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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

FORM S-1

Blackbaud, Inc.

2000 Daniel Island Drive

Robert J. Sywolski

Copies to:

     Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

     If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act, check the following box.    o

     If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.    o

     If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.    o

     If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.    o

     If delivery of the prospectus is expected to be made pursuant to Rule 434, please check the following box.    o

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

     The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

Subject to completion, dated                       , 2004

Prospectus

                                                       shares

Common stock

This is the initial public offering of common stock of Blackbaud, Inc. All of the shares of common stock being sold in this offering are being sold by the selling stockholders named in this prospectus. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares in this offering. The estimated initial public offering price is between $          and $          per share.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. We have applied for listing of our common stock on The Nasdaq National Market under the symbol BLKB.

The selling stockholders have granted the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase up to                     additional shares of common stock.

See “Risk factors” beginning on page 7 to read about factors you should consider before buying shares of our common stock.

Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed on the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Joint book-running managers

                      , 2004

The Blackbaud Solution

[Images surrounding graphic depicting the alignment of people, process and technology]

Table of contents

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus. Offers to sell, and offers to buy, shares of our common stock are being made only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our common stock.

No action is being taken in any jurisdiction outside the United States to permit a public offering of common stock or possession or distribution of this prospectus in that jurisdiction. Persons who come into possession of this prospectus in jurisdictions outside the United States are required to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions as to this offering and the distribution of this prospectus applicable to those jurisdictions.

“Blackbaud” and “The Raiser’s Edge” are registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc. This prospectus also includes references to registered service marks and trademarks of other entities.

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Risk factors

An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risk factors and the other information in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, before investing in our common stock. Our business, operating results and financial condition could be seriously harmed by any of the following risks. The trading price of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks, in which case you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks related to our business

The market for software and services for nonprofit organizations might not grow, and nonprofit organizations might not continue to adopt our products and services.

Many nonprofit organizations have not traditionally used integrated and comprehensive software and services for their nonprofit-specific needs. We cannot be certain that the market for such products and services will continue to develop and grow or that nonprofit organizations will elect to adopt our products and services rather than continue to use traditional, less automated methods, attempt to develop software internally, rely upon legacy software systems, or use generalized software solutions not specifically designed for the nonprofit market. Nonprofit organizations that have already invested substantial resources in other fundraising methods or other non-integrated software solutions might be reluctant to adopt our products and services to supplement or replace their existing systems or methods. In addition, the implementation of one or more of our core software products can involve significant time and capital commitments by our customers, which they may be unwilling or unable to make. If demand for and market acceptance of our products and services does not increase, we might not grow our business as we expect.

We might not generate increased business from our current customers, which could limit our revenue in the future.

Our business model is highly dependent on the success of our efforts to increase sales to our existing customers. Many of our customers initially make a purchase of only one or a limited number of our products or only for a single department within their organization. These customers might choose not to expand their use of or make additional purchases of our products and services. If we fail to generate additional business from our current customers, our revenue could grow at a slower rate or even decrease. In addition, as we deploy new applications and features for our existing products or introduce new products and services, our current customers could choose not to purchase these new offerings.

If our customers do not renew their annual maintenance and support agreements for our products or if they do not renew them on terms that are favorable to us, our business might suffer.

Most of our maintenance agreements are for a term of one year. As the end of the annual period approaches, we pursue the renewal of the agreement with the customer. Historically, maintenance renewals have represented a significant portion of our total revenue, including approximately 49% of our total revenue in 2003. If our customers choose not to renew their maintenance and support agreements with us on beneficial terms, our business, operating results and financial condition could be harmed.

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A substantial majority of our revenue is derived from The Raiser’s Edge and a decline in sales or renewals of this product and related services could harm our business.

We derive a substantial majority of our revenue from the sale of The Raiser’s Edge and related services, and revenue from this product and related services is expected to continue to account for a substantial majority of our total revenue for the foreseeable future. For example, revenue from the sale of The Raiser’s Edge and related services represented approximately 72% of our total revenue in 2003. Because we generally sell licenses to our products on a perpetual basis and deliver new versions and enhancements to customers who purchase annual maintenance and support, our future license, services and maintenance revenue are substantially dependent on sales to new customers. In addition, we frequently sell The Raiser’s Edge to new customers and then attempt to generate incremental revenue from the sale of additional products and services. If demand for The Raiser’s Edge declines significantly, our business would suffer.

