Intuit vs. Microsoft Intune: Contrasting Small Business Software and Enterprise IT

Introduction

At first glance, Intuit and Microsoft Intune appear to operate in very separate technology domains. However, analyzing the key differences between these two software platforms reveals some interesting strategic contrasts.

Intuit is a major provider of financial, accounting and tax preparation software tailored for consumers and small businesses. Microsoft Intune, on the other hand, is an enterprise mobility management and security tool for large organizations.

While not direct competitors, comparing Intuit to Intune can illustrate how software leaders approach product development, pricing, partnerships and selling into vastly different market segments. Let’s examine the elements that set Intuit and Intune apart.

Target Customers

The most significant difference between Intuit and Intune lies in their core target customers which shape product design and go-to-market strategy.

Intuit serves a mass market comprised of individual filers, families and small businesses seeking DIY solutions for managing personal finances, running business accounting, processing payroll, tax preparation and wealth management.

In contrast, Microsoft Intune focuses on larger enterprises needing tools to manage mobility, provision devices, secure corporate data, and control cloud software access across thousands of employees’ machines and mobile devices. It pursues large-scale deployments.

While Intuit engages millions of consumers and small businesses, Intune sells to IT departments managing vast device fleets at sizable corporations and organizations. This key divergence sets the tone.

Flagship Products

Within their distinct markets, Intuit and Intune offer very different flagship products tailored to customer needs.

Intuit is known for mass-market software like QuickBooks for SMB accounting, TurboTax for DIY tax filing, Mint for personal budgeting, and Credit Karma for credit scores and monitoring. These are broadly accessible to individuals and small teams.

Microsoft Intune however provides a suite of enterprise mobility management tools for securing corporate data and assets across devices and users. Capabilities like provisioning, access control, compliance policies, remote actions and security monitoring cater specifically to large IT departments.

The products’ scope mirrors core users – Intuit targeting mass adoption versus Intune servicing large institutional deployments.

Delivery and Deployment

Related to customer segments, Intuit and Intune leverage very different delivery and deployment models as well.

Most Intuit products are now cloud-based, allowing individuals and small teams to quickly sign-up, onboard and access software-as-a-service offerings. This facilitates frictionless adoption across millions of customers.

Microsoft Intune is centrally administered on-premise software integrated into organizations’ existing device management and directory infrastructure like Active Directory. Complex policy configuration and feature management follows a traditional enterprise IT approach.

Once more, models align with the market: lightweight SaaS for consumers/SMBs versus on-premise software for large managed IT environments.

Development Culture

These different delivery models influence Intuit’s and Intune’s overall product design cultures.

Intuit has honed expertise in interaction design, user research and usability testing to build highly intuitive experiences and simplified workflows around finances for millions of individual non-technical end users.

Microsoft Intune however gears development toward meeting the specific device provisioning, security policy, regulatory compliance and access control needs of sophisticated enterprise IT personnel and systems administrators. The audience is more technical.

While both enable business objectives, Intuit targets user-friendly design for the masses while Intune focuses on enterprise IT requirements.

Pricing and Revenue

Pricing strategies understandably differ between Intuit and Intune as well given their contrasting markets.

Intuit offers tiered monthly or annual software subscription plans priced for broad affordability scaling across millions of individual and small business customers. Revenue stems from high transaction volume.

Microsoft Intune pricing is scaled for large organizations and billed based on the number of user accounts and device licenses. Contracts run hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars annually for enterprise customers managing huge fleets.

Once more, Intuit’s mass market presence drives more affordable volume pricing, while Intune provides enterprise-scale pricing given the customer base.

Partnership Dynamics

Intuit and Microsoft have also formed technology partnerships aligned to their distinct ecosystem opportunities.

Intuit cultivates integration partnerships with a broad variety of fintech solution providers to expand capabilities for its small business users. Partners like PayPal, Mailchimp, QuickBooks Payments and Bill.com extend functionality in areas where Intuit lacks direct expertise.

Microsoft Intune leverages Microsoft’s vast partner network of systems integrators, resellers, and independent software vendors to support implementation, customization and enhancing functionality within large customer environments. Partners provide implementation services around Intune’s software foundation.

These partnerships mirror strategic needs – lightweight platform connections for Intuit versus systems integration support for large Intune deployments.

Growth Strategies

The companies’ different value propositions also shape high-level growth strategies.

Intuit focuses on acquiring new subscribers across consumer, self-employed and microbusiness segments while also expanding product capabilities organically and through acquisitions. Developing an integrated financial platform is a priority.

Microsoft places emphasis on growing seat count and cloud migration at large enterprise accounts already using Azure and Microsoft 365. Making Intune indispensable for large organizations relying on Microsoft’s stack is the objective.

While both expand functionality, Intuit pursues consumer/SMB share gains versus Microsoft driving greater account control and usage across its massive enterprise installed base. Strategies align with existing customer bases.

Conclusion

While Intuit and Microsoft Intune may initially appear unrelated, comparing them illustrates how software companies tailor strategy based on target users.

Factors like product design, deployment, pricing, partnerships and growth models ultimately stem from the core customer value proposition. Intuit brings simplified finance tools to the masses, while Intune enables complex enterprise mobility management.

Though they serve very separate markets, analyzing their strategic divergence provides perspective on how technology leaders map offerings to market needs, even when domains seem disconnected. Focus resonates despite contrasting sectors.