Item 1. Business

The Company

We are a global leader in the Automatic Identification and Data Capture (“AIDC”) market. The AIDC market consists of mobile computing, data capture, radio frequency identification devices (“RFID”), barcode printing, and other automation products and services. The Company’s solutions are proven to help our customers and end-users achieve their mission critical strategic business objectives, including improved operational efficiency, optimized workflows, increased asset utilization, and better customer experiences.

We design, manufacture, and sell a broad range of AIDC products, including: mobile computers, barcode scanners, RFID readers, specialty printers for barcode labeling and personal identification, real-time location systems (“RTLS”), related accessories and supplies, such as self-adhesive labels and other consumables, and utilities and application software. We also provide a full range of services, including maintenance, technical support, repair and managed services, including cloud-based subscriptions. End-users of our products and services include those in the retail, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, health care, hospitality, warehouse and distribution, energy and utilities, and education industries around the world. We provide

our products and services globally through a direct sales force and extensive network of channel partners. We provide products and services in over 170 countries, with approximately 120 facilities and 6,500 employees worldwide.

Through innovative application of our technologies, we are leading an evolution of the AIDC market into Enterprise Asset Intelligence (“EAI”) solutions. Specifically, EAI encompasses solutions which “sense” information from enterprise assets, including packages moving through a supply chain, equipment in a factory, workers in warehouse, and shoppers in a store. Operational data from enterprise assets, including status, location, utilization, or preferences, is then analyzed to provide actionable insights. Finally, with the benefits of mobility, these insights can be delivered to the right worker at the right time to drive more effective actions. As a result, our solutions and technologies enable enterprises to “sense, analyze, and act” more effectively to improve operational effectiveness and achieve critical business objectives.

The evolution of the AIDC market toward a more strategically oriented EAI focus is being driven by strong underlying secular trends in technology. These trends include internet of things (“IoT”), cloud-based data analytics, and mobility. The IoT is enabling a proliferation of smart, connected devices. EAI solutions, which include these smart, connected devices, capture a much broader range of information than is possible with traditional AIDC solutions and communicate this information in real-time. Cloud computing and expanded data analytics are allowing enterprises to make better business decisions through improved timeliness and visibility to information and workflows. While AIDC solutions sporadically capture limited amounts of data and populate static enterprise systems, EAI solutions continuously analyze real-time data from many sources to generate actionable insights. Finally, the continued rapid growth of mobile devices and applications are significantly expanding mobile computing use cases to levels of near ubiquity in the enterprise. With expanded mobility, end-users are able to consume or act upon dynamic enterprise data and information anytime and anywhere. The broad availability of wireless and internet connectivity also supports the adoption and deployment of the Company’s solutions to enable organizations to collect more data in real-time on the location, movement, and condition of their assets.

Acquisition of Enterprise Business

In October 2014, the Company acquired the Enterprise business (“Enterprise”), excluding its iDEN or Integrated Digital Enhanced Network Business, from Motorola Solutions, Inc. (“MSI”) for $3.45 billion in cash (the “Acquisition”). Enterprise is an industry leader in mobile computing and advanced data capture technologies and services, which complement the Company’s printing and RFID products. Its products include rugged and enterprise-grade mobile computers, barcode scanners and RFID readers, WLAN solutions, and accessories, software, and services that are associated with these products. Enterprise service revenues include sales arising from maintenance, repair, product support, system installation and integration services, and other services.

The Acquisition expanded the Company’s product lines with complementary products that together are employed by customers to obtain greater visibility and insights into their operations. It enables us to deliver end-to-end solutions supporting the IoT in targeted industries. The expanded capabilities of the combined company make us a more valued strategic supplier to end-users, as well as a more important supplier of products and solutions to our channel partners.

The Company funded the Acquisition through a combination of cash on hand of $250 million, the sale of 7.25% senior notes due 2022 in an aggregate principal amount of $1.05 billion (the “Senior Notes”), and a new credit agreement with various lenders that provided a term loan of $2.2 billion (the “Term Loan”) due 2021. A $250 million revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) was included as part of the new credit agreement (the Senior Notes and, together with the Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility, the “Debt Agreements”).

