New Intuit QuickBase Program Produces Next Generation of Business Consultant
Easy and Powerful Application Development Enables Entrepreneurs to Become Successful Solution Providers
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Feb. 19, 2008 – Cullen Coates, a management consultant from Larkspur, Calif.-based Crystal Bay Solutions, is not a software engineer. But that didn’t keep him from creating an entire suite of on-demand software applications to assist nonprofit organizations – everything from donor management to collaborative tools for workgroups – without writing a single line of code.
Coates is just one of a growing group of value-added resellers, or VARs, that are shifting their business models away from reselling and installing packaged solutions to take advantage of the implementation speed and cost-effectiveness of delivering software-as-a-service, or SaaS.
To support this new generation of consultants, Intuit Inc.’s (Nasdaq: INTU) QuickBase® today launched its new QuickBase Business Consultant Program. The program allows members to use their expertise to create unique business applications tailored specifically to the industries they serve – without technical expertise or coding. This will help members expand their reach into industries formerly served only by IT experts. Using QuickBase, program members will be able to easily build new on-demand business applications from scratch or customize one of 200 available templates and resell them to their clients.
Industry analysts concur with this emerging trend.
“SaaS implementations do not require highly technical people, although they may require consultants with data integration skills. Instead, seasoned business process management consultants will become the focus for successful project delivery,” according to Forrester Research Inc.’s Oct. 29 report, “SaaS Economics Will Change ISVs’ SI And VAR Channels.”
“As a result, the technical integration and customization services revenues shift to process transformation projects – and into the coffers of system integrators and VARs that have these consulting skills,” the report said.
Before joining the QuickBase program, Coates’ firm was limited to recommending off-the-shelf applications that cost more than $100,000 or custom-developed solutions built on other platforms.
“Today, I can deliver a QuickBase application customized specifically for a customer’s business process in a quarter of the time, at half the cost and twice the margin,” said Coates. “Plus, since it’s a software-as-a-service application, the costs are lower for my customers and they can be up and running in weeks, rather than months.”
To help members succeed, the program provides training, partner relationship management and lead-generation tools to help them locate potential customers and maximize the power of QuickBase. QuickBase Business Consultants also receive a free version QuickBooks Online to help them better manage and grow their own businesses.
“Until now, businesses had to choose either a tailor made solution that fit their process, or a SaaS solution that was fast, low risk and provided anytime, anywhere access. Now, creating a tailored solution for business on a SaaS platform is not only possible, it’s easy,” said Bill Lucchini, vice president and general manager of QuickBase. “Making software fit the business needs was formerly the exclusive territory of IT and engineers. With the QuickBase Business Consultant Program, the value shifts to the entrepreneurs and industry experts who can now solve real business problems without being a technical expert. Entrepreneurs and forward-thinking VARs will see huge benefits from this shift.”
New Entrepreneurial Economy on the Horizon
Further identifying and supporting the growing opportunities for entrepreneurs to leverage their size, agility and specific industry knowledge is the Intuit Future of Small Business Report™. The report concludes that over the next decade, small businesses will be better positioned than large corporations to serve niche markets and provide customers with highly targeted, customized and relevant products. The report, sponsored by Intuit and authored by the Institute for the Future, looks ahead 10 years and examines the prospects, influences and profiles of small business.
For more information on the QuickBase Business Consultant Program and to apply to the program, please visit: http://quickbase.intuit.com/links/partners.asp
Additional Resources: QuickBase Team Collaboration blog, QuickBase.com
About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax® software, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit’s leading tax preparation software suites for professional accountants. The company’s financial institutions division, anchored by Digital Insight, provides on-demand banking services to help banks and credit unions serve businesses and consumers with innovative solutions.
Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $2.67 billion in its fiscal year 2007. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.
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Intuit, the Intuit logo, and QuickBase, among others, are registered trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other parties’ trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners and should be treated as such.
