*By Chloe Aiello* Intuit's incoming CEO Sasan Goodarzi says an open platform will be key to keeping competition at bay. As the financial software company, best known for products like QuickBooks and TurboTax, prepares to welcome its new leader, it is also fighting to keep up with rivals in tech. Goodarzi, an Intuit ($INTU) veteran and currently EVP of small business, said the company will rely heavily on artificial intelligence and third-party and partner developers to get a competitive edge. Goodarzi said Intuit is focused on meeting its small business customers' two key needs: putting more money in their pockets, and helping them "focus on their passion" by eliminating "work and drudgery." "A key way in which we do that is through an open platform," he said. The company opened up its platform to developers and partners to enable compatibility with virtually any application a customer might need. Goodarzi said Intuit currently has about 600 apps on that run on its platform, including a point of sale application, which ups its competitive edge against rivals, like Square ($SQ), PayPal ($PYPL) and Verifone ($PAY). "It gives the ability for our small businesses to be able to run their businesses no matter what app they need," Goodarzi said. The company is also using artificial intelligence to address what Goodarzi called "some very hard problems," including powering QuickBooks Capital, a fintech lending tool Intuit launched to help its customers secure loans. A.I. "is the next platform, very similar to the internet, that will ignite the next chapter of growth," he said. As Goodarzi prepares to step into his new role and steer Intuit boldly into the future of technology, he says there are a few lessons he'll carry with him from his years in other roles at the company. "The thing that all of these roles have taught me is the most important thing is our customers, and really, obsessively focusing on what matters most to our customers. And I would say the second thing is really inspiring the employees to accelerate the rate of innovation," he said. Intuit is expected set to report quarterly earnings and revenue on Nov. 19 after market close. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/future-intuit-ceo-sasan-goodarzi-discusses-software-industry-in-wake-of-ibm-and-red-hat-deal).
