Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). All statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the words “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” "would," "project," "plan," “estimate,” or “continue,” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations strategy, plans or intentions. Forward looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include, but are not limited to, statements about:
We caution you that the foregoing list may not contain all the forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors described in the section titled "Risk Factors"
and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We cannot assure you that the results, events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur, and actual results, events or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make.
PART I
Item 1. Business
Overview
We are a leading cloud-based communications platform for enterprises in the United States. Our solutions include a broad range of software Application Programming Interfaces ("APIs") for voice and text functionality and our owned and managed, purpose-built Internet Protocol ("IP") voice network, one of the largest in the nation. Our sophisticated and easy-to-use software APIs allow enterprises to enhance their products and services by incorporating advanced voice and text capabilities. Companies use our platform to more frequently and seamlessly connect with their end users, add voice calling capabilities to residential Internet of Things ("IoT") devices, offer end users new mobile application experiences and improve employee productivity, among other use cases. By owning and operating a capital-efficient, purpose-built IP voice network, we are able to offer advanced monitoring, reporting and analytics, superior customer service, dedicated operating teams, personalized support, and flexible cost structures. Over the last ten years, we have pioneered the Communications Platform-as-a-Service ("CPaaS") space through our innovation-rich culture and focus on empowering enterprises with end-to-end communications solutions.
As technologies evolve and new mobile applications and connected devices proliferate, enterprises must adapt and innovate their communications solutions to create a “connected” experience anywhere, anytime, on any device. Enterprises looking to capitalize on trends such as voice as an interface and Application-to-Person ("A2P") messaging need solutions that are reliable, secure, scalable and cost-efficient. Most software-powered communications providers rely heavily on leased networks and cannot provide enterprise-grade service and support. We believe traditional large-scale network providers lack the capabilities to build robust software platforms for agile development of communications solutions. Enterprises focus on their core businesses, but lack the technical know-how or strategic flexibility to build the customized solutions they require in-house. As a result, enterprises need a third-party, end-to-end, cloud-based software solution that eliminates the complexity and expense of building and maintaining their own communications platform.
Our solutions address enterprises’ communications needs, which we believe are shaping the future of how enterprises connect through embedded voice and text for applications and devices. At the core of our solutions are our communications software APIs, which allow companies to build products and services on top of our cloud-based, out-of-the-box software. Our software APIs include pre-defined functions that are easily customizable for specific use cases without the challenge and expense of building and deploying complex code. Moreover, our platform collects and analyzes terabytes of call and messaging data records in real-time and provide a seamless integration to CRM and Business Intelligence analytics tools to provide meaningful data driven actionable insights for critical business decisions. Customers can then launch and scale applications and solutions with reliability using our own nationwide IP voice network. Our voice software APIs allow enterprises to make and receive phone calls and create advanced voice experiences. Integration with our purpose-built IP voice network ensures enterprise-grade functionality and secure, high-quality connections. Our messaging software APIs provide enterprises with advanced tools to connect with end users via messaging. Our customers also use our solutions to enable 911 response capabilities, real-time provisioning and activation of phone numbers, and toll-free number messaging.
We are the only CPaaS provider in the industry with our own nationwide IP voice network, which we have purpose-built for our platform. Our network is capital-efficient and custom-built to support the applications and experiences that make a difference in the way enterprises communicate. Since a communications platform is only as strong as the network that backs it, we believe our network provides a
significant competitive advantage in the control, quality, pricing power and scalability of our offering. We are able to control the quality and provide the support our customers expect, as well as efficiently meet scalability and cost requirements.
Our customers currently include only enterprises, which includes large enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses, emerging technology companies and any other business. Our customers operate in a diverse set of industries, including technology, communications, hospitality and services, that need to launch and scale robust communications experiences. Our customers choose Bandwidth because we empower them to embed seamless communications within their products and services in a reliable, flexible, scalable and cost-efficient manner. Our customers include Google Voice, Microsoft Office 365 Skype for Business, Cisco-Webex, Dialpad, RingCentral, GoDaddy, Kipsu, Rover and ZipRecruiter, among many others. We do not currently have any consumer or residential customers, although our enterprise customers may utilize our solutions to serve their own consumer or residential customers or end users.