Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
GENERAL
Overview
Viavi Solutions Inc. (VIAVI, also referred to as the Company, we, our, and us) is a global provider of network test, monitoring, and assurance solutions for communications service providers (CSPs), hyperscalers, network equipment manufacturers (NEMs), original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), government and avionics. We help customers harness the power of instruments, automation, intelligence and virtualization. VIAVI is also a leader in light management technologies for 3D sensing, for the anti-counterfeiting, consumer electronics, industrial, automotive, government and aerospace applications.
To serve our markets, we operate the following business segments:
• Network Enablement (NE);
• Service Enablement (SE); and
• Optical Security and Performance Products (OSP).
Corporate Strategy
Our objective is to continue to be a leading provider in the markets and industries we serve. In support of our business segments, we are pursuing a corporate strategy that we believe will best position us for future opportunities as follows:
• Market leadership in physical and virtualized test and measurement instruments and assurance systems with the opportunity to grow market share;
• Market leadership in anti-counterfeiting pigments, 3D sensing optical filters and other light management technologies;
• Market leadership in 5G wireless, public safety radio and navigation/communication transponder test instruments as well as passive optical components for 3D sensing and other optical sensors;
• Increase benefit from the use of our net operating loss carryforwards (NOL) by improving our profitability organically and inorganically; and
• Greater flexibility in capital structure in support of our strategic plans.
Our near-term strategy, and next transformation phase, will be more focused on growth, both organic and inorganic. We plan to leverage major secular growth trends in 5G wireless, fiber and 3D sensing to achieve higher levels of revenue and profitability.
Our long-term capital allocation strategy, which supports our corporate strategy, is as follows:
• Maintenance and run-rate investments to support operations;
• Organic investments in initiatives to support revenue growth and productivity;
• Return capital to shareholders through share buybacks and execute on capital allocation and debt management strategy; and
• Mergers and acquisitions that are synergistic to company strategy and business segments.
Although we are working to successfully implement our strategy, internal and/or external factors could impact our ability to meet any, or all, of our objectives. These factors are discussed under Item 1A “Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Business Segments
We operate in two broad business categories: Network and Service Enablement (NSE) and Optical Security and Performance Products (OSP). NSE operates in two reportable segments, NE and SE, whereas OSP operates as a single segment. Our NSE and OSP businesses are each organized with their own engineering, manufacturing and dedicated sales and marketing groups focused on each of the markets we serve to better support our customers and respond quickly to market needs. In addition, our segments share common corporate services that provide capital, legal, infrastructure, resources and functional support, allowing them to focus on core technological strengths to compete and innovate in their markets.
Network Enablement
Our NE segment provides an integrated portfolio of testing solutions that access the network to perform build-out and maintenance tasks. These solutions include instruments, software and services to design, build, turn-up, certify, troubleshoot, and optimize networks. These solutions also support more profitable, higher-performing networks and help speed time-to-revenue.
Our solutions address lab and production environments, field deployment and service assurance for wireless and wireline networks, including computing and storage networks. Our test instrument portfolio is one of the largest in the industry, with hundreds of thousands of units in active use by major network equipment manufacturers (NEMs), operators and service providers worldwide.
Within the NE product portfolio, our wireless products consist of flexible application software and multi-function hardware that our customers can easily use as standalone test and measurement solutions or combine with industry-standard computers, networks and third-party devices to create measurement, automation and embedded systems. Our Radio Access Network (RAN) to Core test and validation product addresses the various communications infrastructure market segments.
Our AvComm products are a global leader in test and measurement (T&M) instrumentation for communication and safety in the government, aerospace and military markets. AvComm solutions encompass a full spectrum of instrumentation, which include turnkey systems, stand-alone instruments and modular components that provide customers with highly reliable, customized, innovative and cost-effective testing tools and resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) solutions for critical infrastructure serving military and civilian applications.