Integration of Enterprise Business

Since closing the Acquisition in October 2014, integration activities by the Company have focused on creating “One Zebra” by integrating the operations of Enterprise with Zebra to create a single business with common sales, service, supply chain, marketing, finance, information technology (“IT”), and other functions. Our priorities have centered on maintaining business continuity while identifying and implementing cost synergies, operating efficiencies, and integration of functional organizations and processes. Another key focus of the integration has been to conclude MSI-provided transition service agreements (“TSAs”) related primarily to IT support services. These TSAs are an interim measure to continue the operations of the Enterprise business without disruption while integration activities are in process.

During 2016, significant progress was made in the areas of culture development and integration of IT infrastructure and business systems, including those to support our global network of channel partners and our Asia-Pacific regional operations. These efforts resulted in the elimination of more than 75% of our TSAs, driven by Enterprise IT applications. In addition, the Company consolidated legacy channel programs of the Legacy Zebra and Enterprise businesses that culminated into the launch of the Company’s PartnerConnect channel program in April 2016.

Additional business system integration work remains including completion of the implementation of a common enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system. Until such time that the Company is able to complete its transition to common systems, Legacy Zebra and Enterprise will continue to operate largely on separate systems, including separate ERP systems. The IT integration, when completed, will result in a modernized and right-sized IT network and streamlined business processes. Completion of the IT integration, including a common ERP system, is expected before the end of 2017 and will enable us to terminate the remaining TSAs. As a result of our integration efforts, we expect a more efficient and cost effective IT infrastructure, improved operational efficiency, and reduced operating costs.

Dispositions

On October 28, 2016, the Company concluded its Asset Purchase Agreement with Extreme Networks, Inc. (“Extreme”) whereby the Company sold its wireless LAN (“WLAN”) business (“Divestiture Group”) for a gross purchase price of $55 million. See Note 3 Business Combinations and Divestitures.

Operations

Our operations consist of two segments - (1) Legacy Zebra, comprised of barcode and card printing, location solutions, supplies, and services and (2) Enterprise, comprised of mobile computing, data capture, RFID, and services.

Legacy Zebra

Barcode and Card Printing: We design, manufacture, and sell printers, which produce high-quality labels, wristbands, tickets, receipts, and plastic cards on demand. Our customers use our printers in a wide range of applications, including routing and tracking, patient safety, transaction processing, personal identification, and product authentication. These applications require high levels of data accuracy, speed, and reliability. They also include specialty printing for receipts and tickets for improved customer service and productivity gains. Plastic cards are used for secure, reliable personal identification (e.g. state identification cards and drivers’ licenses, healthcare IDs), access control (e.g. employee or student building access), and financial cards (e.g. credit, debit and ATM cards) by financial institutions. Our RFID printers/encoders are used to print and encode passive RFID labels. We offer a wide range of accessories and options for our printers, including vehicle mounts and battery chargers.

Location Solutions: The Company offers a range of RTLS and services, which incorporate active and passive RFID and other tracking technologies to provide visibility into the location and movement of enterprise assets and personnel. Our solutions enable users to locate, track, manage, and optimize the utilization of high-value assets, equipment, and people. We provide substantially all elements of the location solution, including asset tags, call tags, sensors, exciters, middleware software, and application software. Applications for our location solutions span a broad array of industries where tracking assets, transactions, and people are critical. Our solutions are deployed primarily in industrial manufacturing, process industries, aerospace, transportation and logistics, sports, and healthcare environments. Various sports teams utilize our MotionWorks® sports solution to track the location and movement of personnel and objects in real-time during sporting events, as well as in training and practice activities.

