−Removed: We are an industry leader with over three decades of experience in providing service assurance and cybersecurity solutions that are based on our pioneering deep packet inspection technology at scale, which are used by many Fortune 500 companies to protect their digital business services against disruption.
+Added: We are an industry leader with nearly four decades of experience in providing service assurance and cybersecurity solutions that are based on our pioneering deep packet inspection technology at scale, which are used by many Fortune 500 companies to protect their digital business services against disruption.
Service providers and enterprises, including local, state and federal government agencies, rely on our solutions to achieve the visibility and protection necessary to optimize network performance, ensure the delivery of high-quality, mission-critical applications and services, gain timely insight into the end user experience and protect their networks from attack.
With our offerings, customers can quickly, efficiently and effectively identify and resolve issues that result in downtime, interruptions to services, poor service quality or compromised data, thereby reducing meantime-to-resolution of issues and driving compelling returns on their investments in their networks and broader technology initiatives.
−Removed: Some of the more significant technology trends and catalysts for our business include the evolution of customers' digital transformation initiatives such as the migration to "edge" environments, like the cloud, the rapidly evolving cybersecurity threat landscape, business intelligence and analytics advancements, and the 5G evolution in both the service provider and enterprise customer verticals.
−Removed: Our operating results are influenced by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the mix and quantity of products and services sold, pricing, costs and availability of materials used in our products, growth in employee-related costs,
−Removed: including commissions, and the expansion of our operations.
−Removed: Factors that affect our ability to maximize our operating results include, but are not limited to, our ability to introduce new products and enhance existing products, the marketplace acceptance of those new or enhanced products, continued expansion into international markets, expansion into new or adjacent markets, development of strategic partnerships, competition, successful acquisition integration efforts, and our ability to control costs and make improvements in a highly competitive industry.
+Added: Some of the more significant technology trends and catalysts for our business include the evolution of customers' digital transformation initiatives such as the migration to "edge" environments, like the cloud, the rapidly evolving cybersecurity threat landscape, business intelligence and analytics advancements, including artificial intelligence, and the 5G technology evolution for both the service provider and enterprise customer verticals.
+Added: Our operating results are influenced by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the volume, mix, and quantity of products and services sold, pricing, costs and availability of materials used in our products, growth in employee-related costs, including commissions, and the expansion of our operations.
+Added: Factors that affect our ability to maximize our operating results include, but are not limited to, our ability to introduce new products and services, enhance existing products and services, the marketplace acceptance of those new or enhanced products and services, continued expansion into international markets, expansion into new or adjacent markets, development of strategic partnerships, competition, successful acquisition integration efforts, and our ability to control costs, retain talent, and make improvements in a highly competitive industry.
Our service assurance solutions are used by enterprises (including government agencies) and service providers to optimize network performance, quickly identify and resolve issues impacting application and service quality, and to gain insight into the end user experience.
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Enterprise Market
−Removed: Within the enterprise market, NetScout's nGeniusONE, ISNG, Omnis, and Arbor Edge Defense offerings enable IT organizations to support a growing range of performance management and cybersecurity use cases including:
+Added: Within the enterprise market, NetScout's nGeniusONE, ISNG, Omnis Cybersecurity solutions, and Arbor Edge Defense offerings enable IT organizations to support a growing range of performance management and cybersecurity use cases including:
• Network Performance Management - Our nGeniusONE analytics and our ISNG real-time information platform provide the necessary insight to optimize network performance, restore service and understand the quality of the users’ experience.
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Our solutions are often used by enterprises to support private cloud computing environments that are aimed at enabling greater, more cost-effective accessibility to applications without compromising the reliability and security of those applications and the network.
−Removed: Our solutions portfolio also includes a range of virtual appliances that can help enterprise customers extend their monitoring of applications deeper into their traditional data centers, confidently migrate applications into public cloud environments and gain a comprehensive, cohesive view into the resulting hybrid cloud environment.
+Added: Our solutions portfolio also includes a range of virtual appliances that can help enterprise customers extend their monitoring of applications deeper into their traditional or "colo" data centers, confidently migrate applications into public cloud environments and gain a comprehensive, cohesive view into the resulting hybrid cloud environment.
• Unified Communications (UC) - We deliver deep application-level unified visibility into voice, data and video services side-by-side in order to understand the interrelationships of all UC services that traverse the network infrastructure and assess quality and performance of the delivery of these services.
