Section 409A of the Code. Consistent with Section 409A of the Code, the Board may provide for distributions while a Participant is still an employee or otherwise providing services to the Company. The Board is authorized to make deferrals of Awards and determine when, and in what annual percentages, Participants may receive payments, including lump sum payments, following the Participant’s termination of Continuous Service, and implement such other terms and conditions consistent with the provisions of the Plan and in accordance with applicable law.

(j) Compliance with Section 409A. To the extent that the Board determines that any Award granted hereunder is subject to Section 409A of the Code, the Award Agreement evidencing such Award shall incorporate the terms and conditions necessary to avoid the consequences specified in Section 409A(a)(1) of the Code. To the extent applicable, the Plan and Award Agreements shall be interpreted in accordance with Section 409A of the Code. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Plan (and unless the Award Agreement specifically provides otherwise), if the Shares are publicly traded and a Participant holding an Award that constitutes “deferred compensation” under Section 409A of the Code is a “specified employee” for purposes of Section 409A of the Code, no distribution or payment of any amount shall be made before a date that is six (6) months following the date of such Participant’s “separation from service” (as defined in Section 409A of the Code without regard to alternative definitions thereunder) or, if earlier, the date of the Participant’s death.

9. A DJUSTMENTS UPON C HANGES IN C OMMON S TOCK ; O THER C ORPORATE E VENTS .

(a) Capitalization Adjustments . In the event of a Capitalization Adjustment, the Board shall appropriately and proportionately adjust: (i) the class(es) and maximum number of securities subject to the Plan pursuant to Section 3(a), (ii) the class(es) and maximum number of securities that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options pursuant to

 

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Section 3(d), (iii) the class(es) and maximum number of securities that may be awarded to any person pursuant to Sections 4(c) and 6(c)(i) , and (iv) the class(es) and number of securities and price per share of stock subject to outstanding Stock Awards. The Board shall make such adjustments, and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive.

(b) Dissolution or Liquidation . Except as otherwise provided in the Stock Award Agreement, in the event of a dissolution or liquidation of the Company, all outstanding Stock Awards (other than Stock Awards consisting of vested and outstanding shares of Common Stock not subject to a forfeiture condition or the Company’s right of repurchase) shall terminate immediately prior to the completion of such dissolution or liquidation, and the shares of Common Stock subject to the Company’s repurchase rights or subject to a forfeiture condition may be repurchased or reacquired by the Company notwithstanding the fact that the holder of such Stock Award is providing Continuous Service, provided, however , that the Board may, in its sole discretion, cause some or all Stock Awards to become fully vested, exercisable and/or no longer subject to repurchase or forfeiture (to the extent such Stock Awards have not previously expired or terminated) before the dissolution or liquidation is completed but contingent on its completion.

(c) Corporate Transaction. The following provisions shall apply to Stock Awards in the event of a Corporate Transaction unless otherwise provided in the instrument evidencing the Stock Award or any other written agreement between the Company or any Affiliate and the Participant or unless otherwise expressly provided by the Board at the time of grant of a Stock Award:

(i) Stock Awards May Be Assumed. In the event of a Corporate Transaction, any surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or the surviving or acquiring corporation’s parent company) may assume or continue any or all Stock Awards outstanding under the Plan or may substitute similar stock awards for Stock Awards outstanding under the Plan (including but not limited to, awards to acquire the same consideration paid to the stockholders of the Company pursuant to the Corporate Transaction), and any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company in respect of Common Stock issued pursuant to Stock Awards may be assigned by the Company to the successor of the Company (or the successor’s parent company, if any), in connection with such Corporate Transaction. A surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or its parent) may choose to assume or continue only a portion of a Stock Award or substitute a similar stock award for only a portion of a Stock Award, or may choose to assume or continue the Stock Awards held by some, but not all Participants. The terms of any assumption, continuation or substitution shall be set by the Board.