Supplies: We produce and sell stock and customized thermal labels, receipts, ribbons, plastic cards, and wristbands suitable for use with our printers, and also wristbands which can be imaged in most commercial laser printers. We support our printing products, resellers, and end-users with an extensive line of superior quality, high-performance supplies optimized to a particular end-user’s needs. We promote the use of genuine Zebra branded supplies with its printing equipment. We also provide a family of self-laminating wristbands for use in laser printers. These wristbands are marketed under the LaserBand® name. We operate supplies production facilities located in the United States and Western Europe. We supplement our in-house production capabilities with those of third-party manufacturers to offer genuine Zebra supplies, principally in Asia.

Services: We provide a full range of maintenance, technical support, repair, and managed services. These offerings include multiple service levels and typically are contracted through multi-year service agreements. We also provide services strategically aligned to the way businesses manage their devices and related software applications. We provide our services directly and also through our network of partners to extend the geographic reach of our service offerings.

Enterprise

Mobile Computing: We design, manufacture, and sell rugged and enterprise-grade mobile computing products in a variety of specialized form factors and features for specific enterprise applications. Industrial applications include inventory management in warehouses and distribution centers; field mobility applications include field service, post and parcel, and direct store delivery; and retail and customer facing applications include e-commerce, omnichannel, mobile point of sale, inventory look-up, and staff collaboration. Our products incorporate both Android™ and Microsoft® Windows® operating systems and support local- and wide-area voice and data communications. Our mobile computing products often incorporate barcode scanning, global position system (“GPS”) and RFID features, and other sensory capabilities. We also provide related software tools, utilities, and applications.

Data Capture and RFID: We design, manufacture, and sell barcode scanners, image capture devices, and RFID readers. Our portfolio of barcode scanners includes laser scanning and imager products and form factors, including fixed, handheld, and embedded original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) modules. The Company’s data capture products allow the capture of business critical information simply, quickly, and accurately. Common applications include asset identification and tracking and workflow management in a variety of industries, including retail, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare. The devices collect and decode barcodes and images and transmit the resulting data to enterprise systems for analysis and timely decision making. Our RFID line of data capture products is focused on ultra-high frequency (“UHF”) technology. These RFID devices comply with the electronic product code (“EPC”) global Generation 2 UHF standard and similar standards around the world. We also provide related accessories.

Services: We provide a full range of maintenance, technical support, repair and managed services, including cloud-based subscriptions. These offerings include multiple service levels and typically are contracted through multi-year service agreements. We also provide services strategically aligned to the way enterprise businesses manage their mobility devices and related software applications. This includes services that help customers design, test, and deploy our solutions. We also assist customers in modernizing their mobile user experiences and increasing the efficiency of their operations by migrating legacy applications to newer architectures or redesigning user software applications, workflows, and backend system integrations. We provide our services directly and also through our network of partners to extend the geographic reach of our service offerings.

Our Competitive Strengths

The following are core competitive strengths that we believe enable us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors:

An industry leader focused solely on Enterprise Asset Intelligence

We focus on key technologies of Enterprise Asset Intelligence, including mobile computing; barcode and card printing; data capture; RFID; and location solutions. We also provide related software, services, and accessories. We believe we are the market leader in mobile computing, barcode printing, data capture, and UHF RFID readers.

High entry and switching barriers

On a global basis, we have long-standing relationships with end customers and with our extensive network of channel partners. We believe these customer relationships and a strong partner network are critical parts of our success and would be difficult for a new market entrant to replicate. We believe a significant portion of our products are deployed with specialized product performance and software application requirements, which could result in high switching costs.

Commitment to innovation and deep industry-specific expertise

We leverage our strong commitment to innovation and deep industry-specific expertise to deliver end-to-end solutions across targeted industries, with a broad portfolio of products and services.

Highly diversified business mix

We are highly diversified across business segments, end markets, geographies, customers, and suppliers. Additionally, we have strong recurring business in services and supplies driven by an extensive global installed base of products.

Global reach and brand

We sell to customers directly and through our network of channel partners around the world. This global presence gives us the capability to supply our customers with products, solutions, and services no matter the location of their operations. In addition, we believe we have strong brand recognition with a reputation in the industry as a trusted and strategic partner and supplier.

