25 Years Later, It's Time to Kick the Spreadsheet Habit; New Features and New Customers Highlight the Value of Intuit's QuickBase Solution

Business Wire, Nov 1, 2004

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Twenty-five years after spreadsheet software was introduced to crunch numbers, corporate workgroups regularly use -- or rather, misuse -- spreadsheets to track data on projects, sales, engineering issues, marketing programs, customer support, operations, and more.

Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU) today announced the immediate availability of the Fall 2004 version of QuickBase(R), directly aimed at workgroups managing their everyday business processes through spreadsheets and e-mail. QuickBase combines data, process, and communication management functions in a single, Web-based tool to give users centralized, accessible business management applications.

"The spreadsheet and e-mail combination is the easy-to-get-started, customizable solution for data and process management," said Jana Eggers, general manager of QuickBase. "But it creates high costs in consolidation work, communication hurdles, and security concerns. QuickBase solves this pain, providing users with a quick payback in terms of reduced work, reduced errors, and reduced risks."

"We are seeing a 25-to-1 payback with QuickBase -- only considering direct time saved," said Michael D'Amico, executive project manager, NCR Professional Services. "The real advantage is QuickBase's ability to simply manage data and process together, rather than using spreadsheets for data management and using meetings, e-mail, and valuable time for process management."

New Features

The latest QuickBase features include new capabilities that enable business users to be up and running with an application in a matter of days, often even hours.

--New spreadsheet- and database-style application creation make getting started easy, whether you think in terms of row and columns or fields and tables.

--E-mail reminders and a custom e-mail builder ensure communication happens at the right time with exactly the right information.

--Field- (or column-) level access permissions give ultimate control, so users only see information relevant to them, whether in the application or in e-mail communications.

--Eight new, ready-to-use applications for real estate, property management and legal workgroups add to the existing selection of 40 applications for project management, sales and customer management, professional services, marketing, IT and more.

A complete list of new features is available at QuickBase's "What's New" page at http://www.quickbase.com/update.asp.

New Customers

With features added every few months, QuickBase provides a growing list of workgroups with a fast and flexible solution for managing their projects, processes and information.

--Affiliated Computer Services, a Fortune 500 computer services company, tripled the number of Emergency Medical Services vehicles they support, while decreasing overall support time by 20 percent, with asset tracking and customer support in QuickBase.

--Isis Pharmaceuticals, a leading drug development company, launched custom QuickBase applications that reduced time and costs for core business needs such as issue tracking in product development, initiative tracking for executives, and document management for legal.

--Mount Hood Ski Patrol, the country's oldest and largest ski patrol with nearly 300 volunteers, spends more time on the slopes providing quality rescue and emergency care and less time on the administration associated with incident reporting, training tracking, patrol scheduling, and donation management in QuickBase.

"QuickBase demonstrates Intuit's strength in making a complex problem simple and affordable, and applies that innovation across the large spectrum of business process applications," said Eggers. "Our customers are seeing ROI in record-breaking times."

Availability and Pricing

Existing QuickBase users can experience the new features by logging on to QuickBase. New users can test the fully functional service through Intuit's free 30-day trial, after registering. There is no hardware to setup or software to install. Users simply need a Web connection and a recent Web browser.

The QuickBase monthly subscription fee starts at $249, and includes access and data space for ten users. Licenses for more users and data storage are available for additional fees.

About QuickBase

QuickBase (www.quickbase.com) -- a hosted, Web-based solution -- uniquely combines database, groupware and business management capabilities in a single platform. Unlike software that requires users to modify their information and communications to fit a rigid process, QuickBase offers users the flexibility to work the way their business works: collecting information needed, when needed, and providing the functionality to ensure action is taken.

About Intuit Inc.

Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks(R), Quicken(R) and TurboTax(R) software, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries(R) and Lacerte(R) are Intuit's leading tax preparation software suites for professional accountants.