(ii) Stock Awards Held by Current Participants. In the event of a Corporate Transaction in which the surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or its parent company) does not assume or continue such outstanding Stock Awards or substitute similar stock awards for such outstanding Stock Awards, then with respect to Stock Awards that have not been assumed, continued or substituted and that are held by Participants whose Continuous Service has not terminated prior to the effective time of the Corporate Transaction (referred to as the “ Current Participants ”), the vesting of such Stock Awards (and, with respect to Options and Stock Appreciation Rights, the time when such Stock Awards may be exercised) shall be accelerated in full to a date prior to the effective time of such Corporate Transaction (contingent

 

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upon the effectiveness of the Corporate Transaction) as the Board shall determine (or, if the Board shall not determine such a date, to the date that is five (5) days prior to the effective time of the Corporate Transaction), and such Stock Awards shall terminate if not exercised (if applicable) at or prior to the effective time of the Corporate Transaction, and any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company with respect to such Stock Awards shall lapse (contingent upon the effectiveness of the Corporate Transaction).

(iii) Stock Awards Held by Persons other than Current Participants. In the event of a Corporate Transaction in which the surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or its parent company) does not assume or continue such outstanding Stock Awards or substitute similar stock awards for such outstanding Stock Awards, then with respect to Stock Awards that have not been assumed, continued or substituted and that are held by persons other than Current Participants, such Stock Awards shall terminate if not exercised (if applicable) prior to the effective time of the Corporate Transaction; provided, however , that any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company with respect to such Stock Awards shall not terminate and may continue to be exercised notwithstanding the Corporate Transaction.

(iv) Payment for Stock Awards in Lieu of Exercise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event a Stock Award will terminate if not exercised prior to the effective time of a Corporate Transaction, the Board may provide, in its sole discretion, that the holder of such Stock Award may not exercise such Stock Award but will receive a payment, in such form as may be determined by the Board, equal in value, at the effective time, to the excess, if any, of (A) the value of the property the Participant would have received upon the exercise of the Stock Award (including, at the discretion of the Board, any unvested portion of such Stock Award), over (B) any exercise price payable by such holder in connection with such exercise.

The Board need not take the same action or actions with respect to all Stock Awards, portions thereof, or with respect to all Participants. Notwithstanding the foregoing, stock awards granted under the Prior Plans may provide for different treatment upon a Corporate Transaction or similar event, and the provisions of the Prior Plans will be controlling.

(d) Change in Control. A Stock Award may be subject to additional acceleration of vesting and exercisability upon or after a Change in Control as may be provided in the Stock Award Agreement for such Stock Award or as may be provided in any other written agreement between the Company or any Affiliate and the Participant, but in the absence of such provision, no such acceleration shall occur.

10. T ERMINATION OR S USPENSION OF THE P LAN .

(a) Plan Term. The Board may suspend or terminate the Plan at any time. Unless terminated sooner by the Board, the Plan shall automatically terminate on the day before the tenth (10th) anniversary of the earlier of (i) the date the Plan is adopted by the Board, or (ii) the date the Plan is approved by the stockholders of the Company. No Awards may be granted under the Plan while the Plan is suspended or after it is terminated.

 

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(b) No Impairment of Rights. Suspension or termination of the Plan shall not impair rights and obligations under any Award granted while the Plan is in effect except with the written consent of the affected Participant.

11. E FFECTIVE D ATE OF P LAN .

This Plan shall become effective on the Effective Date.

12. C HOICE OF L AW .

The law of the State of California shall govern all questions concerning the construction, validity and interpretation of this Plan, without regard to that state’s conflict of laws rules.

13. D EFINITIONS . As used in the Plan, the following definitions shall apply to the capitalized terms indicated below:

(a) Affiliate ” means, at the time of determination, any “parent” or “subsidiary” of the Company as such terms are defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. The Board shall have the authority to determine the time or times at which “parent” or “subsidiary” status is determined within the foregoing definition.

(b) Award ” means a Stock Award or a Performance Cash Award.

(c) Award Agreement ” means a written agreement between the Company and a Participant evidencing the terms and conditions of an Award.

(d) Board ” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

(e) Capitalization Adjustment ” means any change that is made in, or other events that occur with respect to, the Common Stock subject to the Plan or subject to any Stock Award after the Effective Date without the receipt of consideration by the Company (through merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization, reincorporation, stock dividend, dividend in property other than cash, large nonrecurring cash dividend, stock split, liquidating dividend, combination of shares, exchange of shares, change in corporate structure or any similar equity restructuring transaction (as that term is used in Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the conversion of any convertible securities of the Company shall not be treated as a Capitalization Adjustment.