Our quarterly financial results fluctuate and might be difficult to forecast and, if our future results are below either any guidance we might issue or the expectations of public market analysts and investors, the price of our common stock might decline.

Our quarterly revenue and results of operations are difficult to forecast. We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, fluctuations in revenue and operating results from quarter to quarter. As a result, we believe that quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our revenue and operating results are not necessarily meaningful and that such comparisons might not be accurate indicators of future performance. The reasons for these fluctuations include but are not limited to:

Our operating expenses, which include sales and marketing, research and development and general and administrative expenses, are based on our expectations of future revenue and are, to a large extent, fixed in the short term. If revenue falls below our expectations in a quarter and we are not able to quickly reduce our operating expenses in response, our operating results for that quarter could be adversely affected. It is possible that in some future quarter our operating results may be below either any guidance we might issue or the expectations of public market analysts and investors and, as a result, the price of our common stock might fall.

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We encounter long sales and implementation cycles, particularly for our largest customers, which could have an adverse effect on the size, timing and predictability of our revenue and sales.

Potential customers, particularly our larger enterprise-wide clients, generally commit significant resources to an evaluation of available software and require us to expend substantial time, effort and money educating them as to the value of our software and services. Sales of our core software products to these larger customers often require an extensive education and marketing effort.

We could expend significant funds and management resources during the sales cycle and ultimately fail to close the sale. Our core software product sales cycle averages approximately two months for sales to existing customers and from six to nine months for sales to new customers and large enterprise-wide sales. Our implementation cycle for large enterprise-wide sales can extend for a year or more, which can negatively impact the timing and predictability of our revenue. Our sales cycle for all of our products and services is subject to significant risks and delays over which we have little or no control, including:

If we are unsuccessful in closing sales after expending significant funds and management resources or if we experience delays as discussed above, it could have a material adverse effect on the size, timing and predictability of our revenue.

We have recorded a significant deferred tax asset, and we might never realize the full value of our deferred tax asset, which would result in a charge against our earnings.

In connection with the initial acquisition of our common stock by our current stockholders in 1999, we recorded approximately $107 million as a deferred tax asset. Our deferred tax asset was approximately $89 million as of December 31, 2003, or approximately 73% of our total assets as of that date. Realization of our deferred tax asset is dependent upon our generating sufficient taxable income in future years to realize the tax benefit from that asset. In accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 109, deferred tax assets are reviewed at least annually for impairment. Impairment would result if, based on the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. This impairment could be caused by, among other things, deterioration in performance, loss of key contracts, adverse market conditions, adverse changes in applicable laws or regulations, including changes that restrict the activities of or affect the products sold by our business and a variety of other factors. If an impairment were to occur in a future period, it would be recognized as an expense in our results of operations during the period of impairment. Depending on future circumstances, it is possible that we might never realize the full value of our deferred tax asset. Any future determination of impairment of a significant portion of our deferred tax asset would have an

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Nonprofit organizations might not use the Internet to facilitate their fundraising and organizational efforts in a manner sufficient to allow us to make a profit or even recapture our investment in this area. In addition, even if they increasingly use the Internet for these purposes, if we fail to capitalize on this opportunity, we could lose market share.

The market for online fundraising solutions for nonprofit organizations is new and emerging. Nonprofit organizations have not traditionally used the Internet or web-enabled software solutions for fundraising. We cannot be certain that the market will continue to develop and grow or that nonprofit organizations will elect to use any of our web-enabled products rather than continue to use traditional offline methods, attempt to develop software solutions internally or use standardized software solutions not designed for the specific needs of nonprofits. Nonprofit organizations that have already invested substantial resources in other fundraising methods may be reluctant to use the Internet to supplement their existing systems or methods. In addition, increasing concerns about fraud, privacy, reliability and other problems might cause nonprofit organizations not to adopt the Internet as a method for fundraising. If demand for and market acceptance of Internet-based products for nonprofits does not occur, we might not recapture our investment in this area or grow our business as we expect. On the other hand, even if nonprofits increasingly use the Internet for their fundraising and organizational efforts, if we fail to develop and offer products that meet customer needs in this area, we could lose market share.

