Chennai: Zoho Corporation, the Chennai-headquartered company that was incorporated in 1996, has completed 25 years of being a global technology provider, and has shared the direction in which the company will move over the coming decades. Over the years, the company has diversified, with three brands serving different markets, starting with IoT platform (under WebNMS), enterprise IT management (under ManageEngine) and cloud platform and applications (under Zoho).
“Zoho has been built on values and convictions. We do not measure our success in numbers, but the impact we have had on our employees, their families, customers, industry, ecosystem and the local communities,” said Sridhar Vembu, CEO and Co-Founder, Zoho Corp. “Our purpose has been to create opportunities for those who don’t have them, build compelling products for our customers, and serve geographical locations that have not been served before. We want to continue being a catalyst for change, inspiring others and emerging as a top technology leader, all the while serving those whom we impact more broadly and deeply.”
Path forward:
- Transnational localism and self-reliant regional economies: Transnational localism is about being rooted and connected. Zoho’s growth will be rooted in closely working with and serving the local communities around the world, while staying connected through shared knowledge and culture. The company will support regional economies become self-reliant through opening offices in rural or non-urban areas, local hiring, partnerships, investments, and adopting the local culture.
- Knitting a distributed workforce with remote work tools and strong culture: Zoho will follow a hub-and-spoke office model, moving towards a decentralised and globally-distributed workforce. In such a remote and hybrid work model, every business app becomes a collaboration app. The company will, therefore, invest in messaging and A/V technologies. Zoho will also focus on maintaining the company culture, bringing employees together through a sense of shared value and purpose.
- De-layering the tech stack: Zoho will continue to invest heavily in R&D initiatives with a focus on creating vertically integrated tech stack. In the coming years, Zoho expects the value of tighter vertical, horizontal and contextual integrations to grow. Vertical layers, historically, have been separate with vendors focusing on individual layers. Zoho expects these separated layers to shrink (or de-layered) leading to better efficiencies and customer experience. This can only be achieved through significant R&D efforts, which Zoho will continue to put in.
Plans for India
As part of its efforts on transnational localism, Zoho will open more satellite offices (20-30 seaters) in rural and non-urban areas across India.
Continuing its endeavours on rural revival, the company will undertake infrastructure projects in villages where it has opened offices, andinvest in long-term R&D projects aimed at building capabilities and knowhow.
Zoho will further expand and develop its school in Tenkasi to educate local children in their local language and contribute to serving local communities through various initiatives. Similar projects will be undertaken in other rural and non-urban areas.
The company will continue to build and expand its product portfolio across its brands from India to serve the global market.
25 Years of Impact
Ecosystem Impact
“Heartiest congratulations to the entire team of Zoho for completing 25 amazing years of innovation, creating impact, and inspiring the world in India’s leadership in technology. For India to bring a sustainable change across the ecosystem, it needs to build a product mindset. This milestone is a testimony to India’s tech prowess which is not just restricted to services, but we absolutely have what it takes to make a difference in the world of products. NASSCOM is proud of our partnership with Zoho and we wish the entire team a huge success for the future,” said Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM, India.
Customer Impact
“We have been a Zoho customer for more than 12 years now, and use a variety of their apps. We partially credit Zoho for the success that our business has seen over the past decade; they have been vital to our rags-to-riches journey, helping us with digital transformation. Today, we cannot imagine running our business operations without Zoho. Some of the best things about Zoho are its passion for customers, incredible support and ever-growing features. Zoho did not just transform our business, but has also inspired us to be like them,” said Rohit Gadia, Founder and CEO, CapitalVia Global Research Limited.
“Integreon has been associated with Manage Engine for more than 8 years now. During that period, we have seen how much technology has become part of our daily routines. In today’s business environment, strong and reliable tools to manage the technology infrastructure can boost efficiency, leading to increased return on investment. The value added by Integreon’s IT support team using ManageEngine software goes beyond IT operations. It benefits all the business stakeholders, including technicians and end users. That has enabled Integreon to get ahead of the competition,” said Sanjeev Jain, Chief Information Officer at Integreon.