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We provide a range of network security solutions under the NetScout Arbor brand that enable enterprises to protect their networks from high-volume and application-specific DDoS attacks, which are aimed at either overwhelming the network with traffic or over-exercising specific functions or features of a website with the intention to disable those functions or features.
−Removed: We have also recently developed enhanced cybersecurity solutions for enterprises with our Omnis suite of products that provide greater deep-dive forensic capabilities as well as analytics that can provide visibility into anomalous behavior on the network that may be indicative of an advanced threat.
+Added: We have also recently developed enhanced cybersecurity solutions for enterprises with our Omnis Cybersecurity suite of products that provide greater deep-dive forensic capabilities as well as analytics that can provide visibility into anomalous behavior on the network that may be indicative of an advanced threat.
These security analytics enable existing enterprise customers to leverage their historical investments in NetScout's service assurance solutions by using the Adaptive Service Intelligence (ASI) data already being generated to support service assurance for cybersecurity use cases.
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Today's service providers are focused on delivering a compelling set of services and ensuring a high-quality user experience, while also striving to minimize operational complexity, control costs and improve automation.
−Removed: This, coupled with the challenge of internet protocol (IP) transformation activities and complex technologies such as 5G, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), Internet Protocol Television (IP-TV), wireless network (WiFi) and cloud services drives the need for a more automated and unified approach to managing service delivery and the subscriber experience.
+Added: This, coupled with the challenge of internet protocol (IP) transformation activities and complex technologies such as 5G, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), Internet Protocol Television (IP-TV), wireless network (WiFi), Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and cloud services drives the need for a more automated and unified approach to managing service delivery and the subscriber experience and protecting the mobile network.
Our service provider solutions support an expanding range of use cases including:
• Service Assurance for Mobile, Fixed Line and Cable Operators - The fundamental transformation of the mobile network to all-IP enables mobile operators to build highly-scalable service delivery environments to offer new services to meet the growing subscriber demand for data, voice and video-centric services and to consolidate and simplify network operations.
−Removed: Mobile operators use our offerings to gain real-time, detailed IP packet-level insight and core-to-access visibility, which enables them to ensure services offered over the network meet certain pre-defined quality levels for an optimal subscriber experience.
−Removed: NetScout's service assurance solutions help service providers effectively manage capacity, assess overall network quality, take proactive steps to modify the network before issues impact subscribers, and quickly identify and troubleshoot network problems.
+Added: Mobile operators use our offerings to gain real-time, detailed IP packet-level insight and core-to-access visibility, which enables them to ensure services offered over the network meet certain pre-defined
+Added: quality levels for an optimal subscriber experience.
+Added: Our service assurance solutions help service providers effectively manage capacity, assess overall network quality, take proactive steps to modify the network before issues impact subscribers, and quickly identify and troubleshoot network problems.
In addition to improving the overall return on their network infrastructure investments, mobile operators using our solutions also benefit from improved network quality and unique customer insights - both of which contribute to subscriber acquisition, retention, and monetization.
−Removed: The growing demand for high-bandwidth triple-play services, broadband connectivity, content anywhere, IP-TV, on-demand video traffic, new extended WiFi initiatives and carrier Ethernet services presents fixed line and cable multi-system operators with significant revenue opportunities.
+Added: The growing demand for high-bandwidth triple-play services, broadband connectivity, content anywhere, IP-TV, on-demand video traffic, newer 5G technology, extended WiFi initiatives, and carrier Ethernet services presents fixed line and cable multi-system operators with significant revenue opportunities.
IP has become the de facto convergence mechanism for access, distribution and core networks, enabling new service offerings and simplifying network operations while reducing total cost of operations.
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By combining network traffic data with other information, including support requests, subscriber calling plans, demographic data and other details, service providers can make more timely decisions about their offerings and sales and marketing initiatives to acquire, retain and further monetize their subscribers.
−Removed: NetScout's analytics deliver timely insights into a service provider's subscribers, services, networks, and applications, as well as easy export capabilities so that this information can be integrated into their data lakes and third-party analytic platforms.
+Added: Our analytics deliver timely insights into a service provider's subscribers, services, networks, and applications, as well as easy export capabilities so that this information can be integrated into their data lakes and third-party analytic platforms.