Scale advantages

We believe the size and scope of our operations, including market leadership; product development investment; portfolio breadth; and global distribution, give us advantages over our competitors. We believe we have the largest installed base of products, compared with other companies in our industry. These characteristics enable us to compete successfully, achieve economies of scale, and develop industry-leading solutions.

Our Business Strategies

Leverage our leadership position and innovation to drive profitable growth in our core business

We expect to drive revenue growth by continuing to outpace our competition in our core businesses, including mobile computing, data capture, barcode printing, and services. We expect to achieve this by leveraging our broad portfolio of solutions and product innovation and becoming a more strategic partner to our end customers. We also expect to drive growth by capitalizing on technology transitions occurring in the industry, including the transition to more modern mobile operating systems in mobile computing and transitions in data capture to newer technologies involving 2D imaging and RFID. This will be augmented by increased focus on market segments and geographies that offer share-gain opportunities. In addition, we plan

to leverage our market-leading installed base to accelerate growth in attach-oriented products, including services, supplies, and accessories. Our global channel partner network is vital to helping us achieve these goals. As such, we will ensure that we provide the necessary value and support for our partners to be successful.

Integrate and optimize the combined company as one seamless, focused company

We are integrating, optimizing, and reshaping the Company into a seamless, focused company with a high-performance culture characterized by a common purpose and shared set of values. We also plan to introduce common features, functions, and user experiences across our broad portfolio of solutions to drive competitive differentiation and increase cross-selling. Our plans include developing and delivering new offerings that integrate various devices, software, and services into complete, end-to-end solutions for our customers and partners. We also expect to continue to position ourselves for additional operating efficiencies driven by a common IT platform and operating model enhancements.

Drive our Enterprise Asset Intelligence vision

We believe that secular technology trends, particularly in enterprise mobility, cloud computing, and IoT are transforming our customers’ businesses and our industry and provide us with significant new opportunities to create value for our customers and for the Company. By capitalizing on these trends, and in particular the proliferation of smart connected sensors and devices in our core market segments, we plan to provide new end-to-end solutions that integrate these sensors and devices with cloud-based workflow and analytics applications. These solutions will enable increased visibility into the enterprise, real-time, actionable information, and improved customer experiences.

Continuously improve operating efficiency to expand profitability

We intend to continuously improve profitability through operational execution, cost reductions, and further operating efficiencies derived from continuous business process improvement and the integration of the Enterprise business and systems. We also intend to increase profitability through growing our business by delivering innovative end-to-end solutions that provide significant value to our customers.

Improve cash flow generation and reduce debt

Our primary balance sheet priority is to expand operating cash flow generation through growth in the business, margin expansion, and reductions in certain uses of cash, including costs and capital expenditures related to integration of the Company, as well as maintaining a strong focus on working capital efficiency. Our capital allocation priority will continue to be the reduction of debt.

Competition

We operate in a highly competitive environment. The need for companies to improve productivity and implement their strategies, as well as the secular trends around IoT, cloud computing, and mobility are some of the factors that are creating growth opportunities for established and new competitors.

Key competitive factors include the design, breadth and quality of products and services, price, product performance, durability, product and service availability, warranty coverage, brand recognition, company relationships with customers and channel partners, and company reputation. We believe we compete effectively with respect to these factors.

Mobile Computing: Competitors in mobile computing include companies that have historically served enterprises with ruggedized devices. We also compete with companies engaged in the design, manufacture, and marketing of devices for broader consumer and commercial applications, including notebook computers and tablets, smart phones, cordless phones, and cellular/wired infrastructure equipment. Competitors include the following: Apple, Datalogic, Honeywell, Panasonic, and Samsung.

Data Capture and RFID: Competitors that provide a broad portfolio of barcode scanning products that are suitable for the majority of global market applications include Honeywell and Datalogic. In addition, we also compete against several smaller companies that focus on limited product subsets or specific regions. These competitors include Code Corporation, Fujian, Impinj, Newland, and Opticon.