Markets
Our NE segment provides solutions for CSPs, as well as NEMs and data center providers that deliver and/or operate broadband/IP networks (fixed and mobile) supporting voice, video and data services as well as a wide range of applications. These solutions support the development and production of network equipment, the deployment of next generation network technologies and services, and ensure a higher-quality customer experience. AvComm products are positioned in all of the customers’ product life cycle phases from research & development (R&D), manufacturing, installation, deployment and field, to depot repair and maintenance of devices.
Customers
NE customers include CSPs, NEMs, government organizations and large corporate customers, such as major telecom, mobility and cable operators, chip and infrastructure vendors, storage-device manufacturers, storage-network and switch vendors, radio and avionics commercial companies, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), state and federal agencies, utilities, law enforcement, military contractors and the armed forces and deployed private enterprise customers. Our customers include América Móvil, AT&T Inc., Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink, Inc.), Cisco Systems, Inc., Nokia Corporation, British Telecom Openreach, Deutsche Telekom AG and Verizon Communications Inc.
For further information related to our customers, refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” under Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Competition
NE competitors include Anritsu Corporation, EXFO Inc., Keysight Technologies Inc., Rohde & Schwarz, VeEX Inc. and Spirent Communications plc. While we face multiple competitors for each of our product families, we continue to have one of the broadest portfolios of wireline and wireless products available in the network enablement industry.
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Offerings
Our NE solutions include instruments and software that support the development and production of network systems in the lab. These solutions activate, certify, troubleshoot and optimize networks that are differentiated through superior efficiency, reliable performance and greater customer satisfaction. Designed to be mobile, these products include instruments and software that access the network to perform installation and maintenance tasks. They help service provider technicians assess the performance of network elements and segments and verify the integrity of the information being transmitted across the network. These instruments are highly intelligent and have user interfaces that are designed to simplify operations and minimize the training required to operate them. Our NE solutions are also used by NEMs in the design and production of next-generation network equipment. Thorough testing by NEMs plays a critical role in producing the components and equipment that are the building blocks of network infrastructure. We leverage our installed base and knowledge of network management methods and procedures to develop these advanced customer experience solutions.
We also offer a range of product support and professional services designed to comprehensively address our customers’ requirements. These services include repair, calibration, software support and technical assistance for our products. We offer product and technology training as well as consulting services. Our professional services, provided in conjunction with system integration projects, include project management, installation and implementation.
Our NE products and associated services are, as follows:
Field Instruments : Primarily consisting of (a) access and cable products; (b) avionics products; (c) fiber instrument products; (d) metro products; (e) RF test products; and (f) radio test products.
Lab Instruments : Primarily consisting of (a) fiber optic production lab tests; (b) optical transport products; (c) computing and storage network test products; and (d) wireless products.
Service Enablement
SE provides embedded systems and enterprise performance management solutions that give global CSPs, enterprises and cloud operators visibility into network, service and application data.
Our assurance solutions let carriers remotely monitor the performance and quality of network, service and applications performance throughout the entire network. This provides our customers with enhanced network management, control, and optimization that allow network operators to initiate service to new customers faster, decrease the need for technicians to make on-site service calls, help to make necessary repairs faster and, as a result, lower costs while providing higher quality and more reliable services. Remote monitoring decreases operating expenses, while early detection helps increase uptime, preserve revenue, and helps operators better monetize their networks.
Our network performance management products help enterprise IT and security teams monitor and optimize connectivity for their employees across on-premise and cloud domains and conduct preventative and forensic analysis to address rising security challenges. This functionality has become more critical as organizations continue to operate under remote working procedures, increasing network challenges and security risks.
Markets
Our SE segment provides solutions and services primarily for CSPs and enterprises that deliver and/or operate broadband/IP networks (fixed and mobile) supporting voice, video and data services as well as a wide range of applications. These solutions provide network and application visibility to enable more cost-effective ways to provide a higher-quality customer experience.
