AMN 2017 Annual Report

12 Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may be unable to prevent third parties from using or infringing upon or misappropriating our intellectual property with respect to our SaaS-based technology, which may negatively affect our business as it relates to our SaaS-based offerings. Cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents could adversely affect our business and disrupt operations. Cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. These incidents can include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and may not immediately produce signs of intrusion, we may be unable to anticipate these incidents or techniques, timely discover them, or implement adequate preventative measures. Our information technology may not provide sufficient protection, and as a result we may lose significant information about us or our employees or clients. Other results of these incidents could include, but are not limited to, disrupted operations, liability for stolen assets or the disclosure of personally identifiable information of our employees or independent contractors, misstated financial data, increased cybersecurity protection costs, litigation and reputational damage adversely affecting customer or investor confidence. If we do not continue to recruit and retain sufficient quality healthcare professionals at reasonable costs, it could increase our operating costs and negatively affect our business and our profitability. We rely significantly on our ability to recruit and retain a sufficient number of healthcare professionals who possess the skills, experience and licenses necessary to meet the requirements of our clients. We compete with healthcare staffing companies, recruitment and placement agencies, including online staffing and recruitment agencies, and with hospitals, healthcare facilities and physician practice groups to attract healthcare professionals based on the quantity, diversity and quality of assignments offered, compensation packages and the benefits that we provide. We rely on our human capital intensive, relationship-oriented approach and national infrastructure to enable us to compete in all aspects of our business. We must continually evaluate and expand our temporary and permanent healthcare professional network to serve the needs of our clients. With a current shortage of certain qualified nurses and physicians in many areas of the United States, competition for the hiring of these professionals remains intense. Our ability to recruit and retain temporary and permanent healthcare professionals depends on several factors, including our ability to provide our healthcare professionals with assignments and placements that they view as attractive and to provide competitive compensation packages. The costs of attracting healthcare professionals and providing them with attractive compensation packages may be higher than we anticipate, or we may be unable to pass these costs on to our hospital and healthcare facility clients, which may reduce our profitability. Moreover, if we are unable to recruit temporary and permanent healthcare professionals, our service execution may deteriorate and, as a result, we could lose clients. The inability to properly screen and match quality healthcare professionals with suitable placements may negatively affect demand for our services. Our success depends on the quality of our healthcare professionals. Our ability to ensure the quality of our healthcare professionals relies heavily on the effectiveness of our data and communication systems as well as properly trained and competent operational employees that screen and match healthcare professionals in suitable placements. An inability to properly screen, match, and monitor healthcare professionals for acceptable credentials, experience and performance may cause clients to lose confidence in our services, which may damage our brand and reputation and result in clients opting to utilize competitors’ services or rely on their own internal resources. Our operations may deteriorate if we are unable to continue to attract, develop and retain our sales and operations team members. Our success depends heavily upon the recruitment, performance and retention of our sales and operations team members who share our values, passion and commitment to customer focus. The number of individuals who meet our qualifications for these positions is limited, and we may experience difficulty in attracting qualified candidates, especially as we diversify our offerings and our business becomes more complex. In addition, we commit substantial resources to the training, development and support of our team members. Competition for qualified sales and operational team members in the line of business in which we operate is strong, and we may not be able to retain a sufficient number of team members after we have expended the time and expense to recruit and train them. We are increasingly dependent on third parties for the execution of certain critical functions.