Xero Blog

It’s safe to say that artificial intelligence (AI) is now part of common language and everyday life. But while we’ve all heard of the term, not everyone really knows what it is or how to use it (or rather, whether it can be useful for them). 

We’re thrilled to be launching Future Focus, a series dedicated to removing the mystery, hype — and maybe even fear — from some of those futuristic technologies you’ve always wondered about, but never knew how, or who, to ask.

Technology advancements are continuously reshaping not only the way we work, but fundamentally how we operate across nearly every industry. With new innovations unlocked almost daily — each with a unique promise to transform how we do business — how do busy small businesses and their advisors separate the fad from the fancy?

I’m excited to share that we’re establishing a Xero base in India, where there is deep technical talent, to enhance our existing hiring and development programs for technology roles.  Through a strategic partnership with Infosys, a global digital services and consulting company, we’re setting up a Xero-managed centre of technical talent at an Infosys campus in India. 

When it comes to how we deliver our commitment to innovation, we believe that patents are a proxy for it. That’s why, on behalf of Xero, I’ve signed the Diversity Pledge.

When it comes to understanding practical opportunities for up and coming decentralised technologies like blockchain, cryptocurrencies and smart contracts – there’s a lot to take in. Add in the potential challenges that businesses might have incorporating these offerings in the future, it’s no surprise that there are more questions than answers among our community.

The last two days at Xerocon New Orleans have been a fantastic whirlwind, and I was particularly thrilled to speak about my favourite topic – how to keep your practice cyber safe – in a breakout session on the second day for our delegates. 

In Japanese philosophy, change is represented by the word ‘kai’, and ‘zen’ means ‘for the better’. As we rapidly scale our technology capabilities in the pursuit of becoming the world’s most sustainably excellent engineering company, we know just how important the kaizen approach to continual improvement – small changes, over time – is in how we identify problems, and solve them. 

When the products and features you use aren’t working as they should, we know it’s really important to be able to access information about what’s happening and why quickly. We’ve recently made some changes to the way Xero’s status page works for that reason, to ensure the information you receive is more consistent, accurate and valuable.