INNER SIGHT - Google - Microsoft's alternative homegrown 'Zoho'

Economy

Google - Microsoft's alternative homegrown 'Zoho'

Virupaksha Sen:- Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has announced that India will now use “Zoho”, the Indian alternative to Microsoft and Google. On the handle X, he encouraged the countrymen to join the call for using Swadeshi and adopt indigenous platforms and services. Responding to this announcement, Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu welcomed and thanked the government for this decision. He said, "This is a huge inspiration for our engineers, who have worked hard to create our products for over two decades. We will make you and our country proud."

What is Zoho?

Zoho Corporation was founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas. The Chennai-based company has built a diverse portfolio of over 55 software applications that cater to the needs of businesses of all sizes. Its suite includes email, project management, HR, customer relationship management (CRM), accounting, analytics, and other important areas.

Zoho is one of the rare Indian software companies that has achieved significant global success without relying heavily on external investment. Its steady growth has made it a credible alternative to global giants like Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce. HR is also supported by Zoho People, which manages employee data, and Zoho Recruit, which simplifies the hiring process. For IT and security, Zoho Vault provides password management, while Zoho Lens enables remote assistance.

Zoho's AI Initiatives

Zoho is actively building its own artificial intelligence models. Jia LLM is the company's AI tool that processes data on Zoho servers, assisting in business tasks such as summarization, data extraction, code generation, and decision-making, while ensuring privacy.

The company has also launched Zia Agent Studio, a no-code platform where businesses can create AI-powered “digital employees.” These agents can vet candidates, Can analyze sales opportunities, or identify new business prospects. There are already over 25 AI agents available on the Zia Agent Marketplace.

Zoho Projects Pricing

The company's project management software Zoho Projects comes in three tiers. Free plan: Supports up to five users and provides 5 GB of storage. Includes integrations with Microsoft Teams, Zapier, and Zendesk.

Premium Plan: For teams of up to 50 users, offers 100 GB of storage, unlimited projects, and 20 templates. Priced at $4 (approximately Rs. 353) per user per month on annual billing.

Enterprise Plan: Designed for large organizations, offers unlimited users, 120 GB of storage, unlimited projects, and 30 templates. Price is $9 per user per month (approximately Rs. 796) with annual billing.