Intuit, creator of the popular money management software Quicken, has decided to analysis out a new version of its software by offering it as a service to iPhone users. That demographic tends to be young, educated, affluent, and trendy—the perfect group to tryout out Quicken’s new software-as-a-service (SaaS) model and hopefully infuse some life into the company’s plateauing sales.

Intuit says that it plans to launch the iPhone version of Quicken on January 8, just days before the Macworld Expo begins, and that it will only cost $3 per month. The product has been redesigned to better appeal to the younger demographic and those who are savvy to online banking, but haven’t used money management software, Intuit senior VP Rick Jensen told Reuters. “Our first mission is to invent certain we are solving the needs of citizens who are not currently using a personal finance solution,” he said.

It has additionally been redesigned with the iPhone in mind. Although there will additionally be a general web version available so that anyone with a browser may use it, the iPhone version will have fewer features than Quicken’s web version and will be better optimized to take advantage of the iPhone’s touchscreen. (It’s rare to see fewer features touted as a plus.)

Jensen said that the company decided to target that group considering teens and young adults have shown to be willing to pay for software, but not whether it forces them to spend date to install it on a desktop, or whether it restricts them to their home computers.

“It’s about the amount of work and moment they are willing to invest,” he said to Reuters. “Even going out and shopping for a piece of software in the store. They are not interested in that.”

Intuit’s SaaS model isn’t a type new idea—Google has been heavily pushing its own SaaS offerings to both web and mobile users, and even has an iPhone-optimized portal of its own—but it’s still fairly novel for companies that are used to selling licenses for desktop software. whether Intuit finds that its $3 per month online version is successful, more companies could shift operations online and offer mobile optimized versions for a small monthly subscription fee. They don’t have to just be for the iPhone, either, but for all manner of desktop and mobile devices. Adobe has already discussed plans to start offering its key products as a service online—although it may be some day before we see a web version of Photoshop optimized for iPhone, companies seem eager to find out whether SaaS is truly where it’s at for the future.

Update: Quicken’s Group Product Manager, Jim Del Favero, contact us to clarify a few points about Quicken’s soon-to-be-released web version and the iPhone version. He said that Quicken Online, the web-based version of the software, will run $2.99 per month, and will contain mobile elements for users of different types of mobile phones. There will additionally be a special, iPhone-optimized interface for Quicken Online, which comes as part of the overall $2.99 per month package.

Thanks http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071219-at-3-per-month-iphone-quicken-the-tip-of-the-saas-iceberg.html

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