Xero partners reap innovation opportunities out of COVID-19 crisis

Nick Houldsworth (Xero)

Two thirds of Xero’s app partners used the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to innovate in their markets, according to a company ecosystem survey.

Facing major disruptions, the cloud accounting software vendor' small business platform community seized the opportunity to do business in new ways. 

Nick Houldsworth, executive general manager ecosystem at Xero, said innovation was at the heart of the community, which had shown remarkable resilience. 

"Almost three-quarters, 74 per cent, of the Xero ecosystem community believe they have identified new business opportunities as a result of the pandemic, and 72 percent saw the development of tailored solutions for their customers as a key opportunity area going forward,” Houldsworth said.

Two-thirds of ecosystem community members felt they have innovated more in 2020, with 30 per cent saying they’ve innovated a lot more and 34 per cent innovating a little more.

Seventy-eight per cent of the ecosystem cited being better able to adapt than competitors as crucial to success in 2021, while 64 per cent of those surveyed felt they had innovated more in 2020 than previous years.

The survey covered 1453 app partners, developer partners, enterprise and financial services partners, alongside accountants/advisors and SMBs that had developed their own integrations or apps in-house.

Sixty-four per cent of the community invested in innovation in 2020. 

The community defined innovation in their work life as increasing efficiency (50 per cent), turning ideas into something that worked (40 per cent), anticipating tomorrow’s needs (35 per cent), and producing positive change for the customer (35 per cent).

Beyond spending on innovation, the pandemic also saw a re-focus on the human element. Forty-eight per cent of respondents saw positive influences on company culture, and 46 per cent said it was positive for work-life balance. 

Seventy-nine per cent felt well equipped to help clients in difficulty grow again after the pandemic.