Last week I was in London and attended Hamish Edwards’, CEO Xero UK’s going away party. It was a thoroughly enjoyable occasion and a good opportunity to catch up with what the company has been doing. It was apparent that the New Zealand High Commission has invested plenty of time and energy in helping Xero make the right sort of contacts. They have the right spirit and attitude, offering help and assistance to new entrants coming to the UK. Very impressive.
In this video, Hamish talks about the company’s early efforts, where it is up to (but not revealing all) and mentions some of the forward thinking firms who are investing in Xero’s offering. As I have predicted before, we are starting to see the emergence of new styles of practice where the emphasis is on value add services supported by online capabilities. This is one group of Xero partners. The other are more traditional firms looking to replace products like Sage Instant or Line 50 with a more easy to use offering. I won’t spoil the fun but watch out for several of the names he mentions.
I filmed Hamish at the top of New Zealand House on Haymarket, a wonderful if slightly blustery location so please excuse the wind noise and the occasional emergency services sirens. There’s not much we can do about those!
Regular readers will know that Xero is an AccMan sponsor but equally important, the company has provided me with many insights into the saas business that have proven valuable to my understanding of how this industry operates. Safe journey home Hamish – I’m sure we’ll meet again.
Later today, I will be able to reveal Hamish’s successor. In my opinion, they’ve snagged one of the brightest and best minds on the UK accounting circuit. Watch this space.
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