ABHISHEK LAW for the hindu businessline writes: “In the last two years, our strength has increased from 500 to nearly 900 people… Very soon it will be 1,500.”– Aditya Tulsian, Strategy & Accountant Ecosystem Head, Intuit India
Intuit Inc is a $4.2-billion US-based software developer that focuses primarily on accounting software, Quickbook, for small & medium enterprises and accountants.
Although its flagship product was launched in India in October 2012, the Indian subsidiary was set up in 2005.
The first development centre came up at Bangalore in 2005.
Before launching the products, Intuit’s focus was on global product development and supporting its international market.
In an interview to Business Line, Aditya Tulsian, Strategy and Accountant Ecosystem Head, Intuit India, talks about the product, the company’s hiring plans, and how they intend to popularise cloud-based technologies.
Edited Excerpts:
How does the software work?
All you need to know is basic accounting. All other details will be compiled automatically through the software.
What are the gaps that you’ll address?
Firstly, we find that a number of small businesses look to access their financials at any given point of time. But, book-keeping is done periodically. So getting access to data on a real time basis is one such concern. Again, accountants are the most trusted person when it comes to obtaining financial advice. So there is a need to have real time analysis of financials that can help take a strategic decision.
What’s your subscriber base?
Right now, we have around 50,000 users in India and 1.48 million users globally.
What is the growth that you seen so far?
In the last six months, there has been a 49 per cent month-on-month growth.
But there are competitors. How different is your offering?
We are thinking not just as an accounting software service. But, include other verticals such as payroll (management) and taxation that are used by the accountant. We want to develop an ecosystem to help improve interaction with clients.
India has been reluctant in adopting cloud-based systems. How would you break the ice?
It’s more about de-mystification. Cloud is like a taboo. And so we try not to talk about it to customers who are not tech-savvy. Most customers addictively use “Gmail”, “Yahoo!” or “Rediff”. Accountants are run their practice through Gmail. So whether it’s Skype or any other form, they are already on the cloud platform. In 2011, about 22-23 million tax filing were done by small businesses. Of which approximately eight millions were e-filing. So, the most ardent followers of desktop are also using e-filing to manage businesses. That means they are already adopting cloud.
Are you ramping up your distribution network?
We are following a multiple distribution pattern. We have direct sales and are also testing the channel distribution model. Currently, most sales are through our website.
Any hiring plans?
In the last two years, our strength has increased from 500 to nearly 900 people. We are increasing headcount significantly. Very soon it will be 1,500.
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