Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Overview
Quantum delivers end-to-end solutions to analyze and enrich, store and manage, and protect and preserve unstructured data across its entire lifecycle. We specialize in solutions for video data, images, and other large files because this “unstructured” data represents more than 80% of all data being created, according to leading industry analyst firms. This unstructured data has driven a fundamental shift in the nature of data and the role data plays in every industry. It is exponentially larger than traditional corporate data, contains immense value, and must be captured, protected, and stored for many years, decades, and longer. It is no longer just about storing data— organizations need to extract value from their data. Locked inside video, imagery, security camera footage, scientific data sets, and other sensor-derived data is a wealth of information for informed decision-making.
As a result, organizations need end-to-end solutions that allow them to manage and preserve data for decades and to easily extract insights from the detail. Whether data lives in the workplace, at the edge, or in the cloud, we provide organizations with the technology, software, and services they need to store, manage, protect, and enrich data throughout its lifecycle.
Products and Services
Our portfolio of products includes primary storage software and systems, secondary storage software and systems, as well as devices and media.
Primary Storage Software and Systems include:
• Myriad All-Flash File and Object Storage Software: All-flash scale-out file and object storage for high performance enterprise unstructured data applications such as AI, machine learning, and data analytics.
• StorNext Hybrid Flash/Disk File Storage Software: For video editing, post-production, and streaming applications, as well as large digital file archives.
• Unified Surveillance Platform Software : Unified compute and storage for video surveillance recording, storage, and analytics.
• CatDV Asset Management Software : For indexing, cataloging, enriching video, audio, and image files, and workflow orchestration.
Secondary Storage Software and Systems include:
• ActiveScale Object Storage Software: Extremely scalable and durable storage for long term data preservation and protection.
• DXi Backup Appliances : Purpose-built backup appliances for high-speed backup and recovery and multisite data protection.
• Scalar Tape Storage : Low cost, secure storage for long term data archiving and offline data protection. Scalar tape storage systems are used by the world’s largest hyperscalers as well as thousands of enterprises worldwide.
Devices and Media includes the sale of standalone Linear Tape-Open (“LTO®”) tape drives for small business data protection and archiving, and LTO® media for use in tape storage systems.
We also offer a broad portfolio of services including 24x7x365 global support, deployment and consulting services, education services, and Quantum-as-a-Service. Our services are delivered with a combination of expertise and technology, including the MyQuantum Service Delivery Platform, and Cloud-Based Analytics (CBA) AIOps software for proactive remote monitoring.
Global Support and Services, and Warranty
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Our global services strategy is an integral component of our total customer solution. Service is typically a significant purchase factor for customers considering long-term storage for archiving and retention or data protection storage solutions. Consequently, our ability to provide comprehensive installation and integration services as well as maintenance services can be a noteworthy competitive advantage to attract new customers and retain existing customers. In addition, we believe that our ability to retain long-term customer relationships and secure repeat business is frequently tied directly to our comprehensive service capabilities and performance.
Our extensive use of technology and innovative product intelligence allows us to scale our global services operations to meet the needs of our customers. We are currently able to provide service to customers in more than 100 countries, supported by 24-hour, multi-language technical support centers located in North America, Europe, and Asia. We provide our customers with warranty coverage on our products. Customers with high availability requirements may also purchase additional services to obtain faster response times on our high-performance shared storage systems, tape systems, and disk backup systems. We offer this additional support coverage at a variety of response levels up to 24-hours a day, seven-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year, for customers with stringent high-availability needs. We provide support ranging from repair and replacement to 24-hour rapid exchange to on-site service support for our midrange and enterprise-class products. In addition to these traditional installation and maintenance services, we also provide project management, managed services, and other value-added services to enhance our customer’s experience and engagement. These incremental services create a deeper relationship with customers that enables them to maximize the value of our solution and better positions us to retain our customers through technology transitions.
We generally warrant our hardware products against defects for periods ranging from one to three years from the date of sale. We provide warranty and non-warranty repair services through our service team and third-party service providers. In addition, we utilize various other third-party service providers throughout the world to perform repair and warranty services for us to reach additional geographic areas and industries to provide quality services in a cost-effective manner.
Research and Development
We are a solutions company that relies on technology advancements to compete in an industry characterized by rapid change and evolving customer requirements. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to introduce new products and features to meet end user needs. Our research and development teams are focused on technology and services to make our end-to-end solution of storage systems and data management software easier to manage at scale, software enhancements to make our storage more searchable and accessible, software-defined hyperconverged storage technology, next generation solid-state and hard-drive storage system software, data deduplication and other data reduction technologies, and making tape and other mediums even more efficient as a solution for medium for long term archival storage.