Barcode and Card Printing: We consider our direct competition in printing to be producers of on-demand thermal transfer and direct thermal label printing systems, RFID printer/encoders, and mobile printers. We also compete with companies engaged in the design, manufacture, and marketing of printing systems that use alternative technologies, such as ink-jet, direct marking and laser printing, as well as card printers based on ink-jet, thermal transfer, embossing, film-based systems, encoders, laser engraving, and large-scale dye sublimation printers. In addition, service bureaus, which provide centralized services, compete for end-user business and provide an alternative to the purchase of our card printing equipment and supplies. Competitors to our printing business include: Datacard, Evolis, Fargo Electronics (a unit of HID Global), Honeywell, Sato, and Toshiba TEC.

Location Solutions: We compete with a diverse group of companies marketing location solutions that are primarily based on active RFID technologies. These competitors include: Alien Technology, Cisco, Impinj, and Ubisense.

Supplies: The supplies industry is highly fragmented with competition comprised of numerous companies of various sizes around the world.

Customers

Our customers are diversified across a wide variety of industries, including retail, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. Over the past three years, we have had three customers that each accounted for 10% or more of our sales. All three of these customers are distributors and not end-users. No end-user accounts for 10% or more of net sales during these years. See Note 16 Segment Information and Geographic Data for further information.

	Year Ended December 31,
	2016			2015			2014
Customer A	20.1	%		19.4	%		17.9	%
Customer B	13.2	%		12.7	%		13.6	%
Customer C	12.4	%		11.6	%		11.6	%

Sales and Marketing

Sales: We sell our products, solutions, and services primarily through distributors (two-tier distribution), value added resellers (“VAR”), independent software vendors (“ISVs”), direct marketers, and OEMs. We also sell directly to a select number of customers through our direct sales force. Distributors purchase our products and sell to VARs, ISVs and others, thereby increasing the distribution of our products globally. VARs, ISVs, OEMs, and systems integrators provide customers with a variety of hardware, accessories, software applications, and services. VARs and ISVs typically customize solutions for specific end-user applications using their industry, systems, and applications expertise. Some OEMs resell the Zebra-manufactured products under their own brands as part of their own product offering. Because these sales channels provide specific software, configuration, installation, integration, and support services to end-users within various industry segments, these relationships are highly valued by end-users and allow us to reach customers in a wide array of industries around the world. We believe that the breadth of our distributor and channel partner network enhances our ability to compete and to effectively offer our solutions to a wide array of end-users globally. Finally, we experience some seasonality in sales, depending upon the geographic region and industry served.

Marketing: Our marketing function aligns closely with sales and product management functions to market our products and to deliver and promote solutions that address the needs of our customers and partners. Our marketing organization includes global corporate marketing, solutions marketing, field marketing, business intelligence, demand center, and channel marketing functions. Our corporate marketing function manages our brand, public and industry relations, and other communications activities. Regional marketing encompasses field and channel marketing, demand generation, and sales enablement. Solutions marketing includes product and industry marketing. Business intelligence provides fact-based insights into our markets, competitors, customers, and partners. Our global demand center leads content development and digital marketing, including our website and social media. The global channel team develops and executes channel strategy and operations.

Manufacturing and Outsourcing

Final assembly of our hardware products is performed by third-parties, including electronics manufacturing services companies (“EMS”) and joint design manufacturers (“JDMs”). Our products are produced primarily in facilities located in China, Mexico, and Brazil. We maintain the services of JDMs for certain products. These JDMs or manufacturers produce our products to our design specifications. We maintain control over portions of the supply chain, including supplier selection and price negotiations for key components. The manufacturers purchase the components and subassemblies used in the production of our products. The majority of our products are shipped to regional distribution centers, which are primarily operated by 3rd party logistics providers (“3PL’s”). A portion of products are reconfigured at the distribution centers through firmware downloads, packaging, and customer specific customization before they are shipped to customers. In addition, certain products are manufactured in accordance with procurement regulations and various international trade agreements, and remain eligible for sale to the United States government. Production facilities for our supplies products are located in the United States and Western Europe. We also supplement our in-house production capabilities with those of third-party manufacturers to offer our supplies, principally in Asia.