Customers
SE customers include similar CSPs, NEMs, government organizations, large corporate customers and storage-segment customers that are served by our NE segment.
For further information related to our customers, refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” under Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Competition
SE segment competitors include NetScout Systems, Inc., Riverbed Technology, Inc. and Spirent Communications plc. While we face multiple competitors for each of our product families, we continue to have one of the broadest portfolios of wireline and wireless monitoring solutions available in the service enablement industry.
Offerings
Our SE solutions are embedded network systems, including instruments, microprobes and software that collect and analyze network data to reveal the actual customer experience and identify opportunities for new revenue streams and network optimization. These solutions provide our customers enhanced network management, control, optimization and differentiation and a complete service assurance platform for mobile communications, providing operators with network performance, inventory, configuration and fault management solutions through artificial intelligence driven key performance indicator analysis. Our customers are able to access and analyze the growing amount of network data from a single console, simplifying the process of deploying, provisioning and managing network equipment and services. These capabilities allow network operators to initiate service to new customers faster, decrease the need for technicians to make on-site service calls, and help to make necessary repairs faster, which lowers costs while providing higher quality and more reliable services.
Our SE products and associated services are, as follows:
Data Center : Primarily consisting of our network performance monitoring and diagnostic tools (Apex, GigaStor, Observer).
Assurance : Primarily consisting of our growth products (location intelligence and NITRO mobile products) and mature products.
Industry Trends for NSE
The telecommunications industry is experiencing a major evolution in technology as wireless communications expand and evolve from 4G to 5G technology. 5G’s increased bandwidth capacity and speed, as well as lower latency will expand applications beyond mobile devices. 5G is expected to enable numerous use cases including greater device-to-device connectivity, smart applications, autonomous cars, factory automation and other applications that are yet to be conceptualized. The increase in demand for openness and scalability in the 5G Radio Access Network is motivating the push towards O-RAN standards and ecosystems. O-RAN will eventually improve the time-to-market for new verticals and innovations as well as reduce the total cost of ownership. The 5G transition is being deployed globally and is expected to be disruptive to businesses, consumers and potentially create new applications and vertical industries.
The increase in demand for 5G services will be increasingly supported by automation and associated artificial intelligence and machine learning, which will further enable enterprise requirements for private 5G as well as numerous use cases such as remote working and energy efficiency. Such increases in demand for pervasive on-premise/off-premise services will further drive the need for cybersecurity. Further adoption of 5G will require optical fiber upgrades and buildouts driven by traditional CSPs as well as enterprise networks. Hyperscale service providers have become significant drivers of technology innovation, including optical fiber up to 800GbE. The scale and complexity of these technology shifts are also challenging service providers to rearchitect their networks, becoming more virtualized, and optimized based on real-time intelligence. We believe these investments will extend fiber connectivity beyond the office and home and permeate “fiber-to-the-everywhere” leading to potential new business opportunities for VIAVI.
Existing network infrastructure that is not otherwise being upgraded is also expected to be modernized with new cable and access technologies. Cable providers are investing in DOCSIS 3.1 to enhance existing cable networks while DSL copper lines are being upgraded to GFast. Many operators have decided to run existing legacy networks by deploying superior technologies or continuing to run such networks until they are no longer operable and then replacing them with new optical fiber. For our avionics products, many governments across the globe are increasing their military and public safety budgets to upgrade communication infrastructure.
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The convergence of network technologies requires significant investments from both traditional carriers and cloud service providers. While traditional services providers, in recent years, have continued to consolidate to gain scale, and capital spending in physical networks has been declining, it also creates additional opportunities as service providers deploy NE products and solutions to improve average revenue per user (ARPU) metrics by reducing the need for physical customer service visits through faster installation and repair completion. In addition, the new cloud service providers and virtualized networks create new NSE opportunities. We believe our NSE products and solutions are well positioned to meet these rapidly changing industry trends, given our technology and products, as well as customer installed base.
