Do you remember those TV ads for Alphabetti Spaghetti where words are magically spelt out from what seems a mess of letters? That was the first thought that came into my mind as I watched Jeff Nolan‘s demonstration of Teqlo, currently in early beta. Jeff’s company is trying to solve an age old problem – the democratiation of information through user generated, automated applications. In Teqlo speak: “It’s about taking control of what I have so that task automation becomes what you decide to tie together.”
In the demo, Jeff showed how a competent power user (think Excel macros) could visually assemble an application that ties Google Maps to LinkedIn contacts and a DabbleDB database to create a sales person’s call list. Others will talk about the techie stuff. I was interested in the business application end of things. I will say that from a user’s perspective, the interface is sleek and pleasing. A bit like NetVibes but a touch more classy.
Jeff is aiming four square at the SMB market. That’s potentially tens millions of users in the US domestic market and with maybe 2.5 million potential users in the UK plus another possible 25 million across EU. It’s also playing in the direction of those who keep their contacts in databases like LinkedIn as opposed to Outlook, who appreciate that even modest functionality in a database can take you a long way in solving task oriented problems. The call application is an excellent example of how Teqlo would allow SMBs to build what amounts to a simple CRM style application without needing to buy an application or a SaaS alternative like Salesforce.com.
During the Q&A, a number of questions were raised that go something like this: “The most important data for SMBs is in the likes of a Peachtree, Intuit, Sage, Excel. What about those?” I believe one of the most useful applications for an SMB is a simple field service service where the service engineer gets call listings for the following day plus details of any materials pick ups and any debt or service contract issues. He could even get a route map. This makes the engineer much more productive and saves a fortune in admin costs, reduces the likelihood of failed customer visits and can improve customer satisfaction.
In most SMB environments, the cost of creating this kind of application, forgetting for one moment the call routing issues, would be out of reach for the average small business and impossible to contemplate for the 20-30 person business. Teqlo could solve that problem, easily justifying a premium on top of what will be a set of basic free services.
But this is where Teqlo runs into a wall. Jeff says Teqlo plays best with public services like Google where everything from the user’s perspective is out on the Internet. Incumbent accounting application vendors want users locked to the desktop and behind the firewall. Which kind of makes it hard for them to punt a SaaS story with any conviction. That is changing with the emergence of vendors like NetSuite, Twinfield, 24Seven Office and Winweb. My view is that like it or not, Teqlo will need to tap into these solutions, developing example templates it can then sell at a sensible cost. That’s because, while the young generation of users towards whom Teqlo is looking will have no problem with Google style services, those alone won’t deliver enough value without exposing and using transaction data. It is possible that SMBs might step around this by using Excel Services but I see that as a sledge hammer to crack a nut.
Jeff is candid that eschewing the Intuit’s et al may be a problem he has to address early on. I think it can work the other way around. Teqlo could for example take what Intuit and Google were talking about last year and clean up at least some of the mess. Apart from being an all round good thing, Teqlo would leapfrog the market.
I can see Twinfield and Winweb (of which I have the most experience), using this is in very different yet complementary ways. Winweb already has a clutch of services it deploys to help minimise business friction. Extending these with Jeff’s magic glue – Teqlets – would provide a solid boost. Twinfield on the other hand is looking at a variety of SFA style solutions it may offer (I’m not saying should or will). Linking these together via Teqlets and then out to public service resources could provide some interesting alternatives. Teqlo already has relationships with Xignite, @Road and Voiceage – niche providers who want to get over the development hump. Where is Sig?
There is little doubt in my mind that self-assembled services is the way to set users free from the tyranny of having to ‘make do and mend.’ It is very early in the game yet already Jeff has serious competitors. I like what I’ve seen and will be playing with the beta in due course. I hope Jeff is able to muster the resources to make a solid impact and that he isn’t overly cautious in his approach to market. That was something Ross Mayfield says was his worst decision on his entrepreneurial path.
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