VC Infusion, New CEO Give Intacct Fresh Take On SaaS
Company:
Headquarters: San Jose, Calif.
Technology Sector: Software
Key Product: Intacct on-demand financial and accounting applications
Year Founded: 1999
Number Of Channel Partners: 100+
Ideal Channel Partner: Midmarket-focused solution provider
Why You Should Care: As the recession drags on, more small and midsize businesses are considering SaaS applications as a strong alternative to purchasing on-premise software that requires a big capital expenditure.
The Lowdown: While Intacct has been around for nearly a decade, it's really only begun to make noise in the last 18 to 24 months, raising $29 million in venture capital since mid-2007 and naming Mike Braun, former general manager of IBM's Global Small Business Division, as CEO.
Targeting businesses with 25 to 1,000 employees, the company positions its on-demand financial management and accounting software as an upgrade for Intuit's QuickBooks applications and competes with offerings from NetSuite, Microsoft and Sage Software.
Intacct launched a channel program last March that the company says already accounts for 50 percent of new business and will ultimately generate 75 percent to 80 percent of the company's sales. A major boost toward that goal is the $400 per-month price tag it just slapped on its eponymous SaaS offering (That's for a single finance user. Additional users are priced at $200 per month). The pricing scheme, which comes in at less than half of Intacct's direct price, is only available to customers that buy through a channel partner.
Intacct channel partners own the customer relationship, a contrast to working with other SaaS application vendors that maintain control of the financial and contractual relationship with subscribers. "We're passing leads to our channel partners. We're doing everything possible to enhance things for the channel," said Daniel Druker, senior vice president of marketing and business development.
Sererra Consulting Group, an Irvine, Calif.-based solution provider, sells Intacct's accounting SaaS applications, along with applications from Salesforce.com, NetSuite and others. "It is a perfect fit for single- and multientity customers who are looking for an enterprise accounting system," Sererra President Nik Puni said of Intacct. He also had high praise for the company as a partner: "They are very channel-friendly and provide a wide variety of support. Intacct clearly understands and appreciates the geographic value and vertical expertise we provide." Last week Intacct went live with the Winter 2009 release of its application set, adding new global financial consolidation capabilities and a new user interface with ease-of-use features Druker said were driven by reseller partners.