Optical Security and Performance Products
Our OSP segment leverages its core optical coating technologies and volume manufacturing capability to design, manufacture, and sell technologies for the anti-counterfeiting, consumer electronics, industrial, government and automotive markets.
Our technologies targeting anti-counterfeiting applications include Optical Variable Pigment (OVP®) and Optical Variable Magnetic Pigment (OVMP®). OVP enables color-shifting effects, and OVMP enables depth and motion effects in addition to color-shifting effects. Both OVP and OVMP are formulated into inks used by banknote issuers and security printers worldwide for anti-counterfeiting applications on banknotes and other high-value documents. Our technologies are deployed on the banknotes of more than 100 countries today.
Other OSP product lines include custom color solutions and spectral sensing. Custom color solutions include innovative special effects pigments for the automotive market. Spectral sensing solutions include handheld and process miniature near infrared spectrometers for pharmaceutical, agriculture, food, feed, and industrial applications.
Markets
Our OSP segment delivers overt and covert technologies to protect banknotes and documents of value against counterfeiting, with a primary focus on the currency market. OSP also produces precise, high-performance, optical thin-film coatings and light shaping optics capabilities for a variety of applications including, for example, optical filters and Engineered Diffusers, marketed under the trademark “Engineered Diffusers®”, for 3D sensing applications.
Customers
OSP customers include SICPA Holding SA Company (SICPA), STMicroelectronics Holding N.V., Lockheed Martin Corporation and Seiko Epson Corporation.
We have a strategic alliance with SICPA to market and sell our OVP and OVMP product lines for banknote anti-counterfeiting applications worldwide. Sales of these products to SICPA generated approximately 10% of our net revenue from continuing operations during fiscal 2021, 2022 and 2023. A material reduction in sales, or loss of the relationship with SICPA, may harm our business and operating results as we may be unable to find a substitute marketing and sales partner or develop these capabilities ourselves in a timely manner. For additional information please see the Risk Factor entitled “ We may experience increased pressure on our pricing and contract terms due to our reliance on a limited number of customers for a significant portion of our sales ” under Item 1A “Risk Factors,” and “Note 19. Operating Segments and Geographic Information” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
For further information related to our customers, refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” under Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Competition
OSP competitors include providers of anti-counterfeiting technologies such as Giesecke & Devrient, De La Rue plc; special-effect pigments such as Merck KGA; coating companies such as Nidek, Toppan and Toray; optics companies such as Materion; and manufacturers of passive and other optical components such as II-VI Inc. and AMS.
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Offerings
Our OSP business provides innovative light management technologies for the anti-counterfeiting, consumer electronics, industrial, government and automotive markets.
Anti-Counterfeiting : Our OVP and OVMP technologies are incorporated into inks used by many government and state-owned security printers worldwide for banknote protection. These technologies deliver a range of intuitive overt effects that enable the rapid verification of banknotes without requiring a specialized device or reader.
Consumer Electronics and Industrial : Our OSP business manufactures and sells optical filters for 3D sensing products that separate ambient light from incoming data to allow devices to be controlled by a person’s movements or gestures. Our Engineered Diffusers shape light emitted for 3D sensing applications and also enhance eye safety. We provide multicavity and linear variable optical filters on a variety of substrates for applications, including thermal imaging, spectroscopy and pollution monitoring. We also develop and manufacture miniature handheld and process near infrared spectrometers that leverage our linear variable optical filters for use in applications for agriculture, pharmaceutical and other markets.
Government : Our products are used in a variety of government and aerospace applications, including optics for inter-satellite laser communications, guidance systems, laser eye protection and night vision systems. These products, including coatings and optical filters, are optimized for each specific application.