• DDoS Protection - Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including leading telecommunications providers, cable multi-service operators and cloud providers, have seen significant increases in the sophistication, scale and frequency of high-volume and application-specific DDoS attacks on their networks.
−Removed: DDoS attacks are aimed at disrupting the
−Removed: online services of an ISP's business customer by overwhelming the network with traffic or by over-exercising specific functions or features of a website with the intention to disable those functions or features.
+Added: DDoS attacks are aimed at disrupting the online services of an ISP's business customer by overwhelming the network with traffic or by over-exercising specific functions or features of a website with the intention to disable those functions or features.
NetScout Arbor smart DDoS solutions are used by a wide range of ISPs around the world to help protect their networks against DDoS attacks, and to resell certain DDoS offerings to their enterprise customers.
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Our solutions are deployed by customers in one of four form factors:
−Removed: as integrated hardware and software, as software only that is then integrated into commercial off-the-shelf hardware, in a virtualized environment as software only, or as a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution.
+Added: as integrated hardware and software appliance, as software only that is then integrated into commercial off-the-shelf hardware, in a virtualized environment as software only, or as a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution.
Our solutions help our customers meet the increasing demands and an ever-changing technology landscape of IP networks, service, applications, and cybersecurity threats.
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Our primary products can be categorized as follows:
−Removed: Service Assurance Solutions for Network and Application Performance and Business Intelligence Analytics
+Added: Service Assurance Solutions for Network Application Performance, and Business Intelligence Analytics
• nGeniusONE Management Software and Analytic Modules - Our nGeniusONE management software is used to support our service provider, enterprise, and government customers enabling them to predict, preempt, and resolve network and service delivery problems while facilitating the optimization and capacity planning of their network infrastructures.
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Our smart DDoS offerings for service providers include Arbor Sightline for DDoS visibility and threat detection, Arbor Threat Mitigation System for removing DDoS attack traffic from the network without disruption to key network services and Arbor Insight for advanced analytical and forensic information.
−Removed: Our smart DDoS offerings for enterprises include Arbor Edge Defense, a perimeter-based appliance for identifying and blocking incoming DDoS attacks and outbound malicious communications, and Arbor Cloud, a global, cloud-based traffic scrubbing service that
−Removed: quickly removes DDoS attack traffic.
+Added: Our smart DDoS offerings for enterprises include Arbor Edge Defense, a perimeter-based appliance for identifying and blocking incoming DDoS attacks and outbound malicious communications, and Arbor Cloud, a global, cloud-based traffic scrubbing service that quickly removes DDoS attack traffic.
We plan to further enhance and expand these capabilities in ways that will enable greater adoption of our solutions by service provider and enterprise customers.
−Removed: • Advanced Threat Detection – We are actively expanding our enterprise cybersecurity offerings to better leverage the investment that our enterprise customers have made in our traditional service assurance solutions.
−Removed: By collecting network traffic via our probes, we can expand our value proposition by providing specialized analytics for both service assurance and cybersecurity.
−Removed: We have introduced and will continue to advance solutions such as new packet forensic capabilities, which includes Omnis Cyber Intelligence, designed specifically for security operations teams.
+Added: • Advanced Threat Detection – We have actively expanded our en terprise cybersecurity offerings into the Network Detection and Response (NDR) market to better leverage the investment that our enterprise customers have made in our traditional service assurance solutions.
+Added: By collecting network traffic via our probes, we can expand our value proposition by providing specialized analytics for both service assurance and cybersecurity offerings.
+Added: We continue to advance solutions such as new packet forensic capabilities, which includes Omnis Cyber Intelligence, designed specifically for security operations teams.
This solution also creates anomalous behavior analytics that security teams can use to identify and investigate potential advanced network threats.
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Our engineering teams are focused on advancing technical innovation across our broad product portfolio.
−Removed: By capitalizing on our extensive experience with global enterprise, service provider and government organizations with IP-based networks, we remain well positioned to cross-leverage our technology development across all major platforms and relevant technologies to address the evolving demands of current and prospective customers.
−Removed: • Deliver Pervasive Visibility - By making our visibility products available in multiple form factors, including software that can be deployed with commercial off-the-shelf servers and as virtual appliances, we believe that it is easier and more affordable for customers to deploy our technology more broadly across their hybrid network and IT infrastructures.
+Added: By capitalizing on our extensive experience with global enterprise, service provider and government organizations with IP-based networks, we believe we remain well positioned to cross-leverage our technology development across all major platforms and relevant technologies to address the evolving demands of current and prospective customers.