(f) Cause ” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in any written agreement between the Participant and the Company defining such term and, in the absence of such agreement, such term shall mean, with respect to a Participant, the occurrence of any of the following events that has a material negative impact on the business or reputation of the Company: (i) such Participant’s attempted commission of, or participation in, a fraud or act of dishonesty against the Company; (ii) such Participant’s intentional, material violation of any contract or agreement between the Participant and the Company or of any statutory duty owed to the Company; (iii) such Participant’s unauthorized use or disclosure of the Company’s confidential information or trade secrets; or (iv) such Participant’s gross misconduct. The determination that a termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service is either for Cause or

 

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without Cause shall be made by the Company, in its sole discretion. Any determination by the Company that the Continuous Service of a Participant was terminated with or without Cause for the purposes of outstanding Awards held by such Participant shall have no effect upon any determination of the rights or obligations of the Company or such Participant for any other purpose.

(g) Change in Control ” means the occurrence, in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions, of any one or more of the following events:

(i) any Exchange Act Person becomes the Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities other than by virtue of a merger, consolidation or similar transaction;

(ii) there is consummated a merger, consolidation or similar transaction involving (directly or indirectly) the Company and, immediately after the consummation of such merger, consolidation or similar transaction, the stockholders of the Company immediately prior thereto do not Own, directly or indirectly, either (A) outstanding voting securities representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined outstanding voting power of the surviving Entity in such merger, consolidation or similar transaction or (B) more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined outstanding voting power of the parent of the surviving Entity in such merger, consolidation or similar transaction, in each case in substantially the same proportions as their Ownership of the outstanding voting securities of the Company immediately prior to such transaction; or

(iii) there is consummated a sale, lease, exclusive license or other disposition of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries, other than a sale, lease, license or other disposition of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries to an Entity, more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the voting securities of which are Owned by stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their Ownership of the outstanding voting securities of the Company immediately prior to such sale, lease, license or other disposition.

Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other provision of this Plan, the term Change in Control shall not include a sale of assets, merger or other transaction effected exclusively for the purpose of changing the domicile of the Company.

(h) Code ” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including any applicable regulations and guidance thereunder.

(i) Committee ” means a committee of one or more Directors to whom authority has been delegated by the Board in accordance with Section 2(c).

(j) Common Stock ” means the common stock of the Company.

(k) Company ” means Dot Hill Systems Corp., a Delaware corporation.

 

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(l) Consultant ” means any person, including an advisor, who is (i) engaged by the Company or an Affiliate to render consulting or advisory services and is compensated for such services, or (ii) serving as a member of the board of directors of an Affiliate and is compensated for such services. However, service solely as a Director, or payment of a fee for such service, shall not cause a Director to be considered a “Consultant” for purposes of the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a person is treated as a Consultant under this Plan only if a Form S-8 Registration Statement under the Securities Act is available to register either the offer or the sale of the Company’s securities to such person.

(m) Continuous Service ” means that the Participant’s service with the Company or an Affiliate, whether as an Employee, Director or Consultant, is not interrupted or terminated. A change in the capacity in which the Participant renders service to the Company or an Affiliate as an Employee, Consultant or Director or a change in the entity for which the Participant renders such service, provided that there is no interruption or termination of the Participant’s service with the Company or an Affiliate, shall not terminate a Participant’s Continuous Service; provided, however, if the Entity for which a Participant is rendering services ceases to qualify as an Affiliate, as determined by the Board, in its sole discretion, such Participant’s Continuous Service shall be considered to have terminated on the date such Entity ceases to qualify as an Affiliate. To the extent permitted by law, the Board or the chief executive officer of the Company, in that party’s sole discretion, may determine whether Continuous Service shall be considered interrupted in the case of (i) any leave of absence approved by the Board or Chief Executive Officer, including sick leave, military leave or any other personal leave, or (ii) transfers between the Company, an Affiliate, or their successors. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a leave of absence shall be treated as Continuous Service for purposes of vesting in a Stock Award only to such extent as may be provided in the Company’s leave of absence policy, in the written terms of any leave of absence agreement or policy applicable to the Participant, or as otherwise required by law.

