microprocessor. Our SPARC servers are differentiated by their reliability, security, scalability and customer environments that they target (general purpose or specialized systems). Our midsize and large servers are designed to offer greater performance and lower total cost of ownership than mainframe systems for business critical applications and for customers having more computationally intensive needs. Our SPARC servers run the Oracle Solaris operating system and are designed for the most demanding mission critical enterprise environments at any scale.

We also offer enterprise x86 servers. These x86 servers are primarily based on microprocessor platforms from Intel Corporation and are also compatible with Oracle Solaris, Oracle Linux, Microsoft Windows and other operating systems.

Our Netra line of servers are aimed at the unique needs of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and network equipment providers. Rack-optimized systems and our blade product offerings combine high-density hardware architecture and system management software that OEMs find particularly useful in building their own solution architectures.

Our storage products are designed to securely manage, protect, archive and restore customers’ mission critical data assets and consist of tape, disk, hardware-related software including file systems software, back-up and archive software and storage management software and networking for mainframe and open systems environments.

The majority of our hardware systems products are sold through indirect channels, including independent distributors and value added resellers.

To produce our hardware products, we rely on both our internal manufacturing operations as well as third party manufacturing partners. Our internal manufacturing operations consist primarily of final assembly, test and quality control of enterprise and data center servers and storage systems. For all other manufacturing, we rely on third party manufacturing partners. We distribute most of our hardware products either from our facilities or partner facilities. We strive to reduce costs by simplifying our manufacturing processes through increased standardization of components across product types and a “build-to-order” manufacturing process in which products generally are built only after customers have placed firm orders. In addition, we seek to enhance hardware systems support processes that are designed to proactively identify and solve quality issues and to increase the amount of new hardware systems support contracts sold in connection with the sales of new hardware products.

Our hardware systems products revenues, cost of hardware systems products and operating margins that we report are affected by the strength of general economic and business conditions, governmental budgetary constraints, our strategy for and the competitive position of our hardware systems products, our acquisitions and foreign currency rate fluctuations. In addition, our operating margins for our hardware systems products segment have been and will be affected by the amortization of intangible assets.

We have limited experience in predicting our quarterly hardware systems