+Added: • Deliver Pervasive Visibility - By making our visibility products available in multiple form factors, including as an integrated appliance, software that can be deployed with commercial off-the-shelf servers and as virtual appliances, we believe that it is easier and more affordable for customers to deploy our technology more broadly across their hybrid network and IT infrastructures.
By offering more cost-effective instrumentation options, we are well positioned to help existing and new customers gain greater visibility into more places across their end-to-end network environments and address an even broader range of service assurance and cybersecurity use cases.
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We believe that this element of our strategy is integral to gaining access to larger budgets, increasing spending from existing customers, attracting new customers, and increasing our total addressable market.
−Removed: In particular, we are broadening our cybersecurity solutions beyond the DDoS market with enterprise security offerings that can help our customers extract more value from the network traffic that we are already collecting to support service assurance use cases.
+Added: In particular, we are broadening our cybersecurity solutions beyond the DDoS market with enterprise security offerings such as Network Detection and Response (NDR) that can help our customers extract more value from the network traffic that we are already collecting to support cybersecurity use cases.
• Fortify and Expand Existing Customer Relationships - We have an expansive, global customer base of service providers and enterprises that have purchased our products in support of major technology and network initiatives that they have implemented over the past decade.
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While certain components, such as computer network interface cards, are currently purchased from a single supplier, we have identified alternate suppliers that we believe can be qualified relatively quickly to fulfill our needs should an issue arise with the existing supplier.
−Removed: We continue to monitor the impact of the war in Ukraine, global geopolitical tension, worsening macroeconomic conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other factors, on our supply chain.
+Added: We continue to monitor the impact of the war in Ukraine and the hostilities in the Middle East, global geopolitical tension, and macroeconomi c conditions, as w ell as other factors, on our supply chain.
Although we have been able to manage supply challenges in the past, there is no guarantee that we will be able to continue to manage these challenges without significant impacts to our business if our supply chain becomes increasingly strained.
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In many cases, there are multiple channel partners with the required contractual relationships, so dependence on any single channel partner is not significant.
−Removed: During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, one direct customer, Verizon, accounted for more than 10% of our total revenue, while no indirect channel partners accounted for more than 10% of our total revenue.
During the fiscal years ended March 31, 2024 and 2022, no direct customers or indirect channel partners accounted for more than 10% of our total revenue.
+Added: During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, one direct customer, Verizon, accounted for more than 10% of our total revenue, while no indirect channel partners accounted for more than 10% of our total revenue.
Our marketing organization drives our market research, strategy, product positioning and messaging, and produces and manages a variety of programs such as customer forums, trade shows, industry events, advertising, public and analyst relations, social media, direct mail, seminars and webinars, sales promotions and other online marketing programs.
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Our continued investment in research and development is crucial to our business and our continued success in the market.
−Removed: We have assembled a team of highly skilled engineers with expertise in various technologies associated with our business and the
−Removed: technologies being deployed by our customers.
+Added: We have assembled a team of highly skilled engineers with expertise in various technologies associated with our business and the technologies being deployed by our customers.
We plan to continue to enhance and expand our product offerings and capabilities in the near future while integrating key capabilities from acquired product lines as appropriate.
12 unchanged sentences
Service engagements are also included in certain orders.
−Removed: Customers generally may reschedule or cancel unfulfilled orders with little or no penalty.
+Added: Customers generally may
+Added: reschedule or cancel unfulfilled orders with little or no penalty.
Our total backlog at any particular time is not necessarily indicative of future sales levels.
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In some cases, we have begun these projects but have not yet hit billable milestones.
−Removed: At March 31, 2023 and 2022, deferred revenue and accounts receivable each contained a gross balance of $8.3 million and $19.9 million, respectively, related to these radio frequency propagation modeling project orders.
−Removed: Radio frequency propagation modeling project orders received in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022 allowed NetScout to bill for the entire projects based upon partial delivery.
−Removed: At March 31, 2023, deferred revenue related to these radio frequency propagation modeling projects included a gross balance of $8.3 million compared to a gross balance of $19.9 million at March 31, 2022.
−Removed: A majority of the revenue for these projects is expected to be recognized into revenue throughout the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.
+Added: At March 31, 2024, deferred revenue contained a gross balance of $1.2 million related to these radio frequency propagation modeling project orders.