Sales and Distribution Channels
Product Sales Channels
We utilize distributors, value-added resellers ("VARs") and direct market resellers ("DMRs") in our sales process. Our reseller program provides our channel partners the option of purchasing products directly or through distribution channels and provides them access to a more comprehensive product line. Additionally, we sell directly to multiple large corporate entities and government agencies.
OEM Relationships
We sell our products to several original equipment manufacturer ("OEM") customers that resell our hardware products under their own brand names and typically assume responsibility for product sales, end user service and support. We also license our software to certain OEM customers that include this software in their own brand name products. These OEM relationships enable us to reach end users not served by our branded distribution channels or our direct sales force. They also allow us to sell to select geographic or vertical markets where specific OEMs have exceptional strength.
Customers
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We provide solutions to multiple industries globally. Historically, our primary customers are in hyperscale, technology and industrial, media and entertainment, federal government, life sciences and healthcare, and financial industries. In addition, we sell to OEMs, distributors, VARs and DMRs to reach end user customers. Sales to our top five customers represented 32%, 17%, and 16% of revenue in fiscal 2023, fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021, respectively, of which one of our hyperscale customers represented 10% or more of our total 2023 revenue.
Competition
The markets in which we participate are highly competitive, characterized by rapid technological change and changing customer requirements. In some cases, our competitors in one market area are customers or suppliers in another. Our competitors often have greater financial, technical, manufacturing, marketing, or other resources than we do. Additionally, the competitive landscape continues to change due to merger and acquisition activity as well as new entrants into the market.
As our customers look to use more public cloud storage services, these providers offer a competitive alternative, as well as new platforms and new ways to deploy our software. We expect that the data storage infrastructures of the future will be both hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud, meaning our customers will store their data in the various large public cloud environments, and also want to use services from multiple public cloud vendors.
Our primary storage solutions, including object storage systems, primarily face competition from the EMC business unit of Dell Inc. (“Dell”), International Business Machines Corporation, (“IBM”), NetApp, Inc., (“NetApp”), and other enterprise storage vendors in the markets we serve.
Our secondary storage solutions, primarily tape storage systems, compete in the midrange and enterprise reseller and end user markets with IBM and other tape library vendors. Competitors for entry-level and OEM tape systems include BDT Products, Inc. and several others that supply or manufacture similar products. In addition, disk backup products and cloud storage are an indirect competitive alternative to tape storage. Our backup storage systems primarily compete with products sold by Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company and Veritas Technologies LLC.
Manufacturing and Supply Chain
Quantum has a global supply chain and operations organization, with contract manufacturers located in the U.S. and Mexico along with supporting third-party logistics companies in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region (“EMEA”), and the Asia-Pacific region, or (“APAC”). Our supply chain and manufacturing strategy minimizes geo-political and environmental causal risks and provides flexibility to support demand fluctuations by region.
Quantum primary storage and secondary disk-based storage systems are sold as appliances that combine Quantum software with servers that are procured from various server vendors. Quantum sources these servers from various vendors, then uses contract manufacturers for final integration and shipment to customers. Quantum's tape storage systems are designed by Quantum and manufactured by a global contract manufacturer.
Tape media is manufactured in Japan and distributed globally.
The global supply chain and logistics have been severely constrained and impacted by inflationary pricing for the past couple of years. While we are cautiously optimistic and see signs of improvement over the past year with supply of both server and tape automation components, we continue to see some constraints. While some components continue to have extended lead times and often non-cancellable purchase orders are required, Quantum continues to work with suppliers to minimize lead times and associated liabilities. We continue to focus on a number of actions including alternate component qualifications, more aggressive management of contract manufacturers, and model changes for better logistics performance and visibility.
Intellectual Property and Technology
We generally rely on patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws and contract rights to establish and maintain our proprietary rights in our technology and products. As of March 31, 2023, we hold over 160 U.S. patents. In general, these patents have a 20-year term from the first effective filing date for each patent. We may
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also hold foreign patents and patent applications for certain of our products and technologies. Although we believe that our patents and applications have significant value, rapidly changing technology in our industry means that our future success may also depend heavily on the technical competence and creative skills of our employees.
