Tyler Technologies, Inc. (TYL) - Description of business

Tyler Technologies, Inc. (“Tyler”) is a major provider of integrated information management solutions and services for local governments. We partner with clients to make local government more accessible to the public, more responsive to the needs of citizens and more efficient in its operations. We have a broad line of software products and services to address the information technology (“IT”) needs of virtually every major area of operation for cities, counties, schools and other local government entities. Most of our customers have our software installed in-house. For customers who prefer not to physically acquire the software and hardware, we provide outsourced hosting for some of our applications at one of our data centers through an applications service provider (“ASP”) arrangement. We provide professional IT services to our customers, including software and hardware installation, data conversion, training and, at times, product modifications. In addition, we are the nation’s largest provider of outsourced property appraisal services for taxing jurisdictions. We also provide continuing customer support services to ensure proper product performance and reliability, which provides us with long-term customer relationships and a significant base of recurring maintenance revenue.

Tyler was founded in 1966. Prior to 1998, we operated as a diversified industrial conglomerate, with operations in various industrial, retail and distribution businesses, all of which have been sold or otherwise disposed. In 1997, we embarked on a multi-phase growth plan focused on serving the specialized information management needs of local governments nationwide. In 1998 and 1999, we made a series of strategic acquisitions of companies in the local government IT market.

MARKET OVERVIEW

The state and local government market is one of the largest and most decentralized IT markets in the country, consisting of all 50 states, approximately 3,100 counties, 36,000 cities and towns and 14,400 school districts. This market is also comprised of approximately 35,000 special districts and other agencies, each with specialized delegated responsibilities and unique information management requirements.

Traditionally, local government bodies and agencies performed state-mandated duties, including property assessment, record keeping, road maintenance, law enforcement, administration of election and judicial functions, and the provision of welfare assistance. Today, a host of emerging and urgent issues are confronting local governments, each of which demands a service response. These areas include criminal justice and corrections, administration and finance, public safety, health and human services, and public works. Transfers of responsibility from the federal and state governments to county and municipal governments and agencies in these and other areas also place additional service and financial requirements on these local government units. In addition, constituents of local governments are increasingly demanding improved service and better access to information from public entities. As a result, local governments recognize the increasing value of information management systems and services to, among other things, improve revenue collection, provide increased access to information, and streamline delivery of services to their constituents. Local government bodies are now recognizing that “e-government” is an additional responsibility for community development. From integrated tax systems to integrated civil and criminal justice information systems, many counties and cities have benefited significantly from the implementation of jurisdiction-wide systems that allow different agencies or government offices to share data and provide a more comprehensive approach to information management. Many city and county governmental agencies also have unique individual information management requirements, which must be tailored to the specific functions of each particular office.

Many local governments also have difficulties attracting and retaining the staff necessary to support their IT functions. As a result, they seek to establish long-term relationships with reliable providers of high quality IT products and services such as Tyler.

Although local governments generally face budgetary constraints in their operations, their primary revenue sources are usually property taxes, and to a lesser extent, utility fees, which tend to be relatively stable. In addition, the acquisition of new technology typically enables local governments to operate more efficiently, and often provides a measurable return on investment that justifies the purchase of software and related services.

Gartner estimates that state and local government IT spending will grow from $48.4 billion in 2007 to $55.6 billion in 2010, with local government accounting for $25.1 billion of IT spending in 2007 and $28.9 billion in 2010. The external services and software

segments of the market, where our business is primarily focused, are expected to be the most rapidly growing areas of the local government IT market, expanding from $13.1 billion in 2007 to $16.1 billion in 2010.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

We provide a comprehensive and flexible suite of products and services that address the information technology needs of cities, counties, schools and other local government entities. We derive our revenues from four primary sources:
•   sales of software licenses;    
•   software services;    
•   maintenance and support; and    
•   appraisal services.

We design, develop and market a broad range of software products to serve mission-critical “back-office” functions of local governments. Many of our software applications include Internet-accessible solutions that allow for real-time public access to a variety of information or that allow the public to transact business with local governments via the Internet. Our software products and services are generally grouped in four major product areas:
•   Financials;    
•   Courts and Justice;    
•   Property Appraisal and Tax; and    
•   Document Management.

Each of our core software systems consists of several fully integrated application modules. For customers who acquire the software for use in-house, we generally license our systems under standard license agreements that provide the customer with a fully paid, nonexclusive, nontransferable right to use the software. In some of the product areas, such as financials and property appraisal, we offer multiple solutions designed to meet the needs of different sized governments.

We also offer certain software products on an outsourced basis for customers who do not wish to maintain, update and operate these systems or to make large up-front capital expenditures to implement these advanced technologies. For these customers, we host the applications and data at one of our data centers. Customers typically pay monthly fees under multi-year contracts for these services.

