Intuit alliance with Google offers small businesses online opportunities

Today even the smallest manufacturers use the Internet for sales & marketing and customer support. Those same companies may use a package like business solutions provider Intuit's QuickBooks Enterprise to run their operations.

To merge the two practices, Intuit is teaming with Google for online services provisioning in QuickBooks 2007 products. In combining Intuit's knowledge of small business issues with Google's Web expertise, the vendors believe they can help QuickBooks users attract new customers online—which is exactly what Framingham, Mass.-based analyst firm IDC believes small companies are looking for.

"Small businesses are increasingly interested in moving from piecemeal solutions to more integrated approaches to company operations," says Merle Sandler, senior research analyst at IDC.

QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 7 includes several Google features that support a company's marketing efforts:

• Google AdWords: targets the delivery of an ad to Web users seeking specific information about a product or service;
• Google Maps: allows companies to be found more easily online with a free business listing, even if the company doesn't have a Web site; and
• Google Base: shows online shoppers what products a company offers.

While the new features simplify some of users' most frequent activities, "This is just the first step in creating an open and connected community that builds value around small business data," says Brad Smith, senior VP for Intuit's Small Business Division.