Computerworld

Kiwi tech takes over the world as Xero holds onto Forbes 100 top spot

"But the really awesome story is what comes next..."

New Zealand cloud accounting firm Xero has placed top on the Forbes 100 Most Innovative Growth Companies list, marking the company’s second straight year in the number one spot.

Recognising businesses that investors expect to be innovative both now and in the future, the Kiwi firm topped the list ahead of industry rivals NetSuite, as well as Seek, Fortinet and CommVault to name a few.

“It’s wonderful for Xero’s current innovation and growth to be acknowledged,” says Rod Drury, CEO, Xero.

“But the really awesome story is what comes next, as we help millions of small businesses thrive while creating shareholder value.”

According to Drury, FY2015 was a year of significant growth in a number of areas.

“We’ve become one of the fastest growing Software-as-a-Service companies on earth, increasing our subscription revenue 81 percent to $120.9m and operating revenue 77 percent to $123.9m,” he reports.

“Over the last nine years our high growth rates have shown that as SaaS businesses get moving, they can continue to grow much faster than traditional businesses.

“They maintain those high growth levels for many years where there is a large market opportunity.”

This year, Drury says Xero is sharing the Forbes top 10 spotlight with other global brands such as fellow SaaS standout Netsuite (No. 2) and Asos online fashion (No. 4) with previous standouts including Dropbox and Concur, “putting us in very good company.”

But, what does this mean for Xero?

“It’s awesome to be recognised,” Drury acknowledges. “More importantly, it’s yet another acknowledgement that we are building a truly innovative, competitive, global company with a strategy that will disrupt the incumbents and create enormous value.

“I’d like to extend a special thanks to all of our customers, partners, Xeros, and investors who are on this journey with us.

“We continue to accelerate towards our vision, of enabling millions of small businesses to thrive through beautiful software, advice, and connections.”