Historically, we have had a greater proportion of our annual revenues in the second half of our fiscal year due to governmental budget and spending cycles and the timing of system implementations for customers desiring to “go live” at the beginning of the calendar year.

A description of our suite of products and services follows:

Software Licensing

Financials

Our financials products are ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems for local governments, which integrate information across all facets of a client organization. Our financial products include modular fund accounting systems that can be tailored to meet the needs of virtually any government agency or not-for-profit entity. Our financial systems include modules for general ledger, budget preparation, fixed assets, requisitions, purchase orders, bid management, accounts payable, contract management, accounts receivable, investment management, inventory control, project and grant accounting, work orders, job costing, GASB 34 reporting, payroll and human resources. All of our financial systems are intended to conform to government auditing and financial reporting requirements and generally accepted accounting principles.

We sell utility billing systems that support the billing and collection of metered and non-metered services, along with multiple billing cycles. Our Web-enabled utility billing solutions allow customers to access information online such as average consumption and transaction history. In addition, our systems can accept secured Internet payments via credit cards and checks.

We also offer specialized products that automate numerous city functions, including municipal courts, parking tickets, equipment and project costing, animal licenses, business licenses, permits and inspections, code enforcement, citizen complaint tracking, ambulance billing, fleet maintenance, and cemetery records management.

In 2006 we began offering a student information system for K-12 schools, which manages such applications as scheduling, grades and attendance and software products to manage public sector pension funds.

Tyler’s financial products include Web components that enhance local governments’ service capabilities by facilitating online access to information for both employees and citizens and enabling online transactions.

Courts and Justice

We offer a complete, integrated suite of products designed to automate, track and manage the law enforcement and judicial process, from the initiation of incidents in computer-aided dispatch/emergency 911 systems through the process of arrest, court appearances and final disposition to probation. These applications may be installed on a stand-alone basis or integrated with our other products to eliminate duplicate entries and improve efficiency.

Our Web-enabled court systems are designed to automate the tracking and management of information involved in criminal and civil court cases, including municipal, family and probate courts. These applications track the status of criminal and civil cases, process fines and fees and generate the specialized judgment and sentencing documents, citations, notices and forms required in court proceedings. Additional judicial applications automate the management of court calendars, coordinate judge’s schedules, generate court dockets, manage justice of the peace processes and automate district attorney and prosecutor functions. Related products include jury selection, “hot” check processing, and adult and juvenile probation management applications. Our courtroom technologies allow judges to review cases, calendars, and to scan documents and mug shots using a Web browser. Additionally, document-imaging options include the ability to scan, store, retrieve and archive a variety of criminal and civil case-related documents.

Our law enforcement systems automate police and sheriff functions from dispatch and records management through booking and jail management. Searching, reporting and tracking features are integrated, allowing reliable, up-to-date access to current arrest and incarceration data. The systems also provide warrant checks for visitors or book-ins, inmate classification and risk assessment, commissary, property and medical processing, and automation of statistics and state and federal reporting. Our computer-aided dispatch/emergency 911 system tracks calls and the availability of emergency response vehicles, interfaces with local and state searches, and generally assists dispatchers in processing emergency situations. The law enforcement and jail management systems are fully integrated with the suite of court products that manages the judicial process.

Our court and law enforcement systems allow the public to access, via the Internet, a variety of information, including criminal and civil court records, jail booking and release information, bond and bondsmen information, and court calendars and dockets. In addition, our systems allow cities and counties to accept payments for traffic and parking tickets over the Internet, with a seamless and automatic interface to back-office justice and financial systems.

In 2003 we released Odyssey, an all-new unified court case management system. Odyssey uses enhanced Web-browser concepts to render a unique user interface. It incorporates current technology – XML, n-tier architecture, component-based design, and an ultra-thin client footprint – to maximize the value of a court’s investment in new software. We believe that some of Odyssey’s design concepts, including embedded imaging functionality, COM+ objects to enable local customization, and an architecture that enables multiple deployment options, are unique in the court automation marketplace.

Property Appraisal and Tax

We provide systems and software that automate the appraisal and assessment of real and personal property, including record keeping, mass appraisal, inquiry and protest tracking, appraisal and tax roll generation, tax statement processing, and electronic state-level reporting. These systems are image- and video-enabled to facilitate the storage of and access to the many property-related documents and for the online storage of digital photographs of properties for use in defending values in protest situations. Other related tax applications are available for agencies that bill and collect taxes, including cities, counties, school tax offices, and special taxing and collection agencies. These systems support billing, collections, lock box operations, mortgage company electronic payments, and various reporting requirements.

Document Management

We offer a number of specialized applications designed to help county governments enhance and automate courthouse operations. These systems record and index information for the many documents maintained at the courthouse, such as deeds, mortgages, liens, UCC financing statements and vital records (birth, death and marriage certificates).

