​Xero, (@Xero) today unveiled strategic partnerships and integrations with Barclays and Microsoft in front of 1,300 accountants and partners at Xerocon*,  UK's largest fintech conference, giving small businesses and their accountants easier access to the services and funds they need to manage and grow their business.

• The addition of Barclays to Xero’s growing network of live bank feeds, alongside Metro Bank, RBS, NatWest and Silicon Valley Bank, further demonstrates Xero’s ongoing commitment to automating small business financial management and shows these large institutions recognize the role Xero has to play in the global financial technology sector.
• By integrating Xero financial data with Microsoft Power BI, Xero is delivering big data for small business so customers can directly connect with, and gain insight from, their business data.
• The integration between Xero and Microsoft Power BI enables businesses to analyze data with greater speed, efficiency, and understanding. Available in March, the powerful analytics create compelling data visualisations of 25 small business metrics including cash position, revenue vs. expenses, profit loss trend, debtor days and return on investment.
• A quarter of Xero’s 600,000+ customers use at least one of our partners in addition to accounting software. These new partnerships build on an existing ecosystem of over 500 best in class third party Apps, including Shopify, Insightly and Mindbody.

Comments on the news:

Xero’s Chief Executive, Rod Drury says, “Business tools today are smarter and more connected than ever and finally available to the small business sector. The Accounting Industry runs on Microsoft Office and we’re delighted to further integrate with Microsoft Power BI to give our users easier ways to access and analyse information from Xero and other sources to make smart, informed decisions.”

Head of Strategic Partnerships, James Maiocco says, “Xero is already an engine room for small business in the UK, with one in four of all Xero customers using at least one of our partners in addition to accounting software. The integrations, announced today at Xerocon, UK's largest fintech conference, form part of Xero’s vision to connect small businesses with the financial services they need.”

Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President and the General Manager of Microsoft’s Business Applications, Platform and Intelligence (BAPI) organization James Phillips says, “Technology exists for us to transform and change what we can do. Microsoft’s integration work with Xero brings together each of our strengths in cloud, productivity and business intelligence so our customers can more easily analyze and visualize their business data, share insights from anywhere within Office 365, and work with each other to get more done.”