Our failure to compete successfully could cause our revenue or market share to decline.

Our market is fragmented, competitive and rapidly evolving, and there are limited barriers to entry for some aspects of this market. We mainly face competition from four sources:

The companies we compete with, and other potential competitors, may have greater financial, technical and marketing resources and generate greater revenue and better name recognition than we do. If one or more of our competitors or potential competitors were to merge or partner with one of our competitors, the change in the competitive landscape could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively. For example, a large diversified software enterprise, such as Microsoft, Oracle or PeopleSoft, could decide to enter the market directly, including through acquisitions.

Additionally, Sage and Intuit have recently made acquisitions and product development efforts in the nonprofit market. Our competitors might also establish or strengthen cooperative

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We might not be able to manage our future growth efficiently or profitably.

We have experienced significant growth since our inception, and we anticipate that continued expansion will be required to address potential market opportunities. We will need to expand the size of our sales and marketing, product development and general and administrative staff and operations, as well as our financial and accounting controls. There can be no assurance that our infrastructure will be sufficiently scalable to manage our projected growth. For example, our anticipated growth will result in a significant increase in demands on our maintenance and support services professionals to continue to provide the high level of quality service that our customers have come to expect. If we are unable to sufficiently address these additional demands on our resources, our profitability and growth might suffer. Also, if we continue to expand our operations, management might not be effective in expanding our physical facilities and our systems, procedures or controls might not be adequate to support such expansion. Our inability to manage our growth could harm our business.

Because competition for highly qualified sales and software development personnel is intense, we might not be able to attract and retain the employees we need to support our planned growth.

To execute our continuing growth plans, we need to increase the size and maintain the quality of our sales force and software development staff. To meet our objectives successfully, we must attract and retain highly qualified sales and software development personnel with specialized skill sets focused on the nonprofit industry. Competition for qualified sales and software development personnel can be intense, and we might not be successful in attracting and retaining them. The pool of qualified personnel with experience working with or selling to nonprofit organizations is limited. Our ability to maintain and expand our sales and product development teams will depend on our ability to recruit, train and retain top quality people with advanced skills who understand sales to, and the specific product needs of, nonprofit organizations. Because the sale of software products and services designed for the nonprofit sector requires significant domain expertise, there is a shortage of sales personnel with the experience we need. We have from time to time in the past experienced, and we expect to continue to experience in the future, difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled employees with appropriate qualifications for our business. In addition, it takes time for our new sales personnel to become productive, particularly with respect to obtaining major customer accounts. If we are unable to hire or retain qualified sales and software development personnel, or if newly hired personnel fail to develop the necessary skills or reach productivity slower than anticipated, it would be more difficult for us to sell our products and services, and we could experience a shortfall in revenue and not achieve our planned growth.

Our operating results might decline and our customers might become dissatisfied if we do not expand the size and maintain the quality of our professional services organization.

Our software sales, particularly those to large nonprofit organizations, are dependent to a large degree on our ability to provide a significant and quality level of professional services

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Our services revenue produces substantially lower gross margins than our license revenue, and an increase in services revenue relative to license revenue would harm our overall gross margins.

Our services revenue, which includes fees for consulting, implementation, training, data and technical services and analytics, was approximately 29% of our revenue for 2003 and approximately 25% of our revenue for 2002. Our services revenue has substantially lower gross margins than our product license revenue. An increase in the percentage of total revenue represented by services revenue would adversely affect our overall gross margins.

Services revenue as a percentage of total revenue has varied significantly from quarter to quarter due to fluctuations in licensing revenue, economic changes, changes in the average selling prices for our products and services, our customers’ acceptance of our products and our sales force execution. In addition, the volume and profitability of services can depend in large part upon:

Any erosion of our margins for our services revenue or any adverse changes in the mix of our license versus service revenue would adversely affect our operating results.

Failure to adapt to technological change and to achieve broad adoption and acceptance of our new products and services could adversely affect our earnings.

If we fail to keep pace with technological change in our industry, such failure would have an adverse effect on our revenue and earnings. We operate in a highly competitive industry characterized by evolving technologies and industry standards, changes in customer requirements and frequent new product introductions and enhancements. During the past several years, many new technological advancements and competing products have entered the marketplace. Our ability to compete effectively and our growth prospects depend upon many factors, including the success of our existing software products and services to address the changing needs of our customers, the timely introduction and success of future software

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If our products fail to perform properly due to undetected errors or similar problems, our business could suffer.

