After my first Xerocon as CEO at Sydney last year, the bar was set high for this year’s event here in London. And wow! Day one has knocked it out of the park. We kicked off with an incredible performance from Harry Yeff, also known as Reeps One, who uses AI to create unbelievable sounds and music. Our brilliant host (and a familiar face on British TV) Sue Perkins, then welcomed everyone to Xerocon London and quickly had us all in stitches.
Setting the scene with the Xerocon showcase
First up was the Xerocon opening showcase, where I was joined by members of our global leadership team. Alex von Schirmeister (Managing Director UK & Emerging Markets) spoke about the latest industry trends, and launched part two of our Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) productivity report, which shows that UK small business productivity is equalising across regions.
Diya Jolly (Chief Product and Technology Officer), then shared plenty of exciting product announcements for your practice and your small business clients, before Michael Green (GM Partnerships – UK) dived into insights on building the right app stack, and James Bergin (EGM Technology Research & Advocacy) shared powerful ways to drive innovation in your practice.
I was also excited to share a glimpse into what we’ve been focused on at Xero over the last 12 months: resetting and reshaping our ambitions and resources, to build an even stronger foundation for the future. I explained how our purpose continues to be at the heart of who we are and what we do, which is why it’s the foundation of our three-year strategy, which we call ‘winning on purpose’.
Focusing on product innovation for the UK
Diya’s product keynote was jam-packed with new features that are available now and coming soon across core accounting, payroll and payments. From our new payroll manager dashboard and the launch of Tap to Pay, to our new partnership tax solution — there was plenty of excitement about how we’re continuing to deliver value for you in our product, so you can streamline your workflows and get paid faster.
Learn more about all the new features announced at Xerocon London.
Getting to know JAX
The other announcement that’s created a lot of buzz around Xerocon is the beta for Just Ask Xero (JAX), our new AI business companion. JAX is powered by generative AI and has the potential to transform the way you and your clients work. Imagine being able to generate invoices or edit quotes with a simple text, email or WhatsApp message? Without logging into Xero? That’s the power you’ll have in the months ahead, when we introduce JAX in August.
Learn more about how GenAI-powered Just Ask Xero will reimagine accounting.
Getting inspired by our guest speakers
Uncertainty expert and international best-selling author Sam Conniff helped our audience decipher how to navigate change and turn fear into opportunity, to drive innovation. It was an incredibly inspiring session, asking us to think about how uncertainty shows up for us, how we can discover our biases, and how these can inform decision making. We even took a quiz to discover our uncertainty tolerance!
Next up was Jason Bradbury, an AI expert who spoke about creating your own future-gazing toolkit, and the exponential growth of AI in our lives. He taught us all how to unlock our own predictions of the future, by leveraging technology and AI, and gave us an interesting glimpse into what the future of innovation might look like across a number of industries. Jason also joined industry experts on stage for a breakout session to dive deeper into the topic of AI.
Having plenty of fun on the expo floor
Would it be a Xerocon if we didn’t sprinkle a bit of fun across the expo floor? Accountants and bookkeepers were able to spend time with app partners, create their own music track and album cover at the AI music factory, shoot goals with the Lioness’ Caz Carney and Carly Telford, and so much more!
It’s great to be back in the UK, and it’s been fantastic to spend time with our partner community. I can’t wait to see what’s in-store tomorrow. See you then!
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