Automotive : For product differentiation and brand enhancement, we provide custom color solutions for a variety of applications using our ChromaFlair® and SpectraFlair® pigments to create color effects that emphasize body contours, create dynamic environments, or enhance products in motion. These pigments are added to paints, plastics or textiles for automotive, sports apparel, and other applications. Additionally, our optical filters and Engineered Diffusers enable automotive sensing applications including LiDAR and in-cabin monitoring.
Industry Trends
For nearly 75 years, OSP has developed and deployed capabilities that alter how the light is transmitted, reflected, and absorbed, enabling a range of mission critical and high-volume optical solutions.
We leverage our capabilities to deliver technologies that enable anti-counterfeiting solutions designed to protect the integrity of banknotes and other documents of value. The wide availability of advanced and relatively low-cost imaging technologies and printing tools threatens the integrity of critical printed documents, necessitating robust, technically sophisticated and easy to validate anti-counterfeiting features. Our OVP, and OVMP technologies enable intuitive overt optical effects that consumers can easily recognize but counterfeiters find very difficult to reproduce.
We also design, manufacture and sell optical filters for 3D sensing applications that allow consumers to interact with their devices more naturally by enabling electronic devices to accurately measure depth and motion. Our filters play an important role in those applications, separating out ambient light from the incoming data used by sensors to make precise measurements. Notably, our patented low angle shift technology enables our customers to significantly improve the signal-to-noise ratio of their systems and deliver reliable system performance. Through the development of multiple generations of products for 3D sensing and by delivering improved performance and competitive value with each iteration, we believe we have established ourselves as one of the industry’s leading supplier of high-performance filters enabling depth-sensing systems in consumer electronics. Similarly Engineered Diffusers, diffuse the infrared laser light transmitted by a smartphone in 3D sensing applications, enabling reliable system performance while also guarding eye safety.
In addition to anti-counterfeiting and 3D sensing applications, OSP technologies enable optical solutions in industries we believe the applications of which will mature or there will be development of new applications for OSP technologies that will grow demand for our OSP products and solutions.
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Research and Development
We devote substantial resources to R&D to develop new and enhanced products to serve our markets. Once the design of a product is complete, our engineering efforts shift to enhancing both product performance and our ability to manufacture it in greater volume and at lower cost.
In our NE and SE segments, we develop portable test instruments for field service technicians, systems and software used in Network Operations Centers, and instruments used in the development, testing and production of communications network components, modules and equipment. We have centers of excellence for product marketing and development in Asia, Europe and North America.
In our OSP segment, our R&D efforts concentrate on developing more innovative technologies and products for customers in the anti-counterfeiting, consumer electronics, industrial, government and automotive markets. Our strength in the banknote anti-counterfeiting market is complemented by our advances in developing novel pigments for a variety of applications. Other areas for OSP include our efforts to leverage our optical coating technology expertise to develop applications for the government and defense markets as well as efforts related to new products for 3D sensing and smartphone sensors. OSP also develops, manufactures and sells a line of miniature hand-held spectrometers with applications in the agriculture, healthcare and defense markets.
Sales and Marketing
CSPs make up the majority of our NSE revenues. We also market and sell products to NEMs, OEMs, enterprises, governmental organizations, distributors and strategic partners worldwide. We have a dedicated sales force organized around each of the markets that we serve that works directly with customers’ executive, technical, manufacturing and purchasing personnel to determine design, performance and cost requirements. We are also supported by a worldwide channel community, including our Velocity Solution Partners, who support our NSE segment.
OSP sales and marketing efforts are targeted primarily toward customers in the consumer electronics, government, automotive and industrial markets. We have a dedicated direct global sales force focused on understanding customers’ requirements and building market awareness and acceptance of our products. Our direct sales force is complemented by a highly trained team of field applications engineers who assist customers in designing, testing and qualifying our products. We market our products and capabilities through attendance at trade shows, the production of promotional webinars, the development of samples and product demonstrations, participation in technical forums, select advertising and by developing customer partnerships.