Complex software such as ours often contains undetected errors or bugs. Such errors are frequently found after introduction of new software or enhancements to existing software. We continually introduce new products and new versions of our products. If we detect any errors before we ship a product, we might have to delay product shipment for an extended period of time while we address the problem. We might not discover software errors that affect our new or current products or enhancements until after they are deployed, and we may need to provide enhancements to correct such errors. Therefore, it is possible that, despite testing by us, errors may occur in our software. These errors could result in:

Furthermore, our customers may use our software together with products from other companies. As a result, when problems occur, it might be difficult to identify the source of the problem. Even when our software does not cause these problems, the existence of these errors might cause us to incur significant costs, divert the attention of our technical personnel from our product development efforts, impact our reputation and cause significant customer relations problems.

Our failure to integrate third-party technologies could harm our business.

We intend to continue licensing technologies from third parties, including applications used in our research and development activities and technologies which are integrated into our products. These technologies might not continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Our inability to obtain any of these licenses could delay product development until equivalent technology can be identified, licensed and integrated. This

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If the security of our software, in particular our hosted Internet solutions products, is breached, our business and reputation could suffer.

Fundamental to the use of our products is the secure collection, storage and transmission of confidential donor and end user information. Third parties may attempt to breach our security or that of our customers and their databases. We might be liable to our customers for any breach in such security, and any breach could harm our customers, our business and our reputation. Any imposition of liability, particularly liability that is not covered by insurance or is in excess of insurance coverage, could harm our reputation and our business and operating results. Also, computers, including those that utilize our software, are vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins and similar disruptions, which could lead to interruptions, delays or loss of data. We might be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect further against security breaches or to rectify problems caused by any security breach.

If we are unable to detect and prevent unauthorized use of credit cards and bank account numbers and safeguard confidential donor data, we could be subject to financial liability, our reputation could be harmed and customers may be reluctant to use our products and services.

We rely on third-party and internally-developed encryption and authentication technology to provide secure transmission of confidential information over the Internet, including customer credit card and bank account numbers, and protect confidential donor data. Advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography or other events or developments could result in a compromise or breach of the technology we use to protect sensitive transaction data. If any such compromise of our security, or the security of our customers, were to occur, it could result in misappropriation of proprietary information or interruptions in operations and have an adverse impact on our reputation or the reputation of our customers. If we are unable to detect and prevent unauthorized use of credit cards and bank account numbers or protect confidential donor data, our business could suffer.

We rely upon patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws to protect our proprietary rights, which might not provide us with adequate protection.

Our success and ability to compete depend to a significant degree upon the protection of our software and other proprietary technology rights. We might not be successful in protecting our proprietary technology, and our proprietary rights might not provide us with a meaningful competitive advantage. To protect our proprietary technology, we rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as nondisclosure agreements, each of which affords only limited protection. We currently do not have patents issued for any of our proprietary technology and we only recently filed patent applications relating to a number of our products. Moreover, we have no patent protection for The Raiser’s Edge, which is one

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In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect our proprietary rights in our products to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. Despite the measures taken by us, it may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use our proprietary technology and information without authorization. Policing unauthorized use of our products is difficult, and litigation could become necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights. Any litigation could be time consuming and expensive to prosecute or resolve, result in substantial diversion of management attention and resources, and materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we do not successfully address the risks inherent in the expansion of our international operations, our business could suffer.

We currently have operations in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, and we intend to expand further into international markets. If our revenue from international operations does not exceed the expense associated with establishing and maintaining our international operations, our business could suffer. We have limited experience in international operations and may not be able to compete effectively in international markets. In 2003, our international offices generated revenues of approximately $10.7 million, an increase of 78% over international revenue of $6.0 million for 2002. Expansion of our international operations will require a significant amount of attention from our management and substantial financial resources and may require us to add qualified management in these markets. Our direct sales model requires us to attract, retain and manage qualified sales personnel capable of selling into markets outside the United States In some cases, our costs of sales might increase if our customers require us to sell through local distributors. If we are unable to grow our international operations in a cost effective and timely manner, our business and operating results could be harmed. Doing business internationally involves additional risks that could harm our operating results, including:

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Future acquisitions could prove difficult to integrate, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and strain our resources.

