New QuickBooks Web
Site Solutions to Help Small Businesses Easily Establish a Trusted Online
Presence and Manage E-Businesses
Mountain View, Calif. - December 17, 2001 - Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:
INTU), a leader in small business financial management solutions, and
VeriSign Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider of digital trust
services, today announced the companies are working together to offer
advanced Web site services for small businesses.
QuickBooks® Web Site Solutions, powered by VeriSign
technology and services, will help small businesses easily establish
an online presence and more effectively manage and grow their businesses.
Expected to launch by the end of this month, the new service will fully
replace Intuit's current QuickBooks Site Solutions offering by April
2002.
The alliance leverages VeriSign's expertise in domain
names and Web site building tools, as well as Intuit's highly successful
QuickBooks small business accounting software—providing small business
users with a premiere-quality online presence to meet their vertical
or business-specific needs.
"This collaboration with VeriSign will give
our small business customers a more flexible and versatile Web site
solution to meet their business needs, with full e-commerce functionality
expected to be offered by next fall. It's a perfect example of how Intuit
continues to execute against its 'Right For My Business' strategy,"
said Lorrie Norrington, senior vice president of Intuit's Small Business
Division.
QuickBooks Web Site Solutions will be introduced
with several new features for small businesses, including customizable
pages, Web site hosting, company-branded emails and other options for
expanding Web site presence. Intuit also is giving current subscribers
the opportunity to get transition help and advice from a professional
Web site set-up service, and all customers will have the option to hire
Web site consultants who can help them create a new site to their specifications.
Online applications are critical tools for small
businesses. These applications can help small businesses conveniently
access essential data about their daily operations, such as payroll,
sales and inventory. They also can help increase productivity and improve
the decision-making process. In addition, online operations can be customized
to meet the needs of specific small businesses, from general contractors
to small retail stores.
VeriSign's relationship with Intuit complements
its Web Business
by VeriSign suite of e-commerce solutions for small businesses.
It also provides VeriSign with an opportunity to access QuickBooks'
more than 2.5 million small business customers.
"Small businesses want partners they can trust
to provide solutions that work and offer value, especially when it comes
to technology," said Champ Mitchell, executive vice president of
VeriSign's Mass Markets Division. "This alliance with Intuit fits
with our core strategy of creating the trusted digital infrastructure
for delivering Web services to businesses of all sizes. In the coming
months, we will work with Intuit to explore deeper integration between
financial management software, back office systems and Web site solutions,
which will give small businesses even more tools to create highly profitable
and scalable e-businesses."
QuickBooks Web Site Solutions will be offered to
small businesses for $19.95 per month. Terms, conditions, pricing, features
and service options subject to change without notice.
About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) is the leading provider of financial software
and Web-based services for consumers, small businesses and accounting
professionals. Its flagship products and services, including Quicken®,
QuickBooks®, Quicken TurboTax® and Quicken LoansSM simplify personal
finance, small business management and payroll processing, tax preparation
and filing and home loans.
Founded in 1983, Intuit has annual revenue of more
than $1 billion and reaches 25 million customers with nearly 6,000 employees
in 13 states and four countries. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRSN) is the leading provider of digital trust
services that enable everyone, everywhere to engage in commerce and
communications with confidence. VeriSign's digital trust services create
a trusted environment through three core offerings - web identity, authentication
and payment services - powered by a global infrastructure that manages
more than five billion network connections and transactions a day. Additional
news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com.
Intuit Inc: Michelle Haworth, michelle_haworth@intuit.com,
650-944-3880
VeriSign Media Relations: Cheryl Regan, cregan@verisign.com,
703-948-4472
VeriSign Investor Relations: Katie Ochsner, kochsner@verisign.com,
650-426-3512
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This press release contains forward-looking
statements about events that have not yet occurred. For example, statements
with words like "expect," and statements in the future tense,
are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially
from Intuit's expectations because of risks and uncertainties about
the future. Intuit will not necessarily update information in this press
release if any forward-looking statement later turns out to be inaccurate.
Risks and uncertainties that may affect Intuit's future results include,
but are not limited to, those in Intuit's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, especially Intuit's Form 10-K for fiscal 2001
filed on October 5, 2001 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October
31, 2001 filed on December 7, 2001, and at www.intuit.com/company/investors/considerations.html
.
Development has not yet been completed on
all of the new products and services we expect to offer. The development
process is complex and involves several risks. Launches of products
and services can be delayed for a variety of reasons, including unanticipated
technological difficulties and resource constraints. Products and services
may also have defects that could hinder performance and/or damage customer
data. These problems can be expensive to fix and can also result in
higher technical support costs and lost customers. Significant delays
in launching new products or services, or failure to launch them, could
delay or eliminate our ability to recognize any anticipated economic
benefit from the new products and services.
Intuit, the Intuit logo, Quicken, QuickBooks,
QuickBooks Pro, Quicken Loans and TurboTax, among others, are registered
trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit Inc. in the United
States1 and other countries. Other parties' trademarks or service marks
are the property of their respective owners and should be treated as
such.
Statements in this announcement other than
historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results
to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking
statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others:
VeriSign's limited operating history under its current business structure;
the risk that the VeriSign and Illuminet businesses will not be integrated
successfully and unanticipated costs of such integration; uncertainty
of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations in quarterly
operating results; failure of the combined company to retain and hire
key executives, technical personnel and other employees; failure of
the combined company to manage its growth and the difficulty of successfully
managing a larger, more geographically dispersed organization; failure
of the combined company to successfully manage relationships with customers,
suppliers and strategic customers; network outages, network capacity
constraints or security breaches; failure of the combined company's
customers to accept new services or to continue using the products and
services of the combined company; and competition in the various markets
serviced by the combined company. More information about potential factors
that could affect the company's business and financial results is included
in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially
in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2000, Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed on October 10, 2001
and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31,
June 30, 2001 and September 30, 2001. VeriSign undertakes no obligation
to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this
press release.
VeriSign is a registered trademark of VeriSign,
Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners
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