From time to time, third parties have asserted that the manufacture and sale of our products have infringed on their patents. We are not knowingly infringing any third-party patents. Should it ultimately be determined that licenses for third-party patents are required, we will undertake best efforts to obtain such licenses on commercially reasonable terms. See Note 11: Commitments and Contingencies for additional disclosures regarding lawsuits alleging patent infringement.
On occasion, we have entered into various patent licensing and cross-licensing agreements with other companies. We may enter into patent cross-licensing agreements with other third parties in the future as part of our normal business activities. These agreements, when and if entered into, would enable these third parties to use certain patents we own and enable us to use certain patents owned by these third parties. We have also sold certain patents, retaining a royalty-free license for these patents.
We are a member of the consortium that develops, patents, and licenses Linear Tape-Open, (or “LTO® tape”) technology to media manufacturing companies. We receive royalty payments for LTO media technology sold under licensing agreements. We have also entered into various licensing agreements with respect to our technology, patents and similar intellectual property which provide licensing revenues in certain cases and may expand the market for products and solutions using these technologies.
Segment Information
We operate as a single reporting unit and operating segment for business and operating purposes. Information about revenue attributable to each of our product groups is included in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and information about revenue and long-lived assets attributable to certain geographic regions is included in Note 2: Revenue and Note 4: Balance Sheet Information , respectively, to the consolidated financial statements and risks attendant to our foreign operations is set forth below in Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Seasonality
As is typical in our industry, we generally have the greatest demand for our products and services in the fourth quarter of each calendar year, or our fiscal third quarter. We usually experience the lowest demand for our products and services in the first and second quarters of each calendar year, or our fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal first quarter, respectively.
Information About Our Executive Officers
Following are the names and positions of our management team as of May 18, 2023, including a brief account of the business experience of each.
Name Position with Quantum
James J. Lerner President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board
Kenneth Gianella Chief Financial Officer
Brian E. Cabrera Chief Administrative Officer
John Hurley Chief Revenue Officer
Lewis Moorehead Chief Accounting Officer
James J. Lerner, 53, was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective July 1, 2018, and was appointed Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board of Directors”) on August 7, 2018. Mr. Lerner has previously served as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Pivot3 Inc., a smart infrastructure solutions company, from March 2017 to June 2018, and as Chief Revenue Officer from November 2016 to March 2017. Prior to Pivot3 Inc., from March 2014 to August 2015, Mr. Lerner served as President of Cloud Systems and Solutions at Seagate Technology Holdings Public Limited Company (“Seagate”) (Nasdaq: STX), a data storage company. Prior to Seagate, Mr. Lerner served in various executive roles at Cisco Systems, Inc.
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(Nasdaq: CSCO), a networking hardware and software manufacturing company, including most recently as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Cloud & Systems Management Technology Group. Before beginning his career as a technology company executive, Mr. Lerner was a Senior Consultant at Andersen Consulting, a financial advisory and consulting firm. Since 2011, Mr. Lerner has served on the Board of Trustees of Astia, a global not-for-profit organization built on a community of men and women dedicated to the success of women-led, high-growth ventures, and is currently serving as the Chair of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Lerner earned a Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Economics and Decision Sciences from U.C. San Diego.
Kenneth Gianella, 50, has served as our Chief Financial Officer since January 2023. Prior to joining us, he served as the Vice President of Investor Relations; Mergers, Divestitures, & Acquisitions; and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Strategy at Itron, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITRI), an energy and water network technology and services company, since July 2018, and as Vice President of Finance and Treasury of Itron’s Networks segment from January 2018 to July 2018. Prior to that, from December 2012 to December 2017, Mr. Gianella held various senior finance positions at Silver Springs Networks, an IoT and smart networks company (acquired by Itron in December 2017), including as interim Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President, Finance and Treasurer. Mr. Gianella also was the Head of Finance and Administration at Sensity Systems, Inc., a producer of smart LED lights for enabling Smart Cities, and held various senior finance roles at KLA-Tencor Corporation, a leader in process control, yield management, and computational analytics for the semiconductor industry. Mr. Gianella holds a Master of Business Administration from University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Duquesne University.