We intend to acquire companies, services and technologies that we feel could complement or expand our business, augment our market coverage, enhance our technical capabilities, provide us with important customer contacts or otherwise offer growth opportunities. Acquisitions and investments involve numerous risks, including:

Acquisitions also frequently result in recording of goodwill and other intangible assets, which are subject to potential impairments in the future that could harm our operating results. In addition, if we finance acquisitions by issuing equity securities or securities convertible into equity securities, our existing stockholders would be diluted, which, in turn, could affect the market price of our stock. Moreover, we could finance any acquisition with debt, resulting in higher leverage and interest costs. As a result, if we fail to evaluate and execute acquisitions or investments properly, we might not achieve the anticipated benefits of any such acquisition, and we may incur costs in excess of what we anticipate.

Claims that we infringe upon third parties’ intellectual property rights could be costly to defend or settle.

Litigation regarding intellectual property rights is common in the software industry. We expect that software products and services may be increasingly subject to third-party infringement claims as the number of competitors in our industry segment grows and the functionality of products in different industry segments overlaps. We may from time to time encounter disputes over rights and obligations concerning intellectual property. Although we believe that our intellectual property rights are sufficient to allow us to market our software without incurring liability to third parties, third parties may bring claims of infringement against us. Such claims may be with or without merit. Any litigation to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources. Furthermore, a party making such a claim could secure a judgment that requires us to pay substantial damages. A judgment could also include an injunction or other court order that could prevent us from selling our software. Our business, operating results and financial condition could be harmed if any of these events occurred.

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In addition, we have agreed, and will likely agree in the future, to indemnify certain of our customers against certain claims that our software infringes upon the intellectual property rights of others. We could incur substantial costs in defending ourselves and our customers against infringement claims. In the event of a claim of infringement, we and our customers might be required to obtain one or more licenses from third parties. We, or our customers, might be unable to obtain necessary licenses from third parties at a reasonable cost, if at all. Defense of any lawsuit or failure to obtain any such required licenses could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

If we become subject to product or general liability or errors and omissions claims, they could be time-consuming and costly.

Errors, defects or other performance problems in our software, as well as the negligence or misconduct of our consultants, could result in financial or other damages to our customers. They could seek damages from us for losses associated with these errors, defects or other performance problems. If successful, these claims could have a material adverse effect on our business. Although we possess product liability insurance and errors and omissions insurance, there is no guarantee that our insurance would be enough to cover the full amount of any loss we might suffer. Our license and service agreements typically contain provisions designed to limit our exposure to product liability claims, but existing or future laws or unfavorable judicial decisions could negate these limitation of liability provisions. A claim brought against us, even if unsuccessful, could be time-consuming and costly to defend and could harm our reputation.

If we were found subject to or in violation of any laws or regulations governing privacy or electronic fund transfers, we could be subject to liability or forced to change our business practices.

It is possible that the payment processing component of our web-based software is subject to various governmental regulations. Pending legislation at the state and federal levels could also restrict further our information gathering and disclosure practices. Existing and potential future privacy laws might limit our ability to develop new products and services that make use of data we gather from various sources. The provisions of these laws and related regulations are complicated, and we do not have extensive experience with these laws and related regulations. Even technical violations of these laws can result in penalties that are assessed for each non-compliant transaction. In addition, we might be subject to the privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and related regulations. If we or our customers were found to be subject to and in violation of any of these laws or other privacy laws or regulations, our business would suffer and we and/or our customers would likely have to change our business practices. In addition, these laws and regulations could impose significant costs on us and our customers and make it more difficult for donors to make online donations.

Increasing government regulation could affect our business.

We are subject not only to regulations applicable to businesses generally but also to laws and regulations directly applicable to electronic commerce. Although there are currently few such laws and regulations, state, Federal and foreign governments may adopt laws and regulations applicable to our business. Any such legislation or regulation could dampen the growth of the Internet and decrease its acceptance. If such a decline occurs, companies may decide in the

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Our operations might be affected by the occurrence of a natural disaster or other catastrophic event in Charleston, South Carolina.