Partner Impact
“We partnered with Zoho in 2011 to help our customers set up and optimise their sales processes and other business functions, and fell in love with Zoho’s products. Zoho provides the entire spectrum of horizontal business apps that organizations need to run their business. We started out by building industry-specific applications on Zoho’s platform such as solutions for travel agencies, real estate agencies, developers, training providers, law firms, and professional service companies. Today, with over 700+ customers in 70+ countries and a team of 30, I feel like we’re just getting started. It’s fulfilling to see how our customers are making such fantastic use of this incredible suite of apps. Zoho has been a great partner and a great product engineering company,” said Arnab Bandyopadhyay, Founder and CEO, GoldenLion Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd.
“Softcell is proud to have been associated with ManageEngine for almost two decades now. Working closely with ManageEngine, we have successfully helped hundreds of customers overcome challenges and address risks in the area of security, service management, compliance and governance. ManageEngine is one the key growth drivers and pillars for Softcell’s technology and consulting business,” said Sunil Dalal, Managing Director at Softcell Technologies Global Pvt Ltd.
Zoho Schools of Learning Impact
“Zoho taught me how to learn independently and with fun, while seriously building world-class products. With ever-changing technology, we have to be always on our feet; Zoho gives me that environment and the freedom to achieve it. Before I joined Zoho Schools of Learning, 16 years ago, I had never even touched a computer, and now I am the product manager for one of top-selling products of Zoho without having a degree to my name. Zoho Schools has shown me that path, and my colleagues have encouraged me, and they have never judged me for my age. Mobile, cloud, AI, and many other new technologies have emerged; however, the culture that has brought me here has always persisted,” said Saran Babu, Product Manager, Zoho Creator (1st batch of ZSL).
“When I was in Class VIII, I heard the word ‘software’ from my neighbours who were a software engineer couple. I did not have exposure to computers, but since then I wanted to be a software engineer. I knew I had to complete MCA to be one, but women in my family were homemakers, and did not have jobs. Zoho Schools of Learning came as a life-changing career option. People around me discouraged the idea because I was good at academics and they wanted me to join a college. However, my mother, a superwoman, supported my decision and encouraged me. Eventually, things fell into place. Today, everyone praises my mother for that decision and for showcasing me as a role model for the next generation of women in my family. Not only am I financially stable and independent, but I have also become confident both professionally and personally,” said Sandhiya Lakshmipathy, Product Manager, Jambav (1st batch of ZSL).
Employee Impact
“I was brought up in a strict disciplinarian family where freedom was limited. In Zoho, I learned that freedom brings responsibility. I started my career with Zoho 23 years ago as a software engineer, and over the years, I’ve worked on different products, serving different markets and industries, across different geographies. The freedom and trust provided by Zoho allowed me to learn and experiment on cutting-edge technologies, giving me and my team the confidence to build a real-time collaborative word processor that could compete with giants like Google and Microsoft. Zoho Writer was the first product to have been launched under the Zoho brand, our foray into the SaaS market. Even after 15 years, we continue to innovate and improve Writer, bringing in out-of-the-box document workflows. Zoho has also taught me how empathy can make a difference, and help in delivering value. When you prioritize people, you are bound to be successful in all that you do,” said Shyamala Ramesh, Program Manager, Zoho Writer.
“I joined Zoho in 1999, and have now worked at the company for more than half of my life. I am a techie, and finding an opportunity to work in a product company back then was fortuitous. There are several products where the code I wrote for the first version is still in use 20 years on. This is my life’s work. Over the years, I’ve done product development, design reviews, database scaling, handled customer escalations, analysed industry and market trends, decided product roadmap, reviewed technical documentation and webpages, interacted with customers, and even acted as a spokesperson. At no point have I been pigeonholed into a role. I’ve had the freedom to change teams and choose challenging problems to work on. The flexibility and opportunity to reinvent myself multiple times is something that only a company with a culture like Zoho could have offered,” said Rajalakshmi Srinivasan, Director, Product Management, Zoho.
