I retired from personal blogging in July 2008.
But you can find me over at http://blog.xero.com.
Another exciting day in Xeroland as we start to move the goal posts with our latest release.
The last major change in the desktop accounting space was the move from DOS to Windows that happened in the late 90’s, early 00’s - compounded by Y2K where the IT industry did a great job convincing everyone that planes might fall out the Sky (he wrote nervously from Queenstown airport).
Unlike the last technology shift, moving online changes everything.
Over the past year we’ve been rapidly completing the broad functionality expected in a general accounting system. Sure it’s pretty but there was just a huge number of things we needed to do to be a substitute accounting system. We are getting close. So now we can start to change the rules and change people expectations of what small business accounting systems do.
This is important for SaaS. It’s not just about changing the delivery and pricing model, it’s about how being online changes everything. Shifting the goal posts.
In the old world, most desktop accounting software is often locked away in the back office, retrospective, period based and can require triple handling of data. It is only used by a small number of people in the business (thank goodness). The first step of moving online was about matching the features of the existing providers, that have been around for many years, while adding the initial online benefits of being collaborative and near real time.
The next logical step is breaking out of the back office. Linking the accounting system to normal business processes and bringing aspects of the accounting system to frontline staff.
So todays release was as important for us as we added an Employee role to our security model. A relatively small and logical addition to Xero but very significant to our strategy.
It’s very exciting to get to a point where rather than catching up, we can lead. Also after a year the company matures significantly and processes evolve. I’m blown away but how much stuff our team are getting through in each release.
Now the fun really begins.
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Awesome, Rod, congratulations! Using software to enable new (useful) business process is one of the Big Goals. Getting people to actually use the software depends on simplicity-without-dumbing-down. Looks like Xero continues to “get it.”
It’s an interesting to watch how things are evolving at Xero - I’ve been doing some due dilegence recently on a business I’m interested in purchasing, and my thoughts have already been leaning toward migration to the Xero model.
One thing that I’d love to see is what - if any - public version of the roadmap for Xero exists? Or is that kept close to the chest as a competitive advantage?
xero is growing…
So I tend to surf the net a bit when I’m bored - and one of the sites/companies that I’ve been watching for a while is Xero.
Xero - for those not in the know - is a SaaS accounting application created by Rod Drury. Only it is growing into …
into………
an eCommerce suite of solutions adaptable to any type of enterprize….
either in modular form or as an end to end solution…..
margin loan coming on!!