The worm is turning in Oz

About a year ago having just joined the Xero team I attended one of our roadshows for Australian accountants and bookkeepers. I remember getting questions like “Never heard of your company before?” and “Is my data secure online?”. As I’m based in Customer Care helping with online queries (yeah I’m one of those nice people who emails you back), I haven’t had much of a chance to attend other Xero events. Then last Friday I was asked to look after the Xero stand at the Institute of Chartered Accountants Conference in Sydney. It’s an important event for the industry with all our major competitors there to show and tell. A year on, the comments have definitely changed… “I have been hearing good things about Xero” and “You guys are really the future”.

These comments were all within an earshot of our competitors. I have never been one to get involved in competitor rivalry. My focus in Customer Care is support, but after my experience on Friday I thought it worth noting that times really are changing. Last week we saw Apple become the largest IT company in the world, much to the dismay of its competitors. A few years ago most would have thought this was impossible. After years of complacency by other accounting software providers, Xero is leading the revolution in online accounting and the world is watching. To those playing catch up ‘good luck’ because you are going to need it!