Brian E. Cabrera, 58, most recently served as the Assistant United States Attorney from October 2018 to April 2020 and as Special Assistant United States Attorney from October 2017 to October 2018 in the Office of the United States Attorney, Northern District of California. From May 2014 to June 2017, Mr. Cabrera served as Senior Vice President & General Counsel of NVIDIA Corporation (“NVIDIA”) (Nasdaq: NVIDIA), a graphics processing units technology company. Prior to NVIDIA, Mr. Cabrera served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS), an electronic design automation company, from 2006 to 2014. From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Cabrera served as Senior Vice President, Operations, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Callidus Software, Inc., an enterprise software company. Prior to Callidus Software, Inc., Mr. Cabrera held various legal positions with PeopleSoft, Inc., a human resource management systems provider, Netscape Communications Corporation, an internet software developing company, Silicon Graphics, Inc., a computer hardware and software manufacturing company, and Bronson, Bronson & McKinnon LLP, a law firm. Mr. Cabrera holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern California.
John Hurley, 57, has served as Quantum's Chief Revenue Officer since August 2021. Prior to Quantum, Mr. Hurley was at Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), a networking hardware and software manufacturing company, from 2008 to 2021, and most recently served as Vice President at Cisco, global commercial segment. Mr. Hurley also spent several years overseeing Cisco's service provider business. Additionally, Mr. Hurley led transformational enterprise relationships with Cisco's largest enterprise customers in aerospace and automotive. From 2005 to 2008, he served as area Vice President, Midwest Global / Corporate Business Group at Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL), a multinational technology company, where he led regional sales directors and their teams to support multiple Fortune 100 customers. Mr. Hurley held leadership roles at transformational early-stage software companies, where he helped drive the businesses to successful acquisitions by industry leaders Microsoft Corporation and HP Inc. Mr. Hurley holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Pennsylvania State University.
Lewis Moorehead, 51, has served as our Chief Accounting Officer since October 2018. Prior to joining Quantum, Mr. Moorehead was the Director of Finance, Accounting and Tax at Carvana, Co. (NYSE: CVNA), a publicly traded on-line retailer, from November 2016 to October 2018. Beginning in September 2004, he has served as Managing Partner at Quassey, an investment firm. While at Quassey, he also served as Vice President of Finance and Principal Accounting Officer at Limelight Networks, Inc. (now Edgio, Inc.), a Nasdaq-listed global content delivery network and SaaS provider, from March 2010 to August 2013. He has also held finance and accounting positions at eTelecare Global Solutions, an outsourcing service company, Rivers and Moorehead PLLC, an accounting advisory firm, Intelligentias, Inc., a data intelligence company, American Express Company (NYSE: AXP), a payment card services company, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an advisory and tax services firm. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Human Capital
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Our Chief Administrative Officer ("CAO") leads our human capital initiatives, which include the design and execution of all people strategies. The CAO partners directly with the Board of Directors, the Leadership and Compensation Committee, and Senior Management on the design, cost, and effectiveness of our people programs to ensure they are competitive and reward our teams for driving company performance.
Our workforce is currently distributed across 19 countries, with approximately 850 employees globally as of March 31, 2023, including 460 in North America, 190 in APAC, and 200 in EMEA. We engage with contractors, consultants, or temporary employees as needs for special projects occur.
Work Environment
While we believe competition for talent in the technology industry in certain geographies may be beginning to soften, we continue to design, evaluate, and expand our total rewards programs so they remain competitive in attracting, motivating, rewarding, and retaining key talent.
We offer flexible and hybrid working arrangements that allow our employees to choose where and how they work. We work to ensure our office environments, whether at a primary location or remote, are safe, professional, and inclusive so our employees can be successful.
To build high performing products and services, we aim to build high performing teams that are inclusive, diverse, and respected regardless of gender, race, color, religion, age, sexual orientation, or disability. We invest in diverse hiring and training initiatives, performance and professional development opportunities, and candidates ranging from interns to experienced leaders. This past year, we partnered with an outside firm for our training on compliance and preventing harassment and discrimination. We believe that fostering an inclusive work environment is a critical component for our culture of excellence.
Culture of Excellence, Accountability, and Innovation
Our company goals and leadership attributes set the tone for our culture of excellence and accountability. Employees are empowered to ask questions and encouraged to report concerns without fear of retaliation, including reporting anonymously if preferred.
During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, we redesigned our internal employee recognition program to encourage driving innovation, promoting teamwork, and leading by example. We also continued our practice of “no internal meeting days” so employees can have more time for focused work, training, or personal development.
Talent Development
Our talent is our greatest asset. We seek to actively grow our employees’ skills and leadership perspective while retaining our most critical talent. Our managers and employees participate in regular performance discussions that help facilitate conversations on employee contributions, goals, and expectations.
Available Information
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge on our website at https://www.quantum.com generally when such reports are available on the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) website. The contents of our website are not incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The public may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 or (202) 551-5450. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy, and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.
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