Hi Starscreen, Yes, I have had similar thoughts. Does the...

Hi Starscreen,
Yes, I have had similar thoughts.
Does the product create value? For the SME, I am sure it does. Any tool that saves them time and lets them understand their business position easily, has to be of value. 9SP's challenge is to keep interfacing to the many apps out there that SMEs use so that the dashboard fits into their business, rather than vice-versa. Ease of use is also a key factor.

I think there are four areas that create competition.

a) the new banking interface standard will make it easier for competitors. At the same, 9SP can more easily interface to many banks without customised interfaces (this should give a very significant development saving once the standard is in place). However, 9SP provides more than just an interface to banks and its connection to other apps (e.g. accounting, job management etc) means it can still differentiate its dashboard offering.

b) large banks have the resources to develop their own dashboards (witness Suncorp and their abandonment of 9SP). Nevertheless, even very large banks may prefer to adopt 9SP, because they specialise in this and banks can concentrate their own IT resources on core business.
Having a good product is one thing but having "respectability" and "financial security" is another. By "respectability" and "financial security", I mean being a company that is sound financially and which is going to be around for the long term, as well as being a trustworthy party to deal with. At this stage, 9SP must still be facing an uphill struggle to achieve this but the more deals achieved then the better the "respectability" and hopefully, the "financial security" too. I think Paul Reynolds as Chair, helps with the respectability side of things and I note that he sometimes gets directly involved with promotional visits.

c) the rise of competitors has to be expected. If 9SP are onto a good thing, then others notice and develop their own products of a similar nature. However, having first mover advantage is a strong factor. Not just from market awareness but also from the relationships that have been built up during visits to potential customers.

d) existing players with interfaces to banks, such as the accounting apps with cloud services are also in the game at the client end. It is noticeable that both PPH and 9Sp lack interfaces to Xero and I suspect it is because Xero wants to protect its own patch. At the end of the day, a SME does not care whether his dashboard is accessed through his bank or whether he uses a third party dashboard that interfaces to his bank.

I agree that it is always advisable to keep an eye on the competition. Often, the long term successful companies do not have the best product, rather they have the best marketing.