Software Services

We provide a variety of professional IT services to customers who utilize our software products. Virtually all of our customers contract with us for installation, training, and data conversion services in connection with their purchase of Tyler’s software products. The complete implementation process for a typical system includes planning, design, data conversion, set-up and testing. At the culmination of the implementation process, an installation team travels to the customer’s facility to ensure the smooth transfer of data to the new system. Installation fees are charged separately to customers on either a fixed-fee or hourly charge basis, depending on the contract, with full pass-through to customers of travel and other out-of-pocket expenses.

Both in connection with the installation of new systems and on an ongoing basis, we provide extensive training services and programs related to our products and services. Training can be provided in our training centers, onsite at customers’ locations, or at meetings and conferences, and can be customized to meet customers’ requirements. The vast majority of our customers contract with us for training services, both to improve their employees’ proficiency and productivity and to fully utilize the functionality of our systems. Training services are generally billed on an hourly basis, along with travel and other expenses.

Maintenance and Support

Following the implementation of our software systems, we provide ongoing software support services to assist our customers in operating the systems and to periodically update the software. Support is provided over the phone to customers through help desks staffed by our customer support representatives. For more complicated issues, our staff, with the customers’ permission, can log on to customers’ systems remotely. We maintain our customers’ software largely through releases that contain improvements and incremental additions, along with updates necessary because of legislative or regulatory changes.

Virtually all of our software customers contract with us for maintenance and support, which provides us with a significant source of recurring revenue. We generally provide maintenance and support under annual contracts, with a typical fee based on a percentage of the software product’s license fee. These fees can be increased annually and may also increase as new license fees increase. Maintenance and support fees are generally paid in advance for the entire maintenance contract period. Most maintenance contracts automatically renew unless the customer or Tyler gives notice of termination prior to expiration. Similar support is provided to our ASP customers, and is included in their overall monthly fees.

Appraisal Services

We are the nation’s largest provider of property appraisal outsourcing services for local government taxing authorities. These services include:
•   the physical inspection of commercial and residential properties;    
•   data collection and processing;    
•   sophisticated computer analyses for property valuation;    
•   preparation of tax rolls;    
•   community education regarding the assessment process; and    
•   arbitration between taxpayers and the assessing jurisdiction.

Local government taxing entities normally reappraise properties from time to time to update values for tax assessment purposes and to maintain equity in the taxing process. In some jurisdictions, reassessment cycles are mandated by law; in others, they are discretionary. While some taxing jurisdictions perform reappraisals in-house, many local governments outsource this function because of its cyclical nature and because of the specialized knowledge and expertise requirements associated with it. Our business unit that provides appraisal outsourcing services to local governments has been in this business since 1938.

In some instances, we also sell property tax and/or appraisal software products in connection with appraisal outsourcing projects, while other customers may only engage us to provide appraisal services. Appraisal outsourcing services are somewhat seasonal in nature to the extent that winter weather conditions reduce the productivity of data collection activities in connection with those projects.

STRATEGY

Our objective is to grow our revenue and earnings internally, supplemented by focused strategic acquisitions. The key components of our business strategy are to:
•   Provide high quality, value–added products and services to our clients. We compete on the basis of, among other things, delivering to customers our deep domain expertise in local government operations through the highest value products and services in the market. We believe we have achieved a reputation as a premium product and service provider to the local government market.    
•   Continue to expand our product and service offerings. While we already have what we believe to be the broadest line of software products for local governments, we continually upgrade our core software applications and expand our complementary product and service offerings to respond to technological advancements and the changing needs of our clients. For example, we offer solutions that allow the public to access data and conduct transactions with local governments, such as paying traffic tickets, property taxes and utility bills, via the Internet. We believe that the addition of such features enhance the market appeal of our core products. Since 2001, we have also offered certain of our software products in an ASP environment, a delivery model that we believe will, over time, have increasing appeal to local governments and will be expanded to include more applications. We have also increased our offerings of consulting and business process reengineering services.    
•   Leverage a core technology framework across multiple product development efforts. We have developed a core technology framework upon which we have developed or are developing a new generation of a number of products. By leveraging the core framework, which is based on an n-tier, browser-based architecture, for the development of multiple products, we believe we can develop new-generation products more efficiently, and at a lower total cost. In addition, utilizing a core framework is also expected to help us bring new products to market more rapidly. By having more products built on a common technology framework, we expect to enhance our cross-selling opportunities and be able to provide maintenance and other services more efficiently.    
•   Expand our customer base. We seek to establish long-term relationships with new customers primarily through our sales and marketing efforts. While we currently have customers in all 50 states, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom, not all of our product lines have nationwide geographic penetration. We intend to continue to expand into new geographic markets

