Xero leans on Amazon for machine learning and to try and crack China

In addition to accessing cutting edge data analytics tools, and allowing them to scale at speed, companies are looking to platform-as-a-service providers Google, Microsoft and Amazon to remove trade barriers in complex markets like China. Last week, Xero announced a strategic push into Asia with the opening of its new regional headquarters in Singapore. But it will bide its time on China until big platform-as-a-service providers pave the way. "As it works at the moment, we would have to give Chinese authorities access to our source code and host our data in China. I don't know that we'd feel very comfortable with that," Mr Drury told The Australian Financial Review at Xerocon last year when asked about the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major trade deal involving Australia and 11 other countries.