A high level of support is a critical part of our strategy to develop and maintain long-term collaborative relationships with our customers. We develop innovative products by engaging our customers at the initial design phase and continue to build that relationship as our customers’ needs change and develop. Service and support are provided through our offices and those of our partners worldwide.
Acquisitions
As part of our strategy, we are committed to the ongoing evaluation of strategic opportunities and, where appropriate, the acquisition of additional products, technologies or businesses that are complementary to, or strengthen, our existing products.
For further information related to our acquisitions, refer to “Note 5. Acquisitions” under Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Restructuring Programs
We may continue to engage in targeted restructuring events, to consolidate our operations and align our businesses in response to market conditions and our current investment strategy. Such actions are intended to further drive our strategy for organizational alignment and consolidation as part of our continued commitment to a more cost effective and agile organization and to improve overall profitability in our business segments.
For further information refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” under Item 7 and “Note 13. Restructuring and Related Charges” under Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Manufacturing
As of July 1, 2023, we have significant manufacturing facilities for our NE, SE and OSP segments located in China, France, Germany, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. Our most significant contract manufacturing partners are located in China and Mexico.
Sources and Availability of Raw Materials
We use various suppliers and contract manufacturers to supply parts and components for the manufacture and support of multiple product lines. Although we intend to establish at least two sources of supply for materials whenever possible, for certain components we have sole or limited source supply arrangements.
Patents and Proprietary Rights
Intellectual property rights apply to our various products include patents, trade secrets and trademarks. We do not intend to broadly license our intellectual property rights unless we can obtain adequate consideration or enter into acceptable intellectual property cross-licensing agreements. As of July 1, 2023, we own 956 U.S. patents and 1,892 foreign patents and have 1,155 patent applications pending throughout the world. The average age of the patents we hold is 8.9 years, which is younger than the midpoint of the average 20-year life of a patent.
Backlog
Due to possible changes in product delivery schedules and cancellation of product orders, and because our sales often reflect orders shipped in the same quarter in which they are received, our backlog at any particular date is not necessarily indicative of actual revenue or the level of orders for any succeeding period.
Seasonality
Our business is seasonal, as is typical for our competitors and many large companies. For NSE, revenue is typically higher in the second and fourth fiscal quarter, all else being equal. There is typically a modest end of calendar year customer spending budget that benefits our second fiscal quarter. Telecom and cable spending budgets are typically set at the start of a new calendar year, thus with all else being equal, our third fiscal quarter is NSE’s weakest revenue quarter with spending release benefiting our fourth fiscal quarter.
For our OSP business, given our exposure to the consumer market, namely our 3D sensing products into the smartphone market, OSP revenue is expected to be seasonally higher in the first and second fiscal quarter followed by seasonal demand declines in the third and fourth fiscal quarters.
Human Capital Management
The VIAVI culture is made up of the diverse contributions of our approximately 3,600 employees worldwide (as of July 1, 2023) representing more than 30 self-identified nationalities working across 30 countries. VIAVI is committed to promoting and maintaining a diverse and inclusive work environment and offering equal opportunities to everyone. We seek to empower our employees to learn and develop their skills to accelerate their career and to attract best-in-class talent. The CEO and the SVP of Human Resources are responsible for the development of our People Strategy and execute on this with the support of the Executive Management Team. We regularly update and partner with the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors on human capital matters. Employee experience continues to be an important focus of our People Strategy, including implementing automation to increase efficiency in our business processes, manager and employee self-service for transactions and advanced reporting for organizational insight. In addition, we launched a new learning management system to allow for micro-learning in the flow of work. Our next phase will include improving our approach to measuring employee sentiment and drivers for engagement.
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Business Values & Standards
The VIAVI business values articulate the internal cultural identity of VIAVI employees and provide a shared understanding of expectations across the Company. They represent the principles that will help guide us to achieve our objectives globally and the desired operating environment of the employees and management. VIAVI is committed to respecting human rights and acknowledges the fundamental principles contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the tenets of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and core International Labor Organization Conventions to the extent they are applicable and important to our business. We are a member of the Responsible Business Alliance, which further strengthens our efforts and commitment.