      by adding sales staff and targeting marketing efforts by product in those areas. We also intend to continue to expand our customer base to include larger governments. While our traditional market focus has primarily been on small and mid-sized governments, our increased size and market presence, together with the technological advances and improved scalability of certain of our products, are allowing us to achieve success in selling to larger customers.    
•   Expand our existing customer relationships. Our existing customer base offers significant opportunities for additional sales of IT products and services that we currently offer, but that existing customers do not fully utilize. Add-on sales to existing customers typically involve lower sales and marketing expenses than sales to new customers.    
•   Grow recurring revenue. We have a large recurring revenue base from maintenance and support, with an annual run rate of $73 million. We have historically experienced very low customer turnover (less than 2% annually for our major software business units) and recurring revenues continue to grow as the installed customer base increases. In addition, since the beginning of 2001, we have established a growing recurring revenue stream from ASP hosting and other similar services.    
•   Maximize economies of scale and take advantage of financial leverage in our business. We seek to build and maintain a large client base to create economies of scale, enabling us to provide value-added products and services to our customers while expanding our operating margins. Because we sell primarily “off-the-shelf” software, increased sales of the same products result in incrementally higher gross margins. In addition, we believe that we have a marketing and administrative infrastructure in place that we can leverage to accommodate significant long-term growth without proportionately increasing selling, general and administrative expenses.    
•   Attract and retain highly qualified employees. We believe that the depth and quality of our operating management and staff is one of our significant strengths, and that the ability to retain such employees is crucial to our continued growth and success. We believe that our stable management team, financial strength and growth opportunities, as well as our leadership position in the local government market, enhance our attractiveness as an employer for highly skilled employees.    
•   Pursue selected strategic acquisitions. While we expect to primarily grow internally, we may from time to time selectively pursue strategic acquisitions that provide us with one or more of the following:

  q   products and services to complement our existing offerings;     q   entry into new markets related to local governments; and     q   new customers and/or geographic expansion.
•   Establish strategic alliances. In January 2007 we announced a strategic alliance with Microsoft Corporation to jointly develop core public sector functionality for Microsoft Dynamics AX to address the unique accounting needs of public sector organizations worldwide. As part of this alliance we will enhance Microsoft Dynamics AX with public sector-specific functionality. The co-development will broaden the functionality of Microsoft Dynamics AX, providing both Tyler and Microsoft with a public sector accounting platform to support their existing and prospective clients well into the future. Microsoft Dynamics AX with public sector functionality will be sold in the United States and internationally through Microsoft’s distribution channels and is expected to be available for delivery in 2010. Tyler will also become an authorized Microsoft reseller for the Microsoft Dynamics solutions developed under this arrangement, and will sell the solutions directly into the government market. Tyler will receive license and maintenance royalties on direct and indirect sales of the solutions co-developed under this multi-year term of this relationship.

SALES, MARKETING, AND CUSTOMERS

We market our products and services through direct sales and marketing personnel located throughout the United States. Other in-house marketing staff focuses on add-on sales, professional services and support.

Sales of new systems are typically generated from referrals from other government offices or departments within a county or municipality, referrals from other local governments, relationships established between sales representatives and county or local officials, contacts at trade shows, direct mailings, and direct contact from prospects already familiar with us. We are active in numerous national, state, county, and local government associations, and participate in annual meetings, trade shows, and educational events.

Customers consist primarily of county and municipal agencies, school districts and other local government offices. In counties, customers include the auditor, treasurer, tax assessor/collector, county clerk, district clerk, county and district court judges, probation officers, sheriff, and county appraiser. At municipal government sites, customers include directors from various departments, including administration, finance, utilities, public works, code enforcement, personnel, purchasing, taxation, municipal court, and police. Contracts for software products and services are generally implemented over periods of three months to one year, with annually renewing maintenance and support update agreements thereafter. Although either the customer or we can terminate these agreements, historically almost all support and maintenance agreements are automatically renewed annually. Contracts for appraisal outsourcing services are generally one to three years in duration. During 2006, approximately 38% of our revenue was attributable to ongoing support and maintenance agreements.

COMPETITION

We compete with numerous local, regional, and national firms that provide or offer some or many of the same products and services that we provide. Most of these competitors are smaller companies that may be able to offer less expensive solutions than ours. Many of these firms operate within a specific geographic area and/or in a narrow product or service niche. We also compete with national firms, some of which have greater financial and technical resources than we do, including Oracle Corporation, Lawson Software, Inc., SAP AG, MAXIMUS, Inc., Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., SunGard Data Systems, Inc., New World Systems and Manatron, Inc. In addition, we sometimes compete with consulting and systems integration firms, such as BearingPoint, Inc., which develop custom systems, primarily for larger governments. We also occasionally compete with central internal information service departments of local governments, which require us to persuade the end-user department to discontinue service by its own personnel and outsource the service to us. We compete on a variety of factors, including price, service, name recognition, reputation, technological capabilities, and the ability to modify existing products and services to accommodate the individual requirements of the customer. Our ability to offer an integrated system of applications for several offices or departments is often a competitive strength. Local governmental units often are required to seek competitive proposals through a request for proposal process.