We depend on our principal executive offices and other facilities in Charleston, South Carolina for the continued operation of our business. Although we have contingency plans in effect for natural disasters or other catastrophic events, these events, including terrorist attacks and natural disasters such as hurricanes, which historically have struck the Charleston area with some regularity, could disrupt our operations. Even though we carry business interruption insurance policies and typically have provisions in our contracts that protect us in certain events, we might suffer losses as a result of business interruptions that exceed the coverage available under our insurance policies or for which we do not have coverage. Any natural disaster or catastrophic event affecting us could have a significant negative impact on our operations.

We have a large number of outstanding employee stock options subject to variable accounting, which could cause us to record significant compensation expense and could significantly reduce our earnings in future periods.

Because we have a large number of outstanding employee stock options subject to variable accounting treatment, we expect to record significant compensation expense at the end of future periods, particularly if our stock price increases significantly. For example, in 2003 we recorded compensation expense of $27.5 million attributable to these options. This compensation expense could significantly reduce our earnings in future periods, which could cause our stock price to fall and, as a result, you could lose some or all of your investment. See our discussion of “Stock option compensation” in “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations — Critical accounting policies and estimates”.

The requirements of being a public company might strain our resources and distract management.

As a public company, we will be subject to a number of additional requirements, including the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and new Nasdaq rules promulgated in response to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These requirements might place a strain on our systems and resources. The Securities Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business

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Risks related to this offering

We cannot assure you that a market will develop for our common stock or what the market price of our common stock will be.

Before this offering, there was no public trading market for our common stock, and we cannot assure you that one will develop or be sustained after this offering. If a market does not develop or is not sustained, it might be difficult for you to sell your shares of common stock at an attractive price or at all. We cannot predict the prices at which our common stock will trade. The initial public offering price for our common stock will be determined through our and our selling stockholders’ negotiations with the underwriters and might not bear any relationship to the market price at which it will trade after this offering or to any other established criteria of the value of our business. In future quarters our operating results might be below the expectations of public market analysts and investors and, as a result of these and other factors, the price of our common stock might decline.

The price of our common stock might be volatile.

In the three years prior to 2003, technology stocks listed on The Nasdaq National Market experienced high levels of volatility and significant declines in value from their historic highs. The trading price of our common stock following this offering might fluctuate substantially. The price of the common stock that will prevail in the market after this offering might be higher or lower than the price you pay, depending on many factors, some of which are beyond our control and might not be related to our operating performance. The fluctuations could cause you to lose part or all of your investment in our shares of common stock. Those factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading price of our common stock include the following:

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In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Due to the potential volatility of our stock price, we might be the target of securities litigation in the future. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from our business.

Insiders will continue to have substantial control over us after this offering and could limit your ability to influence the outcome of key transactions, including a change of control.

Upon completion of this offering, our largest stockholder, Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners III, L.P. and its affiliates, will beneficially own approximately      % of our common stock, or           % if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full. In addition, our executive officers, directors and their affiliates will, in the aggregate, beneficially own or control approximately           % of our common stock, or           % if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full. As a result, Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners III, L.P. and its affiliates, acting alone or together with these persons, will have the ability to control all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election and removal of directors and the approval of any merger, consolidation or sales of all or substantially all of our assets. These stockholders might make decisions that are adverse to your interests. The concentration of ownership could have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change of control of our company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our company and might ultimately affect the market price of our common stock.

Future sales of our common stock might depress our stock price.

As of the date of this prospectus, we have 67,854,195 shares of common stock outstanding. The                      shares sold by the selling stockholders in this offering, or                      shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under federal securities laws unless purchased by our affiliates. The remaining                      shares of common stock outstanding will be available for sale in the public market as follows:

The remaining                      shares held by existing stockholders will become eligible for sale at various times on or before                          .

The above table assumes the effectiveness of the lock-up agreements under which we, our executive officers and directors and our selling stockholders have agreed that, during the period beginning from the date of this prospectus and continuing to and including the date 180 days after the date of this prospectus, none of us will sell or otherwise dispose of their shares of common stock, except in limited circumstances. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. may, in its

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If our common stockholders sell substantial amounts of common stock in the public market, or if the market perceives that these sales may occur, the market price of our common stock might decline. In addition, as soon as practicable after the completion of this offering, we intend to file a registration statement under the Securities Act covering                      shares of common stock issuable under our stock plans. Accordingly, shares registered under that registration statement will be available for sale in the open market, subject to the contractual lock-up agreements described above that prohibit the sale or other disposition of the shares of common stock underlying the options for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus.