+Added: At March 31, 2023, deferred revenue and accounts receivable each contained a gross balance of $8.3 million related to these radio frequency propagation modeling project orders.
We compete with many companies in the markets we serve.
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In the enterprise market, our competitors include companies who provide network performance management, application performance management, infrastructure performance management and other related solutions such as CA Technologies (a Broadcom Inc.
−Removed: business), Cisco Systems, Dynatrace, Datadog, ExtraHop, IBM, Infovista, Keysight, Viavi, Gigamon, New Relic, Riverbed Technology, Splunk and SolarWinds.
+Added: business), Cisco Systems, Dynatrace, Datadog, ExtraHop, IBM, Infovista, Viavi, Gigamon, New Relic, Riverbed Technology, Splunk (a Cisco Systems business) and SolarWinds.
In addition, we both compete with and partner with large enterprise management vendors, such as HP and IBM, who offer performance management solutions.
1 unchanged sentence
In the service provider market, we compete with traditional probe vendors, network equipment manufacturers, big data and analytics vendors, and virtualization vendors.
−Removed: These vendors include Anritsu, Cisco, Ericsson, EXFO, Huawei, IBM, Infovista, Niksun, Elisa Polystar, Radcom, Splunk, Nokia and Viavi.
+Added: These vendors include Anritsu, Cisco, Ericsson, EXFO, Huawei, IBM, Infovista, Niksun, Elisa Polystar, Radcom, Splunk (a Cisco Systems business), Nokia and Viavi.
We face additional competitive threats from startups and new entrants that seek to offer innovative solutions in an industry characterized by rapid technological change.
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In the service provider DDoS solutions market, we compete under the NetScout Arbor brand with a broad range of vendors including Radware, Akamai, F5 Networks, A10 Networks, Fortinet, Fastly, Cloudflare and Corero Network Security.
−Removed: In the enterprise market for Network Detection and Response (NDR) solutions that utilize specialized threat analysis, traffic analysis, and packet forensics to detect and raise alerts of advanced network threats, we compete under the NetScout Omnis Security brand with a range of vendors including Darktrace, Vectra Networks, Extrahop, Cisco, and other specialist providers.
+Added: In the enterprise market for Network Detection and Response (NDR) solutions that utilize specialized threat analysis, traffic analysis, and packet forensics to detect and raise alerts of advanced network threats, we compete under the NetScout Omnis Cybersecurity brand with a range of vendors including Darktrace, Vectra Networks, Extrahop, Cisco, and other specialist providers.
Our ability to sustain a competitive advantage depends on our ability to deliver continued technology innovation and adapt to meet the evolving needs of our customers.
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We rely on patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws and contract rights to establish and maintain our rights in our technology and products.
−Removed: While our intellectual property rights are an important element in our success, our business as a whole does not depend on any one particular patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, license, or other intellectual property right.
−Removed: We use contracts, statutory laws, domestic and foreign intellectual property registration processes, and international intellectual property treaties to police and protect our intellectual property portfolio and rights from infringement.
+Added: While our intellectual property rights are an important element in our success, our business does not depend on any one particular patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, license, or other intellectual property right.
+Added: We use contracts, statutory laws, domestic and foreign intellectual property registration processes, and international intellectual property treaties to protect our intellectual property portfolio and rights from infringement.
From a contractual perspective, we use license agreements and non-disclosure agreements to control the use of our intellectual property and protect our trade secrets from unauthorized use and disclosure.
2 unchanged sentences
We have obtained U.S.
−Removed: and foreign trademark registrations to preserve and protect certain trademarks and trade names.
−Removed: filed and obtained U.S.
+Added: and international trademark registrations to preserve and protect certain trademarks.
+Added: We have also filed and obtained U.S.
patents and international counterparts to protect certain unique NetScout inventions from being unlawfully exploited by other parties.
−Removed: However, there is no assurance that pending or future patent applications will be granted, that we will be able to obtain patents covering all of our products, or that we will be able to license, if needed, patents from other companies on favorable terms or at all.
+Added: However, there is no assurance that pending or future patent applications will be granted, that we will be able to obtain patents covering all our products, or that we will be able to license, if needed, patents from other companies on favorable terms or at all.
Our proprietary rights are subject to other risks and uncertainties described under Item 1A "Risk Factors."