SUPPLIERS

All computers, peripherals, printers, scanners, operating system software, office automation software, and other equipment necessary for the implementation and provision of our software systems and services are presently available from several third-party sources. Hardware is purchased on original equipment manufacturer or distributor terms at discounts from retail. We have not experienced any significant supply problems.

BACKLOG

At December 31, 2006, our estimated revenue backlog was approximately $205.9 million, compared to $165.4 million at December 31, 2005. The backlog represents signed contracts under which the products have not been delivered or the services have not been performed as of year-end. Approximately $150.3 million of the backlog is expected to be recognized during 2007.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, PROPRIETARY RIGHTS, AND LICENSES

We regard certain features of our internal operations, software, and documentation as confidential and proprietary and rely on a combination of contractual restrictions, trade secret laws and other measures to protect our proprietary intellectual property. We generally do not rely on patents. We believe that, due to the rapid rate of technological change in the computer software industry, trade secrets and copyright protection are less significant than factors such as knowledge, ability and experience of our employees, frequent product enhancements, and timeliness and quality of support services. We typically license our software products under non-exclusive license agreements which are generally non-transferable and have a perpetual term.

EMPLOYEES

At December 31, 2006, we had approximately 1,530 employees. Appraisal outsourcing projects are cyclical in nature and can be widely dispersed geographically. We often hire temporary employees to assist in these projects whose term of employment generally ends with the project’s completion. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or are subject to collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relations with our employees to be positive.

INTERNET WEBSITE AND AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC FILINGS

We file annual, quarterly, current and other reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act. You may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and other information statements, and other information regarding issuers, including us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of this site is http://www.sec.gov.

We also maintain an Internet site at www.tylertech.com. We make available free of charge through this site our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Forms 4 and 5, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Our “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” is also available on our Web site. We intend to satisfy the disclosure requirements regarding amendments to, or waivers from, a provision of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by posting such information on our Web site.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Investors evaluating our company should carefully consider the factors described below and all other information contained in this Annual Report. Any of the following factors could materially harm our business, operating results, and financial condition. Additional factors and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial could also harm our business, operating results, and financial condition. This section should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in this Annual Report. We may make forward-looking statements from time to time, both written and oral. We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those projected in any such forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those set forth below and elsewhere in this Annual Report.

A decline in information technology spending may result in a decrease in our revenues or lower our growth rate.

A decline in the demand for information technology among our current and prospective customers may result in decreased revenues or a lower growth rate for us because our sales depend, in part, on our customers’ level of funding for new or additional information technology systems and services. Moreover, demand for our solutions may be reduced by a decline in overall demand for computer software and services. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that we will be able to increase or maintain our revenues.

Our products are complex and we run the risk of errors or defects with new product introductions or enhancements.

Software products as complex as those developed by us may contain errors or defects, especially when first introduced or when new versions or enhancements are released. Although we have not experienced material adverse effects resulting from any such defects or errors to date, we cannot assure you that material defects and errors will not be found after commencement of product shipments. Any such defects could result in loss of revenues or delay market acceptance.

Our license agreements with our customers typically contain provisions designed to limit our exposure to potential liability claims. It is possible, however, that we may not always be able to negotiate such provisions in our contracts with customers or that the limitation of liability provisions contained in our license agreements may not be effective as a result of existing or future federal, state or local laws, ordinances, or judicial decisions. Although we maintain errors and omissions and general liability insurance, and we try to structure our contracts to include limitations on liability, we cannot assure you that a successful claim could not be made or would not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may experience fluctuations in quarterly revenue that could adversely impact our stock price and our operating results.

Our actual revenues in a quarter could fall below expectations, which could lead to a decline in our stock price. Our revenues and operating results are difficult to predict and may fluctuate substantially from quarter to quarter. Revenues from license fees in any quarter depend substantially upon our contracting activity and our ability to recognize revenues in that quarter in accordance with our revenue recognition policies. Our quarterly revenue may fluctuate and may be difficult to forecast for a variety of reasons, including the following:
•   a significant number of our prospective customers’ decisions regarding whether to enter into license agreements with us are made within the last few weeks of each quarter;    
•   the size of license transactions can vary significantly;    
•   customers may unexpectedly postpone or cancel orders due to changes in their strategic priorities, project objectives, budget or personnel;    
•   customer purchasing processes vary significantly and a customer’s internal approval, expenditure authorization and contract negotiation processes can be difficult and time consuming to complete, even after selection of a vendor;    
•   the number, timing, and significance of software product enhancements and new software product announcements by us and our competitors may affect purchase decisions; and    
•   we may have to defer revenues under our revenue recognition policies.