Research and Development

The Company devotes significant resources to developing innovative solutions for our target markets and ensuring that our products and services maintain high levels of reliability and provide value to end-users. Research and development expenditures for the years ended 2016, 2015, and 2014 were $376 million, $394 million, and $151 million respectively, or

10.5% of net sales for 2016, 10.8% of net sales for 2015 and 9.0% of net sales in 2014. We have more than 1,500 product development engineers worldwide focused on strengthening and broadening our extensive portfolio of products and solutions.

Our Technology

Mobile Computing: Our mobile computing products incorporate a wide array of advanced technologies in rugged, ergonomic enclosures to meet the needs of specific use cases. These purpose-built devices couple hardened industry-standard operating systems with specialized hardware and software features to satisfy a customer’s mission-critical applications. Purpose-built rugged housings ensure reliable operations for targeted use cases, surviving years of rough handling and harsh environments. Specialized features such as advanced data capture technologies, voice and video collaboration tools, and advanced battery technologies enable our customers to work more efficiently and better serve their customers. A broad portfolio of enterprise accessories further tailors mobile computers to meet a wide variety of enterprise use cases. Our mobile computers are offered with software tools and services that support application development, device configuration, and field support to facilitate smooth and rapid deployment and ensure maximum customer return on investment.

Data Capture and RFID: Our data capture products allow businesses to track business critical information simply, quickly, and accurately - providing critical visibility into business processes and performance, thus, enabling real-time action in response to the information. These products include barcode scanners in a variety of form factors, including handheld scanners and standalone modules designed for integration into third-party OEM devices. These scanners incorporate a variety of technologies including area imagers, linear imagers, lasers and read linear, and two-dimensional barcodes. They are used in a broad range of applications, ranging from supermarket checkout to industrial warehouse optimization to patient management in hospitals. The design of these products reflects the diverse needs of these markets, with different ergonomics, multiple communication protocols, and varying levels of ruggedness. Our RFID readers use passive Ultra High Frequency (“UHF”) to provide high speed, non-line of sight data capture, reading data from hundreds or thousands of RFID tags in near real-time. Using the Electronic Product Code (“EPC”) standard, our customers take advantage of RFID technology across multiple industries to track high-value assets, monitor shipments, and drive increased retail sales though improved inventory accuracy. We also offer mobile computers that support high frequency (“HF”) near-field communications (“NFC”) and low frequency (“LF”) radio technologies.

Barcode and Card Printing: All of the Company’s printers and print engines incorporate thermal printing and RFID tag encoding technology. Thermal printing technology creates an image by heating certain pixels of an electrical printhead to selectively image a ribbon or heat-sensitive substrate. Thermal printing benefits applications requiring simple and reliable operations, yet it is flexible enough to support a wide range of specialty label materials and associated inks. Our dye-sublimation thermal card printers produce full-color, photographic quality images that are well-suited for driver’s licenses, access and identification cards, transaction cards, and on-demand photographs. Many of our printers also incorporate RFID technology that can encode data into passive RFID transponders embedded in a label or card.

The Company’s printers integrate company-designed mechanisms, electrical systems, and firmware. Enclosures of metal or high-impact plastic ensure the durability of our printers. Special mechanisms optimize handling of labels, ribbons, and plastic cards. Fast, high-current electrical systems provide consistent image quality. Firmware supports serial, parallel, Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth, or 802.11 wireless communications with appropriate security protocols. Printing instructions can be received as a proprietary language such as Zebra Programming Language II (“ZPL II®”), as a print driver-provided image, or as user-defined XML. These features make our printers easy to integrate into virtually all common computer systems.