Human Capital Management
−Removed: NetScout strives to remain a team of entrepreneurs, with the agility of a start-up and the heft of a global technology company.
+Added: We strive to remain a team of entrepreneurs, with the agility of a start-up and the sophistication of a global technology company.
We believe that our culture is critical to our success and growth.
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We believe our commitment to our culture and values, diversity, equity and inclusion, talent development, and health and safety, and providing for competitive total rewards has motivated our employees around the world and keeps our spirit thriving, and everyone, regardless of role, brings value to the organization.
−Removed: Our Compensation Committee oversees our key human capital management strategies and programs and shares oversight of environmental, health, and safety matters, with the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors.
+Added: Our Compensation Committee oversees our key human capital management strategies and programs and shares oversight of health and safety matters with the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors.
At March 31, 2024, we had 2,296 employees worldwide – over 99% of whom were full time employees.
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As a result of our philosophy, we have pledged to be considerate, loyal and appreciative of our employees while also enacting decision-making processes and business strategies that result in efficient business outcomes.
−Removed: We take seriously our mission as Guardians of the Connected World.
−Removed: Our internal NETSCOUT WITHOUT BORDERS initiative is a key component in our employee engagement program and allows us to continuously communicate our mission and goals to all of our global employees through a series of town hall meetings that provide direct interaction with the CEO, in-depth focus groups, and follow-on development programs.
−Removed: These meetings allow us to stay connected with all employees and ensure everyone is equipped with the knowledge and tools so all their efforts can be aligned with our vision, mission and goals as part of our ongoing internal efforts.
−Removed: The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee oversees these efforts as part of its comprehensive review of environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.
+Added: We dedicate heightened attention to our mission as Guardians of the Connected World and this mission serves as a key component in our employee engagement program.
+Added: We continuously communicate our mission, values, and goals to all of our global employees through town hall meetings that provide direct interaction with the CEO, and in-depth focus groups that support messaging from top executives.
+Added: These meetings allow leaders to stay connected with all employees and ensure everyone is equipped with the knowledge and tools to align their efforts with our vision, mission and goals.
+Added: The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee oversees these efforts as part of its comprehensive review of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters and the Compensation Committee oversees NetScout’s human capital management as related to culture and values as well.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are important to our organizational excellence and complement our core values of performing with integrity, compassion, collaboration, and innovation.
−Removed: We embrace and encourage our employees' differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique.
−Removed: We recently revised our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy and seek to enhance our employees' understanding of DEI through company-wide training, tracked and reviewed with the executive team.
−Removed: In addition, we have a designated DEI program team, reporting to the Chief Human Resources Officer, to foster transparent and equitable processes in employee engagement, onboarding, learning and development, policymaking, and career planning.
−Removed: A cornerstone of our DEI strategy is collaborating with industry and university partners to enhance our diversity.
−Removed: We work with industry partners, including third-party recruiting organizations that specialize in diversity in hiring, and post our open position requisitions on diversity job boards.
−Removed: We track our progress and make improvements to reach a broader, more diverse, talent base.
+Added: We embrace our employees' differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique.
+Added: We revised our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy and seek to enhance our employees' understanding of DEI through company-wide training.
+Added: In addition, we have a designated DEI program team that includes members from multiple functional areas and whose activities are overseen by our executive ESG Steering Committee, to foster transparent and equitable processes in employee engagement, onboarding, learning and development, policymaking, and career planning.
+Added: A cornerstone of our DEI strategy is collaborating with industry, nonprofit and university partners to enhance our diversity and to help advance underrepresented populations into technology professions.
+Added: We work with third-party recruiting organizations that specialize in diversity in hiring, and post our open position requisitions on diversity job boards.
We also partner with universities with diverse student enrollment to recruit college hires and summer interns.
+Added: We collaborate with several nonprofit organizations to provide technology education and internship opportunities in the tech field to members of underrepresented communities.
Talent Development
−Removed: NetScout invests in the ongoing development of its employees across the globe.
+Added: We invest in the ongoing development of its employees across the globe.
As part of that program, we offer opportunities to identify leaders and develop and support all employees, including:
−Removed: • Career path development – to document increasing levels of leadership responsibility, creating a transparent process, so that all employees have access to information necessary to build a career plan at NetScout.
−Removed: • Management and leadership development – to support an inclusive workplace and foster consistent management practices across the globe.