Fluctuation in our quarterly revenues may adversely affect our operating results. In each fiscal quarter our expense levels, operating costs, and hiring plans are based on projections of future revenues and are relatively fixed. If our actual revenues fall below expectations, we could experience a reduction in operating results.

As with other software vendors, we may be required to delay revenue recognition into future periods, which could adversely impact our operating results.

We have in the past had to, and in the future may have to, defer revenue recognition for license fees due to several factors, including whether:
•   license agreements include applications that are under development or other undelivered elements;    
•   we must deliver services that are considered essential to the functionality of the software, including significant modifications, customization, or complex interfaces, which could delay product delivery or acceptance;    
•   the transaction involves acceptance criteria;    
•   the transaction involves contingent payment terms or fees;    
•   we are required to accept a fixed-fee services contract; or    
•   we are required to accept extended payment terms.

Because of the factors listed above and other specific requirements under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States for software revenue recognition, we must have very precise terms in our license agreements in order to recognize revenue when we initially deliver and install software or perform services. Negotiation of mutually acceptable terms and conditions can extend the sales cycle, and sometimes we do not obtain terms and conditions that permit revenue recognition at the time of delivery or even as work on the project is completed.

Compliance with changing regulation of corporate governance and public disclosure may result in additional expenses.

Changing laws, regulations, and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, new Securities and Exchange Commission regulations and New York Stock Exchange rules, are creating uncertainty for companies such as ours. The costs required to comply with such evolving laws are difficult to predict. To maintain high standards of corporate governance and public disclosure, we intend to invest all reasonably necessary resources to comply with evolving standards. This investment may result in an unforeseen increase in general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities, which may harm our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Increases in service revenue as a percentage of total revenues could decrease overall margins and adversely affect our operating results.

We realize lower margins on software and appraisal service revenues than on license revenue. The majority of our contracts include both software licenses and professional services. Therefore, an increase in the percentage of software service and appraisal service revenue compared to license revenue could have a detrimental impact on our overall gross margins and could adversely affect operating results.

Selling products and services into the public sector poses unique challenges.

We derive substantially all of our revenues from sales of software and services to state, county and city governments, other municipal agencies, and other public entities. We expect that sales to public sector customers will continue to account for substantially all of our revenues in the future. We face many risks and challenges associated with contracting with governmental entities, including:
•   the sales cycle of governmental agencies may be complex and lengthy;    
•   payments under some public sector contracts are subject to achieving implementation milestones, and we have had, and may in the future have, differences with customers as to whether milestones have been achieved;    
•   political resistance to the concept of government agencies contracting with third parties to provide information technology solutions;    
•   changes in legislation authorizing government’s contracting with third parties;    
•   the internal review process by governmental agencies for bid acceptance;    
•   changes to the bidding procedures by governmental agencies;    
•   changes in governmental administrations and personnel;    
•   limitations on governmental resources placed by budgetary restraints, which in some circumstances, may provide for a termination of executed contracts because of a lack of future funding; and    
•   the general effect of economic downturns and other changes on local governments’ ability to spend public funds on outsourcing arrangements.

Each of these risks is outside our control. If we fail to adequately adapt to these risks and uncertainties, our financial performance could be adversely affected.

The open bidding process for governmental contracts creates uncertainty in predicting future contract awards.

Many governmental agencies purchase products and services through an open bidding process. Generally, a governmental entity will publish an established list of requirements requesting potential vendors to propose solutions for the established requirements. To respond successfully to these requests for proposals, we must accurately estimate our cost structure for servicing a proposed contract, the time required to establish operations for the proposed client, and the likely terms of any other third party proposals submitted. We cannot guarantee that we will win any bids in the future through the request for proposal process, or that any winning bids will ultimately result in contracts on favorable terms. Our failure to secure contracts through the open bidding process, or to secure such contracts on favorable terms, may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Fixed- price contracts may affect our profits.

Some of our present contracts are on a fixed-priced basis, which can lead to various risks, including:
•   the failure to accurately estimate the resources and time required for an engagement;    
•   the failure to effectively manage governmental agencies’ and other customers’ expectations regarding the scope of services to be delivered for an estimated price; and    
•   the failure to timely complete fixed-price engagements within budget to the customers’ satisfaction.

If we do not adequately assess these and other risks, we may be subject to cost overruns and penalties, which may harm our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

We face significant competition from other vendors and potential new entrants into our markets.

