Small Business (SMB) stories - Page 2

Xero rolls out AI-powered business health scorecards as 4.6 million subscribers gain deeper KPI tracking, cash flow forecasts and sharing tools.

Cork skincare start-up Doctrine wins top AxisBIC award as seven ventures chase EUR €9.5m and cybersecurity firm Ailtire takes best pitch.

Intuit's QuickBooks is under pressure as AI start-ups push automated bookkeeping, forcing accounting software to prove it can do more than digitise ledgers.

Carbery CogniMed, Love Better and Target Alert Group have been honoured after pitching to investors and local firms at UCC's IGNITE Spring Awards 2026.

Xero unveils AI-native finance platform and JAX assistant to cut admin for small firms, with accountants and bookkeepers also in line for gains.

HCS plans EUR €13.2m expansion with new Dublin office and 125 hires as AI-led managed services drive revenue growth.

Atomgate's Renee Lovell says education, testing and partnerships are helping the South African MSSP turn SonicWall upgrades into measurable business gains.

Apple rolls out unified business hub in 200 markets as signs mount that local ads in Maps will debut across North America this summer.

Emergent unveils Wingman, an always-on AI agent for email, scheduling and sales support as Australian firms seek to ease admin pressure.

Emergent's Wingman puts autonomous AI agents to work across email, calendars and chats, with human approval for higher-risk actions.

Rockwell's Plex wins Major Player status in six IDC MarketScape reports as AI-enabled ERP and finance tools gain ground among manufacturers.

Splashtop bets on AI-assisted patching and security alerts in a single console as it targets lean IT teams and MSPs with a new endpoint platform.

8x8 unveils AI Studio to let customer experience teams build agents with natural language, aiming to cut integration delays and costs.

Xero's Anthropic tie-up deepens finance software AI split as groups weigh integrated platforms against agent tools that work across multiple systems.

Making Tax Digital is forcing UK SMEs to confront broken finance workflows as quarterly reporting pushes demand for real-time data and open banking.

PayPal brings payment links into Canva for 265 million users, letting creators, entrepreneurs and small firms sell from designs with QR codes and checkouts.

Cloudflare and GoDaddy team up to give site owners more control over AI crawlers while backing open standards to verify agent identity.

Synology extends BeeStation Plus with local camera monitoring for homes and micro-businesses, offering AI alerts and no subscription fees.

AI agents prompt accounting firms to redesign bookkeeping and tax workflows as junior staff tasks are automated and human oversight stays central.

Apograph's £60-a-month firewall plan helps clients dodge emergency refresh costs, cut downtime and strengthen security across 1,500 endpoints.