Location Solutions: Our RTLS solutions use active and passive RFID technologies, beacons, and other tracking technologies to locate, track, manage, and optimize high-value assets, equipment, and people. We offer a range of scalable RTLS technologies that generate precise, on-demand information about the physical location and status of high-valued assets. Customers benefit by utilizing the choice or combination of asset tracking products that can be “application matched” based on ISO/IEC 24730-2, Cisco CCX Wi-Fi, precision GPS, beacons and ultra-wideband (“UWB”) technologies. In addition, we offer a selection of RTLS infrastructure products that receive tag transmissions and provide location and motion calculations, database and system management functions and asset visibility. The flexible infrastructure supports large tag populations and coverage areas that range from small to large.

Supplies: Our supplies business includes thermal labels, receipts, ribbons, plastic cards and wristbands suitable for use with our printers, and also wristbands which can be imaged in most commercial laser printers. Our wristbands incorporate multi-layer form technology to ensure trouble-free printing, wearer comfort, and reliable barcode reading, even when exposed to harsh chemical environments. We offer many thermal label, card, and receipt materials, and matching ribbons for diverse applications that may require meeting unique or precise specifications, including chemical or abrasion resistance, temperature extremes, exceptional image quality, or long life.

Intellectual Property

We rely on a combination of trade secrets, patents, trademarks, copyrights, and contractual rights to establish and protect our innovations, and holds a large portfolio of intellectual property rights in the United States and other countries. As of December 31, 2016, the Company owned approximately 1,600 trademark registrations and trademark applications, and approximately 4,200 patents and patent applications, worldwide. We continue to actively seek to obtain patents and trademarks, whenever possible and practical, to secure intellectual property rights in our innovations.

We believe that our intellectual property will continue to provide us with a competitive advantage in our core product areas as well as provide leverage for future technologies. We also believe that we are not dependent upon any single patent or select group of patents. Our success depends more upon our extensive know-how, deep understanding of end-user processes and workflows, innovative culture, technical leadership and marketing and sales abilities. Although we do not rely only on patents or other intellectual property rights to protect or establish our market position, we will enforce our intellectual property rights when and where appropriate.

Employees

As of December 31, 2016, the Company employed approximately 6,500 persons. Some portions of our business, primarily in Europe and China, are subject to labor laws that differ significantly from those in the United States. In Europe, for example, it is common for a works council to represent employees when discussing matters such as compensation, benefits, restructurings and layoffs. We consider our relations with our employees to be very good.

Regulatory Matters

Wireless Regulatory Matters

Our business is subject to certain wireless regulatory matters.

The use of wireless voice, data, and video communications systems requires radio spectrum, which is regulated by government agencies throughout the world. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) regulate spectrum use by non-federal entities and federal entities, respectively. Similarly, countries around the world have one or more regulatory bodies that define and implement the rules for use of the radio spectrum, pursuant to their respective national laws and international coordination under the International Telecommunications Union. We manufacture and market products in spectrum bands already made available by regulatory bodies- these include voice and data infrastructure, mobile radios, and portable or hand held devices. Consequently, our results of operations could be positively or negatively affected by the rules and regulations adopted from time-to-time by the FCC, NTIA, or regulatory agencies in other countries. Our products operate both on licensed and unlicensed spectrum. The availability of additional radio spectrum may provide new business opportunities, and consequently, the loss of available radio spectrum may result in the loss of business opportunities. Regulatory changes in current spectrum bands may also provide opportunities or may require modifications to some products so they can continue to be manufactured and marketed.

Other Regulatory Matters

Some of our operations use substances regulated under various federal, state, local, and international laws governing the environment and worker health and safety, including those governing the discharge of pollutants into the ground, air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes and the cleanup of contaminated sites. Certain products are subject to various federal, state, local, and international laws governing chemical substances in electronic products. During 2016, compliance with U.S. federal, state and local, and foreign laws regulating the discharge of materials into the environment, or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment did not have a material effect on our business or results of operations.