We realize that being a responsible global citizen is important to the sustainability and commercial success of our business and encompasses more than just complying with local regulations. It’s about how we do business, and how our organization’s activities affect the people and communities where we live and work. The VIAVI Code of Business Conduct captures the broad principles of legal and ethical business conduct embraced by the Company as part of its commitment to integrity. VIAVI expects that all employees will act in a manner that complies both with the letter and spirit of this code of conduct.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
VIAVI is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. Our human capital is one of our most valuable assets. We believe the collective sum of our individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, innovation, business acumen, self-expression, and unique capabilities contributes to a culture that enhances our reputation and achievement.
VIAVI has long been committed to ensuring that all individuals have an equal opportunity to enjoy a fair, safe and productive work environment – regardless of age, ancestry, race, color, mental or physical disability or medical condition, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, family or marital status, registered domestic partner status, military and veteran status, race, religious creed, language, national origin, citizenship status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and any related medical conditions), sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or any other protected category under applicable law. We seek to embrace, encourage, and celebrate our employees’ differences and what makes them unique.
Talent Development
Our talent development offerings provide relevant and useful learning resources for our employees, managers, and leaders that invite a growth mindset and create an appetite for lifelong learning.
We seek to drive talent conversations at all levels, which is complemented by Everyday Development, our performance management check-in process. Check-ins ensure that employees are being coached and supported throughout the year with relevant and timely discussions on expectations, feedback, and development. Both managers and employees have a role to play to ensure that they are connected to the activities that drive our business forward. Our employees can expect to engage regularly with their manager, and to have their support to accelerate their performance and development.
Our global Leadership Development Program has now reached over 70% of our leaders in fiscal 2023. We introduced advanced leadership concepts this year, enabling our participants to connect globally and cross functionally while advancing their skills.
We continue to provide guidance and best practices in hybrid working for our employees and managers, which are supported by our Flexible Work policy.
The early-in-career rotation programs for engineers and sales talent continue. Our diverse and global program participants are supported by a mentor and their manager to coach them as they take on exciting new technical challenges. We believe their program experiences will unleash innovation and creativity for our organization while enabling our long-term talent pipeline.
Technical talent thought leadership is a continued focus at our annual Technology Council event for engineering talent.
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We are encouraged that VIAVI employees exhibit commitment to their ongoing career development, with 70% of our individual contributors building the professional and technical skills they need to advance their careers.
Our employees regularly participate in mandatory training courses covering data privacy, cybersecurity, health and safety as well as the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace, each achieving over 99% compliance by employees.
Talent Rewards
Our compensation and benefits programs are designed to recognize our employees' individual performance and contributions to our business results, including competitive base salaries and variable pay for all employees, share-based equity award grants, health and welfare benefits, time-off, development programs and training, and opportunities to give back to our communities. We provide talent rewards that are competitive in the marketplace. We support equal pay for equal work, pay transparency as well as all federal anti-discrimination laws applicable to employment, including those within Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Health and Safety
VIAVI is committed to maintaining an inclusive, supportive, safe and healthy work environment where our employees can thrive. We demand strict compliance with all applicable health and safety regulations, offer robust training to our employees on health and safety matters, maintain controls and proper disposal of hazardous materials and track workplace incidents and injuries. We maintain and regularly update emergency and disaster recovery plans.
The success of our Safety program is demonstrated by our best-in-class Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR) of only 0.13 injuries per 100 full-time workers per year.