(n) Corporate Transaction ” means the occurrence, in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions, of any one or more of the following events:

(i) the consummation of a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all, as determined by the Board, in its sole discretion, of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries;

(ii) the consummation of a sale or other disposition of more than fifty (50%) of the outstanding securities of the Company;

(iii) the consummation of a merger, consolidation or similar transaction following which the Company is not the surviving corporation; or

(iv) the consummation of a merger, consolidation or similar transaction following which the Company is the surviving corporation but the shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately preceding the merger, consolidation or similar transaction are converted or exchanged by virtue of the merger, consolidation or similar transaction into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash or otherwise.

 

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(o) Covered Employee ” shall have the meaning provided in Section 162(m)(3) of the Code.

(p) Director ” means a member of the Board.

(q) Disability ” means, with respect to a Participant, the inability of such Participant to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months, as provided in Sections 22(e)(3) and 409A(a)(2)(c)(i) of the Code, and shall be determined by the Board on the basis of such medical evidence as the Board deems warranted under the circumstances.

(r) Effective Date ” means the effective date of this Plan document, which is the date of the annual meeting of stockholders of the Company held in 2009 provided this Plan is approved by the Company’s stockholders at such meeting.

(s) Employee ” means any person employed by the Company or an Affiliate. However, service solely as a Director, or payment of a fee for such services, shall not cause a Director to be considered an “Employee” for purposes of the Plan.

(t) Entity ” means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity.

(u) Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(v) Exchange Act Person ” means any natural person, Entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d) or 14(d) of the Exchange Act), except that “Exchange Act Person” shall not include (i) the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, (ii) any employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, (iii) an underwriter temporarily holding securities pursuant to a registered public offering of such securities, (iv) an Entity Owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their Ownership of stock of the Company; or (v) any natural person, Entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d) or 14(d) of the Exchange Act) that, as of the Effective Date, is the Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities.

(w) Fair Market Value ” means, as of any date, the value of the Common Stock determined as follows:

(i) If the Common Stock is listed on any established stock exchange or traded on any established market, the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock shall be the closing sales price for such stock as quoted on such exchange or market (or the exchange or market with the greatest volume of trading in the Common Stock) on the date of determination, as reported in a source the Board deems reliable.

 

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(ii) Unless otherwise provided by the Board, if there is no closing sales price for the Common Stock on the date of determination, then the Fair Market Value shall be the closing selling price on the last preceding date for which such quotation exists.

(iii) In the absence of such markets for the Common Stock, the Fair Market Value shall be determined by the Board in good faith and in a manner that complies with Sections 409A and 422 of the Code.

(x) Incentive Stock Option ” means an option granted pursuant to Section 5 of the Plan that is intended to be, and qualifies as, an “incentive stock option” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code.

(y) Non-Employee Director ” means a Director who either (i) is not a current employee or officer of the Company or an Affiliate, does not receive compensation, either directly or indirectly, from the Company or an Affiliate for services rendered as a consultant or in any capacity other than as a Director (except for an amount as to which disclosure would not be required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K promulgated pursuant to the Securities Act (“ Regulation S-K ”)), does not possess an interest in any other transaction for which disclosure would be required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K, and is not engaged in a business relationship for which disclosure would be required pursuant to Item 404(b) of Regulation S-K; or (ii) is otherwise considered a “non-employee director” for purposes of Rule 16b-3.

(z) Nonstatutory Stock Option ” means any option granted pursuant to Section 5 of the Plan that does not qualify as an Incentive Stock Option.

(aa) Officer ” means a person who is an officer of the Company within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

(bb) Option ” means an Incentive Stock Option or a Nonstatutory Stock Option to purchase shares of Common Stock granted pursuant to the Plan.

(cc) Option Agreement ” means a written agreement between the Company and an Optionholder evidencing the terms and conditions of an Option grant. Each Option Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(dd) Optionholder ” means a person to whom an Option is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Option.

