Back in 2006, a small New Zealand software developer called Xero reviewed its market, product and customer engagement and realised it had an opportunity to change the game for small business accounting software on a global basis. Old-world thinking dictates that a business should control every aspect of its particular market or service.
But instead of simply building another competing proprietary application, Xero created an open, online platform that enables third-party developers to integrate their own inventory managers, workflow controllers, point-of-sale systems, data analysis tools and a host of other components directly into the Xero system.
It was disruptive, new-world thinking that transformed a two-person start-up into an emerging leader of online business accounting software with international offices in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Updated: 4 September 2015