−Removed: • Strengthen high-performing teams – For selected leaders, we partner with the Center for Higher Ambition Leadership to offer programs that strengthen high-performing teams.
−Removed: Environmental, Health, and Safety Regulatory Compliance
−Removed: NetScout's Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) Council is responsible for EHS policy, managing and coordinating EHS regulatory compliance, and tracking goals and results.
−Removed: The EHS Council reports to senior executives and its results are reported to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors.
+Added: • Management and leadership development – to create leaders who provide direction, apply disciplined management practices, collaborate across functions, and understand the impact they have on others.
+Added: • DEI management training – to support an inclusive workplace and foster consistent management practices across the globe.
+Added: • Management talent assessment – to bring greater transparency and understanding of required skills and abilities as we identify leaders at all levels.
+Added: Health and Safety Regulatory Compliance
+Added: Our Health and Safety (H&S) Council is responsible for H&S policy, managing and coordinating H&S regulatory compliance, and tracking goals and results.
+Added: The H&S Council reports to senior executives and its results are reported to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors.
Total Rewards
1 unchanged sentence
Our compensation package includes market-competitive pay, cash and equity incentive compensation, an Employee Stock Purchase Plan, retirement benefits, health benefits, paid time off and leave benefits.
−Removed: Environmental Social Governance
−Removed: We believe that effectively managing ESG matters is an important part of creating business value.
+Added: Environmental, Social and Governance
+Added: We believe that effectively managing ESG matters is an important part of creating long-term value.
As set out in its Charter, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee oversees our ESG program.
−Removed: The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee meets regularly and reviews and advises on ESG strategy and apprises the full Board of Directors, which also considers our ESG program and strategy as well as its alignment with our mission.
−Removed: Relatedly, the Audit Committee also regularly reviews ESG-related topics such as enterprise risk management, our anticorruption program, ethics and compliance issues, supply chain issues including human rights protections, and cybersecurity and data privacy.
−Removed: The ESG Steering Committee, under the strategic direction of the Chief Executive Officer and chaired by NetScout's General Counsel, provides guidance and management oversight for the ESG program.
−Removed: The Office of ESG, chaired by our General Counsel in his role as Chief ESG Officer, is responsible for the development and implementation of the ESG program.
−Removed: With representation across key business functions, the mandate of the ESG Steering Committee is to consider our existing ESG efforts, understand stakeholder perspectives, identify areas for improvement that align with our business, and work collaboratively to support programs designed to accelerate ESG initiatives.
−Removed: We have adopted four ESG pillars that lay out our current top ESG priorities, underpinned by a strong governance focus:
−Removed: Demonstrating product leadership through sustainability by design and helping our customers reduce their environmental footprint, including through reducing electricity requirements of our products;
−Removed: Reducing electricity use in our facilities, with emphasis on our engineering labs;
−Removed: Furthering our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts alongside our employee engagement programs;
−Removed: Supporting community digital inclusion programs that improve underserved communities’ participation in the connected world.
−Removed: NetScout's global ESG program encompasses a broad range of areas, including environmental sustainability, responsible management of our supply chain, human capital, ethical business practices, and data privacy and security.
−Removed: NetScout continues to seek opportunities to align ESG with our core business strategy and more thoroughly integrate ESG into our operations.
−Removed: Information Security
−Removed: Cybersecurity, data privacy and data protection are critical to our business.
−Removed: As such, we have developed information security designed toward vigilant protection of personal data and maintaining vigorous standards of privacy and security.
−Removed: We take a layered defense approach to protect confidentiality and prevent data compromise and breaches, including technology safeguards, organizational safeguards such as training and awareness programs, and physical safeguards.
−Removed: We maintain a robust Information Security Program (ISP) to help ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of corporate data and the systems storing this information.
−Removed: Our ISP also includes annual information security awareness training for employees and audits of our systems and enhanced training for specialized personnel, and we have instituted regular phishing email
−Removed: simulations for all employees and all contractors with access to corporate email systems to enhance awareness and responsiveness to such possible threats.
−Removed: Our ISP also includes review and assessment by external, independent third parties, and we achieved ISO 27001 certification demonstrating our adherence to ISP best practices, including risk assessment, protection against threats, legal compliance, and incident response and mitigation.
−Removed: Our ISP also includes a data security incident response plan that provides controls and procedures for timely and accurate reporting of any material cybersecurity incident.
