A year ago I remarked upon Xero’s entry to the Google apps marketplace congratulating Xero for being part of the Google initiative but questioning why the integration wasn’t deeper. As I said at the time;
I clicked the link and was taken to a Google Apps Marketplace page which was sadly devoid of any link that would actually provision the service – it seems the page is no more than a shop front listing with a link to Xero’s own page to purchase
When discussing the fact with Xero CEO Rod Drury, he was quick to point out that;
Step one. Its a pain to register. Not interested in SSO. Opens a security issue and we have a banking ecosystem to keep happy.
Fast forward to today when Xero announced on their blog that they are rolling out single sign on with the Google Apps Marketplace. I absolutely applaud his move, SSO is a super-valuable function that saves time and hassle.
I wonder though, where the security issue that existed a year ago is now, and how Xero have appeased the concerns of the banking ecosystem…
Either way it’s good to welcome Xero to the world of SSO. Making the SMB world easier one app at a time…
Hey Ben,
Just caught up with this post. For me, the underlying shift behind this development is that the exit strategy just changed ecosystems… 😉