We believe we are a leading provider of integrated solutions for the public sector. However, we face competition from a variety of software vendors that offer products and services similar to those offered by us, as well as from companies offering to develop custom software. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including:
•   the attractiveness of the business strategy and services we offer;    
•   the breadth of products and services we offer;    
•   price;    
•   quality of products and service;    
•   technological innovation;    
•   name recognition; and    
•   our ability to modify existing products and services to accommodate the particular needs of our customers.

We believe the market is highly fragmented with a large number of competitors that vary in size, primary computer platforms, and overall product scope. Our competitors include the consulting divisions of national and regional accounting firms, publicly held companies that focus on selected segments of the public sector market, and a significant number of smaller, privately held companies. Certain competitors have greater technical, marketing, and financial resources than we do. We cannot assure you that such competitors will not develop products or offer services that are superior to our products or services or that achieve greater market acceptance.

We also compete with internal, centralized information service departments of governmental entities, which require us to persuade the end-user to stop the internal service and outsource to us. In addition, our customers may elect in the future to provide information management services internally through new or existing departments, which could reduce the market for our services.

We could face additional competition as other established and emerging companies enter the public sector software application market and new products and technologies are introduced. Increased competition could result in price reductions, fewer customer orders, reduced gross margins, and loss of market share. In addition, current and potential competitors may make strategic acquisitions or establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third-parties, thereby increasing the ability of their products to address the needs of our prospective customers. It is possible that new competitors or alliances among current and new competitors may emerge and rapidly gain significant market share. Further, competitive pressures could require us to reduce the price of our software licenses and related services. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against current and future competitors, and the failure to do so would have material adverse effect upon our business, operating results, and financial condition.

We must respond to rapid technological changes to be competitive.

The market for our products is characterized by rapid technological change, evolving industry standards in computer hardware and software technology, changes in customer requirements, and frequent new product introductions and enhancements. The introduction of products embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards can render existing products obsolete and unmarketable. As a result, our future success will depend, in part, upon our ability to continue to enhance existing products and develop and introduce in a timely manner or acquire new products that keep pace with technological developments, satisfy increasingly sophisticated customer requirements, and achieve market acceptance. We cannot assure you that we will successfully identify new product opportunities and develop and bring new products to market in a timely and cost-effective manner. Further, we cannot assure you that the products, capabilities, or technologies developed by others will not render our products or technologies obsolete or noncompetitive. If we are unable to develop or acquire on a timely and cost-effective basis new software products or enhancements to existing products, or if such new products or enhancements do not achieve market acceptance, our business, operating results, and financial condition may be materially adversely affected.

Our failure to properly manage growth could adversely affect our business.

We have expanded our operations since February 1998, when we entered the business of providing software solutions and services to the public sector. We intend to continue expansion in the foreseeable future to pursue existing and potential market opportunities. This growth places a significant demand on management and operational resources. In order to manage growth effectively, we must implement and improve our operational systems, procedures, and controls on a timely basis. We must also identify, hire, train, and manage key managerial and technical personnel. If we fail to implement these systems or employ and retain such qualified personnel, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

We may be unable to hire, integrate, and retain qualified personnel.

Our continued success will depend upon the availability and performance of our key management, sales, marketing, customer support, and product development personnel. The loss of key management or technical personnel could adversely affect us. We believe that our continued success will depend in large part upon our ability to attract, integrate, and retain such personnel. We have at times experienced and continue to experience difficulty in recruiting qualified personnel. Competition for qualified software development, sales, and other personnel is intense, and we cannot assure you that we will be successful in attracting and retaining such personnel.

We may experience difficulties in executing our acquisition strategy.

In addition, a significant portion of our growth has resulted from strategic acquisitions in new product and geographic markets. Although our future focus will be on internal growth, we will continue to identify and pursue strategic acquisitions and alliances with suitable candidates. Our future success will depend, in part, on our ability to successfully integrate future acquisitions and other strategic alliances into our operations. Acquisitions may involve a number of special risks, including diversion of management’s attention, failure to retain key acquired personnel, unanticipated events or circumstances, legal liabilities, and amortization of certain acquired intangible assets. Some or all of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Although we conduct due diligence reviews of potential acquisition candidates, we may not identify all material liabilities or risks related to acquisition candidates. There can be no assurance that any such strategic acquisitions or alliances will be accomplished on favorable terms or will result in profitable operations.

We may be unable to protect our proprietary rights.

