San Jose, Calif. (Oct. 28, 2003) -- Internet based accounting software and services provider Intacct Corp. tightened its marketing bond with IBM and unveiled a new product strategy last week at the annual NetGain conference for its accounting practitioner partners.
Dev Mukherjee, an IBM marketing vice president, said that Intacct and its approximately 300 accounting practitioner partners are a key component of IBM's "e-Business on Demand" Internet-based service delivery program and pledged to increase his company's marketing support to Intacct "Talk to your clients about IBM and Intacct. I am focused on making it easier for you to have those conversations," he said in a keynote address to about 250 attendees.
Intacct's new strategy, unveiled by Intacct marketing director Craig Remy, features the release of five separate service programs, with different prices and different levels of capabilities that its partners can make available to their clients. The programs range from a standard program for firms with less than five employees to a "Mega" program that enables practitioner-partners to "assemble any collection of business units into a unified multi-entity accounting system."
Mukherjee, in his keynote, said IBM expects 2004 will bring increased demand for Internet-based applications and services, and said that Intacct has key advantages over its two best-known competitors in this area -- Intuit's online version of QuickBooks, and NetSuite, the application service provider launched with funding from Oracle Corp. chief executive Larry Ellison.
"Intuit is a strong brand, but I'm betting on David (Intacct chief executive David Thomas) and IBM building an e-business infrastructure that's better than Intuit," Mukherjee said, On NetSuite, he added "This business is all about relationships and Oracle has had a tough time with relationships, while we (IBM) work hard at relationships. Our relationship with Intacct is very important to IBM."
-- John M. Covaleski
