Presentation by Small Business Web org on why Open APIs for accounting / QuickBooks are necessary and valuable. Prepared for and presented to a developer audience at the QuickBooks Connect Hackathon, Oct 20, 2014.
2. The Small Business Web and open APIs
Josh Scherman
October 20, 2014
#QBconnect
3. #QBConnect
Hi, I’m Josh Scherman
Business Development @ Constant Contact
Small Business Web Board Member
4. #QBConnect
What is the Small Business Web?
• Founded in 2009
• Trade Association for companies selling cloud-based software for small
businesses
• Believe in the Open Web
• Over 200 Member Companies
5. #QBConnect
What is an Open API?
An Open API has published documentation, a published
endpoint, and published terms of use. Third parties can freely
build against an Open API with only a minimum of reasonable
and explicit restrictions to protect end users, such as identity
theft protection, PCI compliance, or reasonable load.
6. #QBConnect
Value of Open API’s
• Small Businesses should have access to the same tools and
technology that big companies have
• Unique needs that demand flexible solutions
• Automating processes and saving time
7. #QBConnect
Market Opportunity
• Still so early for the SaaS industry
• Easier than ever to launch a great SaaS product
• ~$17B in SaaS revenue – only 6% of the overall software
market!
• 20% growth forecasted through 2020
Define an “Open API” – Can an end user hire a contractor to build a software integration without explicitly asking the software vendor
Small Businesses are the lifeblood of our economy
Let’s make it as easy as possible for them to manage and run their business.
Software should work together.
Less manual, more efficient
SaaS Industry is still less than 2 decades old
The other markets dominating the industry are the Cloud ($131B), Software ($326B) and IT ($2,700B).
The vast majority pay nothing for marketing or advertising