As a new investor, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution.

The initial public offering price of the common stock being sold by the selling stockholders in this offering is considerably more than the net tangible book value per share of our outstanding common stock. Accordingly, investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds, on a per share basis, the value of our assets after subtracting liabilities. Investors will suffer additional dilution to the extent outstanding stock options are exercised and to the extent we issue any restricted stock to our employees under our equity incentive plans. For more information on dilution, see “Dilution.”

We might need to raise capital, which might not be available.

We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders in this offering. Accordingly, the proceeds from this offering will not be available to us to finance our operations, capital expenditures or investment activities. We might need to raise funds to meet these or other needs, and we might not be able to obtain such financing on favorable terms, if at all. If we need capital and cannot raise it on acceptable terms, we might not be able to:

If any of the foregoing consequences occur, our stock price might fall and you might lose some or all of your investment.

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to issue new series of preferred stock that may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control, which could adversely affect the value of your shares.

Our certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors is authorized to issue from time to time, without further stockholder approval, up to 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix or alter the designations, preferences, rights and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions of the shares of each series, including the dividend

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Anti-takeover provisions under our charter documents and Delaware law could delay or prevent a change of control and could also limit the market price of our stock.

Our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws contain provisions that, effective from and after the date of this offering, could delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our board of directors that our stockholders might consider favorable, including the following:

In addition, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporate Law, which can prohibit certain business combinations with stockholders owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock, although our certificate of incorporation excludes Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners III, L.P. and its affiliates and transferees from the application of these anti-takeover provisions. These and other provisions in our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws and Delaware law could make it more difficult for stockholders or potential acquirors to obtain control of our board of directors or initiate actions that are opposed by the then-current board of directors, including delaying or impeding a merger, tender offer, or proxy contest or other change of control transaction involving our company. Any delay or prevention of a change of control transaction or changes in our board of directors could prevent the consummation of a transaction in which our stockholders could receive a substantial premium over the then current market price for their shares.

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Forward-looking statements

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled “Prospectus summary,” “Risk factors,” “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and “Business.” In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “predict,” “intend,” “potential” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions.

The forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations and views about future events and speak only as of the date the statements were made. The forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements.

You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is part, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results might be materially different from what we expect. We might not update the forward-looking statements, even though our situation might change in the future, unless we have obligations under U.S. federal securities laws to update and disclose material developments related to previously disclosed information. We qualify all of the forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

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Use of proceeds

We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the common stock by the selling stockholders. The selling stockholders will receive all net proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock in this offering.

Dividend policy

Although we have not declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock since becoming a C corporation in October 1999, we might elect to do so in the future. Any such determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on the amount of any outstanding indebtedness, our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, certain debt agreements to which we are a party contain financial covenants that could have the effect of restricting or prohibiting the payment of cash dividends.

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Capitalization

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of December 31, 2003:

This table should be read in conjunction with “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

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Dilution

The net tangible book value per share of our common stock will be substantially below the initial public offering price. You will therefore incur immediate and substantial dilution of $            per share, based on the assumed initial public offering price of $            per share. As a result, if we are liquidated, you may not receive the full value of your investment.

Dilution in net tangible book value per share represents the difference between the amount per share of our common stock that you pay in this offering and the net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately afterwards. Net tangible book value per share represents (1) the total net tangible assets, divided by (2) the number of shares of our common stock outstanding.

Our net tangible book value at December 31, 2003 was approximately $             million, or $            per share. This amount represents an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $                   per share to you. The following table illustrates this dilution per share:

As of December 31, 2003, there were options outstanding to purchase a total of 15,241,724 shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $3.07 per share. To the extent outstanding options are exercised, you would experience further dilution.

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Selected consolidated financial data

You should read the selected consolidated financial data set forth below in conjunction with “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. The consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 1998 were audited by other auditors. The consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 1999 were audited by Arthur Andersen LLP, which has since ceased operations. We derived the financial data as of December 31, 2002 and 2003 and for the years ended December 31, 2001, 2002 and 2003 from our audited financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.