Environmental, Social and Governance Matters
We believe that serving our stakeholders, including our stockholders, customers, suppliers, employees, communities and the environment, drives commercial success and that implementing environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices makes our business more sustainable. We take immense pride in the progress we are making within our ESG initiatives. VIAVI is committed to transparency in its environmental practices, and we publicly report our key environmental metrics. VIAVI continues to focus on energy efficiency, both in our products and business practices – which has resulted in a significant reduction of our carbon footprint over the years. Our annual ESG report can be found at www.viavisolutions.com/esg .
Information Security
Information security is the responsibility of our Information Security team, overseen by our Chief Information Security Officer. Our enterprise risk management program considers cybersecurity risks alongside other company risks, and our enterprise risk professionals consult with company subject matter experts to gather information necessary to identify cybersecurity risks, and evaluate their nature and severity, as well as identify mitigations and assess the impact of those mitigations on residual risk. We leverage a combination of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, International Organization for Standardization and Center for Internet Security best practice standards to measure our security posture and manage risk.
Our information security practices include development, implementation, and improvement of policies and procedures to safeguard information and ensure availability of critical data and systems. Our Information Security team conducts annual information security awareness training for employees involved in our systems and processes that handle customer data and audits of our systems and enhanced training for specialized personnel. We also conduct semi-annual cyber awareness training and run tabletop exercises to simulate a response to a cybersecurity incident, and use the findings to improve our practices, procedures, and technologies. Our Incident Response Plan coordinates the activities we take to prepare for, detect, respond to and recover from cybersecurity incidents, which include processes to triage, assess severity for, escalate, contain, investigate, and remediate the incident, as well as to comply with potentially applicable legal obligations and mitigate brand and reputational damage.
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Our program further includes review and assessment by external, independent third-parties, who assess and report on our internal incident response preparedness and help identify areas for continued focus and improvement. We also carry insurance that provides protection against the potential losses arising from a cybersecurity incident. In the last fiscal three years, we have not experienced any material information security breach incidences and the expenses we have incurred from information security breach incidences were immaterial. This includes penalties and settlements, of which there were none.
As set forth in its charter, our Audit Committee, comprised fully of independent directors, is responsible for oversight of risk, including cybersecurity and information security risk. Our Audit Committee has established a Cybersecurity Steering Committee consisting of three independent directors, Laura Black (who serves as Chair of the Cybersecurity Steering Committee), Douglas Gilstrap and Joanne Solomon, as well as our Chief Information Officer, our Chief Information Security Officer and other members of our management representing a variety of teams and functions including legal, finance, and internal audit. Members of our Cybersecurity Steering Committee have work experience managing cybersecurity and information security risks, an understanding of the cybersecurity threat landscape and/or knowledge of emerging privacy risks.
The purpose of the Cybersecurity Steering Committee is to oversee our compliance with reasonable and appropriate organizational, physical, administrative and technical measures designed to protect the integrity, security and operations of our information technology systems, transactions, and data owned by us, by providing guidance and oversight of our information technology and cybersecurity program.
The Cybersecurity Steering Committee generally meets on a quarterly basis and generally delivers reports and updates to the Audit Committee at each scheduled Audit Committee meeting. The Audit Committee or, at the Audit Committee’s instruction, the Cybersecurity Steering Committee regularly briefs the full Board on these matters, and the Board receives regular updates on the status of the information security program, including but not limited to relevant cyber threats, roadmap and key initiative updates, and the identification and management of information security risks. Our full Board reviews cybersecurity related opportunities as they relate to our business strategy, and cybersecurity-related matters are also factored into business continuity planning.
Where You Can Find More Information
Our website address is www.viavisolutions.com , which the Company uses as a means to disclose important information about the Company and comply with its disclosure obligations under Regulation Fair Disclosure. We are subject to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), under which we file annual, quarterly and periodic reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC, which can be accessed on www.sec.gov. We also make available free of charge all of our SEC filings on our website at www.viavisolutions.com/investors as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. The information contained on any of the websites referenced in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not part of or incorporated by reference into this or any other report we file with, or furnish to, the SEC.
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