Many of our product and service offerings incorporate proprietary information, trade secrets, know-how, and other intellectual property rights. We rely on a combination of contracts, copyrights, and trade secret laws to establish and protect our proprietary rights in our technology. We cannot be certain that we have taken all appropriate steps to deter misappropriation of our intellectual property. In addition, there has been significant litigation in the United States in recent years involving intellectual property rights. We are not currently involved in any material intellectual property litigation. We may, however, be a party to intellectual property litigation in the future to protect our proprietary information, trade secrets, know-how, and other intellectual property rights. Further, we cannot assure you that third parties will not assert infringement or misappropriation claims against us in the future with respect to current or future products. Any claims or litigation, with or without merit, could be time-consuming and result in costly litigation and diversion of management’s attention. Further, any claims and litigation could cause product shipment delays or require us to enter into royalty or licensing arrangements. Such royalty or licensing arrangements, if required, may not be available on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Thus, litigation to defend and enforce our intellectual property rights could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, regardless of the final outcome of such litigation.

Our Application Service Provider strategy has yet to gain widespread acceptance.

Some businesses choose to access enterprise software applications through application service providers, or ASPs, which are businesses that host applications and provide access to software on a subscription basis. The public sector market for ASP solutions is new and unproven. Acceptance of our ASP model depends upon the ability and willingness of different governmental entities to accept and implement ASP solutions. Some prospective clients have expressed security and privacy concerns with the ASP model, including a concern regarding the confidential nature of the information and transactions available from and conducted with governments and concerns regarding off-site storage of such information. We have limited experience selling our solutions through ASPs and may not be successful in generating revenue from this distribution channel.

Changes in the insurance markets may affect our ability to win some contract awards and may lead to increased expenses.

Some of our customers, primarily those for our property appraisal services, require that we secure performance bonds before they will select us as their vendor. The number of qualified, high-rated insurance companies that offer performance bonds has decreased in recent years, while the costs associated with securing these bonds has increased dramatically. In addition, we are generally required to issue a letter of credit as security for the issuance of a performance bond. We periodically enter into long-term borrowing agreements and each letter of credit we issue without corresponding cash collateral may reduce our borrowing capacity under the borrowing agreement. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to secure such performance bonds in the future on terms that are favorable to us, if at all. Our inability to obtain performance bonds on favorable terms or at all could impact our future ability to win some contract awards, particularly large property appraisal services contracts, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Recent volatility in the stock markets, increasing shareholder litigation, the adoption of expansive legislation that redefines corporate controls (in particular, legislation adopted to prevent future corporate and accounting scandals), as well as other factors have recently led to significant increases in premiums for directors’ and officers’ liability insurance. The number of insurers offering directors and officers insurance at competitive rates has also decreased in recent years. Volatility of the insurance market may result in future increases in our general and administrative expenses, which may adversely affect future operating results.

Our stock price may be volatile.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile and may be significantly affected by many different factors. Some examples of factors that can have a significant impact on our stock price include:
•   actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;    
•   announcements of technological innovations, new products, or new contracts by us or our competitors;    
•   developments with respect to patents, copyrights, or other proprietary rights;    
•   conditions and trends in the software and other technology industries;    
•   adoption of new accounting standards affecting the software industry;    
•   changes in financial estimates by securities analysts; and    
•   general market conditions and other factors.

In addition, the stock market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have particularly affected the market prices for the common stock of technology companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. We cannot assure you that similar litigation will not occur in the future with respect to us. Such litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could have a material adverse effect upon our business, operating results, and financial condition.

Historically, we have not paid dividends on our common stock.

We have not declared or paid a cash dividend since we entered the business of providing software solutions and services to the public sector in February 1998. Additionally, we may enter into credit agreements that could restrict our ability to pay cash dividends. We intend to retain earnings for use in the operation and expansion of our business. We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation, bylaws, and Delaware law could deter takeover attempts.

Our board of directors may issue up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock and may determine the price, rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions, including voting and conversion rights, of these shares of preferred stock. These determinations may be made without any further vote or action by our stockholders. The rights of the holders of our common stock will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued in the future. The issuance of preferred stock may make it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding voting stock. In addition, some provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws, and of the Delaware General Corporation Law could also delay, prevent, or make more difficult a merger, tender offer, or proxy contest involving us.

Financial Outlook.

From time to time in press releases and otherwise, we may publish forecasts or other forward-looking statements regarding our results, including estimated revenues or net earnings. Any forecast of our future performance reflects various assumptions. These assumptions are subject to significant uncertainties, and as a matter of course, any number of them may prove to be incorrect. Further, the achievement of any forecast depends on numerous risks and other factors (including those described in this discussion), many of which are beyond our control. As a result, we cannot be certain that our performance will be consistent with any management forecasts or that the variation from such forecasts will not be material and adverse. Current and potential stockholders are cautioned not to base their entire analysis of our business and prospects upon isolated predictions, but instead are encouraged to utilize our entire publicly available mix of historical and forward-looking information, as well as other available information regarding us, our products and services, and the software industry when evaluating our prospective results of operations.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.