Xero Raises a Truckload of Cash from US Funds
Last week the announcement came that Xero had secured a huge investment round from US venture funds Valar Ventures (backed by Facebook founder Peter Thiel) and Matrix Capital Management. I’ve spent time talking with these US investors about Xero’s prospects and areas I thought the company would need to improve
TradeGecko–Cloud-Based SMB Inventory Launches
I’ve spent couple of decades dealing with the realities of a small business that sells physical goods. The functional requirements of these businesses are surprisingly broad but alas the budget tends to be small. I was interested then to hear from the founders of TradeGecko, a recently launched SaaS inventory
Xero Hits Escape Velocity With 100000 Customers Count
Xero held its annual meeting last week and detailed its current performance. Xero annual meetings are always an interesting event, Xero has an incredibly supportive shareholder base, while most publicly listed company AGMs include a fair dose of critique and questioning, Xero’s events instead ring to the sound of hand-clapping
CCH Acquires Acclipse Limited–Accounting Vertical Gets Converged
Big news in the accounting space with the announcement that CCH, a division of the international group Wolters Kluwer is acquiring software vendor Acclipse. Acclipse sells practice management software under the iFirm brand, and announced a few months ago the intention to roll out a client side accounting solution. Acclipse
Opportunities and Challenges for IT Managers
Recently I was invited by IBM to host a lunch in Auckland that bought together a handful of IT managers from a range of organizations. the aim of the lunch was to have a discussion, in a neutral forum, about the opportunities and challenges that cloud brings to their organizations. the makeup of the participants […]
Snapper and 2Degrees Deliver Convergence–Simply
“Thought Leadership” is a term that is often bandied around, with little regard for what it means. Many in the technology industry equate thought leadership to technological innovation. Personally I’m pretty excited about a type of thought leadership that takes an existing technology but delivers it in a way that means it is accessible to […]
Acclipse Rolls Out Client Side Application (Again)
Acclipse is a New Zealand based accounting practice management solution that I’ve covered previously, specifically when it announced eventually ill-fated partnerships with Xero (covered here) and Saasu (covered here). Acclipse’e product, iFirm is an integrated suite of online products that boasts over 2,000 firms and 10,000 licensed users of its
The Path to the Cloud is Paved…. With Jagged Rocks…
It’s always interesting to watch companies looking to move from their “traditional” approach of software delivery to living in the cloud. One company I’ve had a first hand glimpse of making that shift is MYOB (see disclosure). In its home market of Australia and New Zealand, MYOB is facing a small, but growing, and increasingly […]
On Corporate IT–All That Is Bad
I’m a volunteer firefighter here in New Zealand. As well as doing all the operational firefighting stuff, I have some responsibility for administration within the brigade and externally. As part of this role I have to utilize Fire Service systems and email. Which is where the trouble begins. Being an independent entity in my work-life, […]
Convergence–Mobile, Web and Cloud Improve Customer Experience at NZSki
Part of my excitement about cloud is that it seems to me to be one of the factors that is enabling a real change in the way people interact with each other and with organizations. Recently and old-schoolmate of mine (from longer ago than either of us would like to admit), Simon Gianoutsos, wrote an […]
Cloud Computing Outside the US
Information Week has an article that talks about the difference between the US and European Cloud Computing markets. The article points out to some numbers given by The 451 Group’s William Fellows The 451 Group’s William Fellows in a “Cloud Outlook 2010” Webcast, says that 57% of spending on cloud computing is done in the […]
Our Health System Can be Fixed Through Technology, Process and Governance
A little while ago I posted, venting my frustration at the New Zealand health system. One of my friends at IBM New Zealand saw my post and wondered firstly whether my criticisms were justified and secondly what solutions there are that could solve some of the health system woes. She invited a healthcare specialist from […]
Power to The People
In what might be held up as a copybook case of the utilisation of social media to effect parliamentary change, it has just been announced that the coming-in-to-force of section 92 of the New Zealand Copyright Act will be delayed until March 29 and, in the event that no agreement is reached, will be suspended. […]
Some Small Players Beating the Odds
Most readers will be aware that I live on a small(ish) lump of rock in the South Pacific. This remoteness from all things Valley-ish (and this remoteness, it must be said, from all things) gives me a somewhat one-eyed perspective. I’m always careful to not over push the New Zealand thing – my personal blog […]
Creating a Groundswell – “Guilt Upon Accusation”
Right now in New Zealand there is an uproar about a new piece of legislation due to be enacted very soon. Depending on your definition, section 92 of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008 (now there’s a mouth full!) calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without […]