(ee) Other Stock Award ” means an award based in whole or in part by reference to the Common Stock which is granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 6(d).

(ff) Other Stock Award Agreement ” means a written agreement between the Company and a holder of an Other Stock Award evidencing the terms and conditions of an Other Stock Award grant. Each Other Stock Award Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(gg) Outside Director ” means a Director who either (i) is not a current employee of the Company or an “affiliated corporation” (within the meaning of Treasury Regulations

 

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promulgated under Section 162(m) of the Code), is not a former employee of the Company or an “affiliated corporation” who receives compensation for prior services (other than benefits under a tax-qualified retirement plan) during the taxable year, has not been an officer of the Company or an “affiliated corporation,” and does not receive remuneration from the Company or an “affiliated corporation,” either directly or indirectly, in any capacity other than as a Director, or (ii) is otherwise considered an “outside director” for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code.

(hh) Own, ” “ Owned, ” “ Owner, ” “ Ownership A person or Entity shall be deemed to “Own,” to have “Owned,” to be the “Owner” of, or to have acquired “Ownership” of securities if such person or Entity, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise, has or shares voting power, which includes the power to vote or to direct the voting, with respect to such securities.

(ii) Participant ” means a person to whom an Award is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Stock Award.

(jj) Performance Cash Award ” means an award of cash granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 6(c)(ii).

(kk) Performance Criteria ” means the one or more criteria that the Board shall select for purposes of establishing the Performance Goals for a Performance Period. The Performance Criteria that shall be used to establish such Performance Goals may be based on any one of, or combination of, the following as determined by the Board: (i) earnings (including earnings per share and net earnings); (ii) earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation; (iii) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization; (iv) total stockholder return; (v) return on equity or average stockholder’s equity; (vi) return on assets, investment, or capital employed; (vii) stock price; (viii) margin (including gross margin); (ix) income (before or after taxes); (x) operating income; (xi) operating income after taxes; (xii) pre-tax profit; (xiii) operating cash flow; (xiv) sales or revenue targets; (xv) increases in revenue or product revenue; (xvi) expenses and cost reduction goals; (xvii) improvement in or attainment of working capital levels; (xiii) economic value added (or an equivalent metric); (xix) market share; (xx) cash flow; (xxi) cash flow per share; (xxii) share price performance; (xxiii) debt reduction; (xxiv) implementation or completion of projects or processes; (xxv) customer satisfaction; (xxvi) stockholders’ equity; (xxvii) capital expenditures; (xxiii) debt levels; (xxix) operating profit or net operating profit; (xxx) workforce diversity; (xxxi) growth of net income or operating income; (xxxii) billings; and (xxxiii) to the extent that an Award is not intended to comply with Section 162(m) of the Code, other measures of performance selected by the Board.

(ll) Performance Goals ” means, for a Performance Period, the one or more goals established by the Board for the Performance Period based upon the Performance Criteria. Performance Goals may be based on a Company-wide basis, with respect to one or more business units, divisions, Affiliates, or business segments, and in either absolute terms or relative to the performance of one or more comparable companies or the performance of one or more relevant indices. Unless specified otherwise by the Board (i) in the Award Agreement at the time the Award is granted or (ii) in such other document setting forth the Performance Goals at the time the Performance Goals are established, the Board shall appropriately make adjustments in the method of calculating the attainment of Performance Goals for a Performance Period as

 

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follows: (1) to exclude restructuring and/or other nonrecurring charges; (2) to exclude exchange rate effects, as applicable, for non-U.S. dollar denominated Performance Goals; (3) to exclude the effects of changes to generally accepted accounting principles; (4) to exclude the effects of any statutory adjustments to corporate tax rates; and (5) to exclude the effects of any “extraordinary items” as determined under generally accepted accounting principles. In addition, the Board retains the discretion to reduce or eliminate the compensation or economic benefit due upon attainment of Performance Goals and to define the manner of calculating the Performance Criteria it selects to use for such Performance Period. Partial achievement of the specified criteria may result in the payment or vesting corresponding to the degree of achievement as specified in the Stock Award Agreement or the written terms of a Performance Cash Award.

