Computerworld

​From Xero to 600,000 in real-time… Microsoft brings Power BI to data thirsty SMBs

“Business tools today are smarter and more connected than ever and finally available to the small business sector."
Rod Drury - CEO, Xero

Rod Drury - CEO, Xero

Xero has served up Microsoft Power BI to its 600,000 users, with the integration designed to better equip data thirsty small businesses.

In a global initiative announced overnight, the Kiwi cloud accounting firm hopes Redmond’s interactive data visualisation tools will allow customers to access and analyse information from Xero and other sources to make smart, informed decisions.

Available in March, the integration essentially allows analytics to create data visualisations of the most commonly tracked 25 small business metrics including cash position, revenue vs. expenses, profit loss trend, debtor days and return on investment.

“Business tools today are smarter and more connected than ever and finally available to the small business sector,” says Rod Drury, CEO, Xero.

“The Accounting Industry runs on Microsoft Office and we’re delighted to further integrate with Microsoft’s Power BI to give our users easier ways to access and analyse information from Xero and other sources to make smart, informed decisions.”

By integrating Xero financial data with Microsoft Power BI, Drury says Xero is delivering big data for small business so customers can directly connect with, and gain insight from, their business data through the deep visualisation tools and the power of Excel.

“Xero is deeply invested in the potential of big data for small business,” adds Angus Norton, Chief Product Officer, Xero.

Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI

“We understand that the true value of data lies in the ability to extract insights and the story it paints around the health of their business.

“Xero is continually embracing new innovations and opportunities for our small business users and partnering deeply with one of the world's most loved productivity tools for business makes total sense to us.

“Microsoft Power BI can now be accessed with a click of the financial system of record in Xero and paired with data from other advanced inventory systems - to surface new insights, and give precious time back to our customers to focus on their customers.”

For Norton, integrations with Microsoft Power BI and Office 365 extend Xero’s reach and usability and allows small businesses to extend their current Microsoft investments to better view Xero data alongside other critical business data, including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Mailchimp, Salesforce, Google Analytics, Zendesk and Stripe.

“Technology exists for us to transform and change what we can do,” adds James Phillips, General Manager of Business Applications, Platform and Intelligence, Microsoft.

“Microsoft’s integration work with Xero brings together each of our strengths in cloud, productivity and business intelligence so our customers can more easily analyse and visualise their business data, share insights from anywhere within Office 365, and work with each other to get more done.”