Twilio > Case Studies > Intuit Enhances Security for Over a Million Businesses with Twilio

Intuit Enhances Security for Over a Million Businesses with Twilio

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Identity & Authentication Management

Applicable Industries

National Security & Defense
Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Cybersecurity
Tamper Detection

About The Customer

Intuit is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small businesses, consumers, and accounting professionals. The company's flagship products and services include QuickBooks, TurboTax, Quicken, and Mint. Intuit powers payroll for more than 1 million small businesses and has become a leader in online payroll solutions. The company empowers companies to run payroll in just minutes, with an easy online interface and at a low cost. Intuit is headquartered in Mountain View, CA, and was founded in 1983.

The Challenge

Intuit, a leading provider of business and financial management solutions, faced a significant challenge in protecting small businesses that use its online payroll service from online security threats. As a payroll provider, Intuit stores sensitive information for its small business customers. The company was keen on staying ahead of online fraud and wanted to implement an additional layer of security to safeguard their customers' sensitive data. The challenge was to find a solution that would not only provide robust security but also ensure minimal inconvenience to legitimate customers. The solution also needed to be cost-effective and efficient to implement.

The Solution

To address this security need, Intuit turned to Twilio's phone and text messaging APIs to provide an additional layer of protection. When an online user attempts to change sensitive data, Intuit sends a verification code to the user's phone, via phone call or SMS, to provide out-of-band identity verification. This process ensures that the online user is in possession of their phone, thereby thwarting potential identity thieves. Twilio proved to be the fastest way for Intuit to move its new security feature to the cloud. The company was able to build both phone call and text-messaging features with just one API and one vendor, saving time and money. Moreover, Twilio was identified as the most cost-efficient option, allowing Intuit to move from idea to production with no up-front capital expenses.

Operational Impact

The implementation of Twilio's two-factor authentication has significantly enhanced Intuit's security measures, providing an additional layer of protection for its customers' sensitive data. The solution has been well-received by customers, with positive feedback from initial users leading to the decision to deploy the solution to the entire Intuit Online Payroll customer base. The success of this project has also sparked interest within the company, with product managers across Intuit considering how they can use Twilio to improve the customer experience in other areas of Intuit Online Payroll and across the company.

Quantitative Benefit

Intuit serves 45 million product users across 6 countries.
The company was able to build a working prototype with Twilio in just one afternoon.
Intuit powers payroll for more than 1 million small businesses.