Intuit’s Big Data, Small Business Expansion

Intuit is seeking to expand its QuickBooks unit in two directions: towards small businesses and towards Big Data.

Reports on Friday (Aug. 26) said Intuit plans to announce these expansions at its QuickBooks Connect conference later this year.

“We will showcase some of our most successful developers at the conference and introduce a very attractive revenue-sharing model,” said Intuit Vice President of Developer Group Vinay Pai, according to ZDNet, adding that Intuit’s goal is to expand its developer base to strengthen QuickBooks’ position in the small business segment.

To do so, reports added, QuickBooks will also need to step up its data analytics game.

“We are using machine learning to help identify the types of data, services and tools that a small business needs,” Pai continued. “And we have lots of data about small businesses because of our many customers. This will be combined with external data sources.”

Intuit’s Big Data strategy involves narrowing the focus of its data analytics by industry and geographic market for the purpose of helping small businesses stay competitive in their respective fields. The data will be used to help small business owners make key decisions, like product development and expansion plans, reports added.

Adding more developers onto the QuickBooks platform, Pai explained to the publication, will be critical in achieving these goals to attract small businesses with more robust data analytics capabilities.

At present, about 10 percent of the registered developers on the platform are active; Pai said that the figure is typical for the industry. But to boost those figures, Intuit said it will lower fees, charging a 20 percent lifetime revenue share for its developers. That compares to the 30 percent Apple takes for developers on its App Store.

QuickBooks added that only developers with high ratings and customer response times will be able to be featured on Intuit’s app store.