Nokia and Intuit Form Global Alliance to Create Mobile Marketing Services for Small Businesses
LONDON, September 15, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today, Intuit (Nasdaq: INTU) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced an alliance to develop and deliver an innovative new mobile and web based marketing service for small businesses around the world.
Addressing one of the leading concerns for the world's estimated 500 million small businesses, the new service will be designed to help them get more business through personalized, relevant offers and marketing messages, in a way unmatched by traditional methods.
The first market launch of the service is expected in the fourth quarter of 2010, further details will be made available at that time.
"Small businesses need every advantage to stay ahead of the pack in today's competitive environment," said Alex Lintner, President, Intuit Global Business Division. "We plan to offer them a way to strengthen customer relationships, through targeted communications that increase sales by delivering more customer visits. We're applying the same proven formula we've used with QuickBooks to help small businesses succeed by better serving their customers. We are thrilled to partner with Nokia to bring our respective areas of expertise to bear in developing this revolutionary service."
"This is a significant step which we expect will create future growth opportunities," said Robert Andersson, Senior Vice President & Head of Corporate Alliances and Business Development at Nokia. "Working with Intuit, we are developing a breakthrough service to help small businesses deepen relationships with their customers, leveraging our expertise in mobile and location based services. We believe this will benefit consumers too, by helping them find their favorite products and services in the right place, at the right time and at the best price."
With hundreds of millions of its devices sold each year and more than 1.3 billion Nokia mobile devices in use around the world, Nokia is the world's largest mobile device manufacturer as well as a leader in digital mapping and navigation services, covering more than 70 countries in over 45 languages.
Currently serving millions of small businesses around the world, Intuit brings unique understanding of small businesses, a proven focus on innovation and a history of developing market-leading solutions to help small businesses improve their bottom line with offerings such as QuickBooks and Intuit Websites.
"Small businesses have a strong appetite for tools that can help them reach their customers and attract new ones," said Timothy Doherty, Research Analyst for SMB mobility at IDC. "There is a real opportunity for cost effective solutions that allow small businesses to proactively target the mobile customer with highly contextual offerings based on location and past purchase behavior."
Note to editors: Media materials can be found at http://about.intuit.com and http://www.nokia.com/press.
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"Risk Factors." Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proving to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Nokia does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks(R), Quicken(R) and TurboTax(R), 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 offerings for professional accountants. Intuit Financial Services provides enhanced online banking solutions and unique insights to help banks and credit unions serve businesses and consumers with innovative solutions.
Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.5 billion in its fiscal year 2010. The company has approximately 7,700 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found at http://www.intuit.com.
About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device - from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (http://www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.
For more information, visit http://www.nokia.com/press or the Nokia Conversations blog http://conversations.nokia.com.
SOURCE Nokia Corporation
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