−Removed: We are committed to managing our legal and contractual compliance obligations with respect to security and privacy laws, including the EU General Data Privacy Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act.
−Removed: We have devoted considerable resources to ensuring compliance with applicable data privacy laws and developing our privacy policy and providing regular security training to employees.
−Removed: We review cybersecurity and data privacy issues regularly with the Audit Committee and with the full Board.
−Removed: The Audit Committee is comprised entirely of independent directors, some of whom have work experience related to information security issues or oversight.
−Removed: In the last three years, the expenses we have incurred from information security breach incidences, including penalties and settlements, of which there were none, were immaterial.
−Removed: We take our customers' information security and privacy commitments seriously.
−Removed: The security features of our products are designed to mitigate data risks, such as loss or unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure.
−Removed: Our products allow customers to customize a security strategy in several ways, from the operating system and between system communications to access control of individual modules, role-based data visibility, and packet and data storage configurations.
−Removed: We have features in our products that allow masking of sensitive data, and, where possible, minimization through aggregation and measures to control data access.
−Removed: Our nGeniusONE and Omnis products are based on hardened Linux operating systems and updated software packages to reduce security vulnerabilities, and administrators can further secure the server and appliance hardware by purchasing appliances with self-encrypting drives.
−Removed: NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS virtual and physical solutions provide similar operational protection.
−Removed: For a discussion of the risks we face related to information security, see Part I, Item 1A.
−Removed: "Risk Factors".
+Added: The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee meets regularly and reviews and advises on ESG strategy and apprises the full Board of Directors, which also considers our overall ESG program and strategy as well as its alignment with our mission.
+Added: The Audit Committee also regularly reviews ESG-related topics such as enterprise risk management, our anticorruption program, ethics and compliance issues, supply chain issues including human rights protections, and data privacy and security.
+Added: The Compensation Committee regularly reviews ESG-related topics such as talent development and human capital management as well as compensation, DEI, and leadership training.
+Added: The ESG Steering Committee, under the strategic direction of the Chief Executive Officer and chaired by our General Counsel, who also serves as our Chief ESG Officer, provides guidance and management oversight for the ESG program.
+Added: The Office of ESG, chaired by our General Counsel, acting in his role of Chief ESG Officer, is responsible for the development and implementation of the ESG program.
+Added: With representation across key business functions, the mandate of the Office of ESG is to consider our existing ESG efforts, understand stakeholder perspectives (including customers, investors, and employees among others), identify areas for improvement that align with our business, and work collaboratively to support programs designed to accelerate ESG initiatives in a practical, cost-effective way.
+Added: Our global ESG program encompasses a broad range of areas, including sustainable operations, responsible management of our supply chain, human capital, ethical business practices, and data privacy and security.
+Added: We continue to seek opportunities to align ESG with our core business strategy and more thoroughly integrate ESG into our operations.
+Added: Government Regulation
+Added: As a company with global operations, we are subject to a variety of evolving regulatory requirements in the countries in which we operate or in which we offer our service assurance and cybersecurity solutions, including, among other things, with respect to data privacy, AI, information security and other legal, regulatory and compliance requirements.
+Added: In the ordinary course of business, we may collect, receive, use, store, generate, transfer, dispose of, transmit, share, and process sensitive, proprietary, and confidential information, including personal information, business data, trade secrets, intellectual property, and confidential third-party data.
+Added: Accordingly, we may be subject to numerous data privacy and security obligations, including federal, state, and local laws, regulations, guidance, and other obligations related to data privacy and security.
+Added: Additionally, to the extent we collect personal information from individuals outside of the United States, we are, or may become, subject to foreign data privacy and security laws, such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation ("EU GDPR").
+Added: Foreign data privacy and security laws impose significant and complex compliance obligations on entities that are subject to those laws.
+Added: We are also subject to global laws and regulations that govern or restrict our business and activities in certain countries and with certain persons, including the U.S.
+Added: Commerce Department's Export Administration Regulations and economic and trade sanctions regulations maintained by OFAC, as well as anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws and regulations, including the FCPA and the U.K.
+Added: These laws are examples of the stringent and evolving regulatory frameworks related to our business activities that may increase our compliance obligations and exposure for any noncompliance.
+Added: For more information on the potential impacts of government regulations affecting our business, see "Risk Factors" included under Part I, Item 1A.
Corporate Information
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Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.