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Dynamics GP aims at QuickBooks users
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"We're winning a lot of switchers. They're gaining a few," Thomson added. "It is not as if they're announcing all of a sudden that they're winning against QuickBooks."
Microsoft also must vie with many other contenders for the remaining customers, said China Martens, an analyst with the 451 Group. "Other guys are swooping in," she said.
At the same time, the fact that Microsoft's products are tightly integrated into its stack can serve as a competitive advantage, she noted. "Whenever I ask a competitor, 'Why'd you lose a deal,' the answer is, 'this was a Microsoft shop.'"
But another observer said the company's efforts are familiar music and likely won't shift the landscape too dramatically.
"Whenever a vendor wants to move down from wherever they are and start going into the smaller businesses, Intuit is a very dominant player, so this is the natural thing to do," said Laurie McCabe, an analyst with AMI Partners. "Everybody tries to go after QuickBooks because, face it: This is the big installed base," she said.
Part of the problem is that "a lot of small businesses stay small" and therefore aren't looking to upgrade their software, she asserted.
Microsoft's deep channel program and overall understanding of the small-business market, however, will help it present "a serious challenge," McCabe added.
"I think we can't underestimate their ability to chip away at what Intuit has. On the other hand, the vast majority of the Intuit installed base, they aren't thinking of going anywhere. ... It's not going to be a big avalanche of business."