(mm) Performance Period ” means the period of time selected by the Board over which the attainment of one or more Performance Goals will be measured for the purpose of determining a Participant’s right to and the payment of a Stock Award or a Performance Cash Award. Performance Periods may be of varying and overlapping duration, at the sole discretion of the Board.

(nn) Performance Stock Award ” means a Stock Award granted under the terms and conditions of Section 6(c)(i).

(oo) Plan ” means this Dot Hill Systems Corp. 2009 Equity Incentive Plan.

(pp) Restricted Stock Award ” means an award of shares of Common Stock which is granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 6(a).

(qq) Restricted Stock Award Agreement ” means a written agreement between the Company and a holder of a Restricted Stock Award evidencing the terms and conditions of a Restricted Stock Award grant. Each Restricted Stock Award Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(rr) Restricted Stock Unit Award ” means a right to receive shares of Common Stock which is granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 6(b).

(ss) Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement ” means a written agreement between the Company and a holder of a Restricted Stock Unit Award evidencing the terms and conditions of a Restricted Stock Unit Award grant. Each Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(tt) Rule 16b-3 ” means Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act or any successor to Rule 16b-3, as in effect from time to time.

(uu) Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(vv) Stock Appreciation Right ” or “ SAR ” means a right to receive the appreciation on Common Stock that is granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 5.

(ww) Stock Appreciation Right Agreement ” means a written agreement between the Company and a holder of a Stock Appreciation Right evidencing the terms and conditions of a Stock Appreciation Right grant. Each Stock Appreciation Right Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

 

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(xx) Stock Award ” means any right to receive Common Stock granted under the Plan, including an Incentive Stock Option, a Nonstatutory Stock Option, a Restricted Stock Award, a Restricted Stock Unit Award, a Stock Appreciation Right, a Performance Stock Award or any Other Stock Award.

(yy) Stock Award Agreement ” means a written agreement between the Company and a Participant evidencing the terms and conditions of a Stock Award grant. Each Stock Award Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(zz) Subsidiary ” means, with respect to the Company, (i) any corporation of which more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding capital stock having ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors of such corporation (irrespective of whether, at the time, stock of any other class or classes of such corporation shall have or might have voting power by reason of the happening of any contingency) is at the time, directly or indirectly, Owned by the Company, and (ii) any partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which the Company has a direct or indirect interest (whether in the form of voting or participation in profits or capital contribution) of more than fifty percent (50%).

(aaa) Ten Percent Stockholder ” means a person who Owns (or is deemed to Own pursuant to Section 424(d) of the Code) stock possessing more than ten percent (10%) of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any Affiliate.

 

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Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Dana W. Kammersgard, Chief Executive Officer, President and Director, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Dot Hill Systems Corporation;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

(d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

(b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

/s/ DANA W. KAMMERSGARD

Dana W. Kammersgard
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
(Principal Executive Officer)

Date: May 10, 2012

Exhibit 31.2

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Hanif I. Jamal, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Dot Hill Systems Corporation;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

(d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

(b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

/s/ HANIF I. JAMAL

Hanif I. Jamal
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

Date: May 10, 2012

Exhibit 32.1

The following certifications are being furnished solely to accompany the Report pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, and pursuant to SEC Release No. 33-8238 are being “furnished” to the SEC rather than “filed” either as part of the Report or as a separate disclosure statement, and are not to be incorporated by reference into the Report or any other filing of the Company, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing. The foregoing certifications shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of Section 18 or Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Certification of Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as created by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the undersigned officer of Dot Hill Systems Corporation (the “Company”) hereby certifies, to such officer’s knowledge, that:

(i) the accompanying Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2012 (the “Report”) fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

(ii) the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

 

/s/ DANA W. KAMMERSGARD

Dana W. Kammersgard
Chief Executive Officer

Date: May 10, 2012

Certification of Chief Financial Officer

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as created by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the undersigned officer of Dot Hill Systems Corporation (the “Company”) hereby certifies, to such officer’s knowledge, that:

(i) the accompanying Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2012 (the “Report”) fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

(ii) the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

 

/s/ HANIF I. JAMAL

Hanif I. Jamal
Chief Financial Officer

Date: May 10, 2012