Intuit's CFO explains how to build cloud-based software customers actually want to use
If you file your taxes electronically, operate a small business, or track your personal expenses through a web-based application, there is a good chance you have come into contact with at least one of Intuit's products.
The $27 billion software giant is responsible for some of the best-known finance tools in the world. Among its core products are QuickBooks, TurboTax, and Mint.
Over the past decade, Intuit has transformed from a desktop-based software company to a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform focused on small business and personal-finance users.
Business Insider spoke with Intuit's CFO, Neil Williams, about the company's move to the cloud, its hyper-focus on mobile accessibility, why it decided in August to sell its former flagship product Quicken, and its plans going forward.
Neil Williams: It started back in the spring of last year, when we do our financial planning. During that time we were looking at areas to invest more and discussing areas we would expand. We were already in the midst of taking QuickBooks online outside the US. We had a great tax season last year with TurboTax, and we saw the ability to extend the category of do-it-yourself software. So lots of great ideas. Lots of great investment opportunities there.
As we began our resource-allocation discussion, there were three parts of the business - Quicken being one and Demandforce and QuickBase being the others. Those opportunities were not as rich. The resource allocation was really skinny. So we started having a conversation to think if it was fair to these businesses and their customers to under-invest and not really be promoting the entire business framework.
That led to a discussion where we ultimately decided that if we are not going to invest in them and we are not going to nurture them or grow them, then it would probably be better under new ownership where people are going to focus on them and be able to deliver for those customers.
Quicken, as you know, was the founding application at Intuit. It really was the birthplace for QuickBooks. As our cofounder Scott Cook observed, a lot of people are keeping their business records in Quicken. So it was a tough decision. But as Scott himself said in a video to employees, it is our past, but it really isn't our future. And we hadn't really invested in moving that software to a SaaS-based solution.
NW: It's older code, and we bought a company called Mint a few years ago that is a SaaS-based solution. The idea initially was to port the Quicken customers over to Mint. We learned over time that those Quicken customers really didn't like the new user experience in Mint. That newer cloud-based software doesn't have some of the capabilities around investments and things that Quicken does. So it really was a mix of the customer base, so that migration never really worked.
We have retained Mint for those customers who prefer an online application, and we are going to find a new home for Quicken that respects the brand, respects the customer base, and really focuses on it and builds it out.
NW: People who come to Mint are typically looking to make sure they don't have a late fee, making sure they don't overdraft their account. They are more concerned about where their money is going. Do I have the money to pay the rent at the end of the month?
They are typically younger and don't really have investment-portfolio needs as much. Mint is focused on helping you find a better deal on credit cards and mortgage loans and stuff like that.
We can also learn if it is important for our users to start on one device and pick up on another. That process of observing a customer and deep customer immersion has helped us focus on the things customers really like and appreciate and not burden them with some things you can do but that nobody really cares about.
In basic terms, we look at which regions have the most activity and use. Some countries that you would not have expected to maybe be as aggressive or an early adopter have come in quickly. Other developed parts of the world have been more difficult to penetrate. For example, in Germany there is already a big install base, and they have an alternative they like and use regularly.
It has been interesting to see how many users we get around the world who will adopt and use our software with no marketing. They just discovered and started using it online. That has informed how we prioritize which countries to expand.