Zoho Corporation Private Limited, an Indian software development and IT business corporation, has come a long way since its inception as AdventNet Inc. in 1996. Today, the company is known for its diverse range of web-based business applications and software development services. Notably, Zoho Remotely, introduced in 2020, has facilitated remote work and collaboration for individuals and organizations worldwide.
Zoho was founded by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas. In recognition of his contributions to entrepreneurship and the technology industry, Sridhar Vembu was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honors, on the occasion of the country’s 72nd Republic Day in 2021.
Zoho – Company Highlights
| Startup Name | Zoho |
|---|---|
| Sector | Software Development |
| Headquarters | Chennai, India |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | Sridhar Vembu, Tony Thomas |
| Parent Organization | Zoho Corporation Private Limited |
| Valuation | ~$1 Billion |
| Profit | $255.7 Mn (Rs 1,918 crore in FY21) |
| Revenue | $728.71 mn (Rs 5,442.4 crore in FY21) |
| Website | zoho.com |
| contact | info@zohocorp.com |
Zoho Corporation is a privately-held software development company that offers a suite of business software applications and tools, including customer relationship management (CRM), accounting, project management, and more. Here are some highlights of the company:
- Founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas.
- Headquartered in Chennai, India, with offices around the world.
- Offers over 45 applications in areas such as CRM, finance, marketing, HR, and collaboration.
- Serves over 60 million users in more than 180 countries.
- Has a customer satisfaction rating of 95%.
- Offers a free plan for most of its applications.
- Has won numerous awards for its products and services, including the CRM Watchlist Award and the PCMag Editors’ Choice Award.
- Has a focus on privacy and security, with all data stored in highly secure data centers.
- Is committed to sustainability, with a focus on reducing its carbon footprint and promoting environmental awareness.
- Has a strong culture of innovation and a commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions to its customers.
About Zoho
Zoho – Products
Zoho – Founders
Zoho – Startup Story
Zoho – Vision and Mission
Zoho – Name, Tagline, and Logo
Zoho – Funding
Zoho – Investments
Zoho – Growth and Revenue
Zoho – Business Model and Revenue Model
Zoho – Acquisitions
Zoho – Competitors
Zoho – Future Plans
About Zoho
Zoho Corporation Private Limited, an Indian company, was established in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas, in a small apartment in the suburbs of Chennai. The company was initially called AdventNet and solely focused on providing network management services. The company gained clients from the Bay Area and Silicon Valley, with Cisco being one of its first customers. AdventNet expanded its operations in Japan by June 2001, but the 2001 dot-com bubble burst caused the company to lose most of its customers, reducing the number from 150 to just 3 in 2002.
This event led Sridhar to realize that AdventNet needed to diversify its services to survive. The company expanded its product line, offering many other services besides network management. Zoho currently offers over 45 software products, and AdventNet was renamed Zoho Corporation in 2009.
Zoho - Products
The popular products offered by Zoho:
Zoho One: A suite of 45+ integrated applications to run an entire business.
Zoho CRM: A customer relationship management software that helps businesses manage leads, contacts, and deals.
Zoho Books: An accounting software for small businesses to manage their finances.
Zoho Desk: A help desk software that allows businesses to manage customer support tickets.
Zoho Projects: A project management software that helps businesses plan, track, and collaborate on projects.
Zoho Analytics: A business intelligence and data analytics software that allows businesses to visualize data and gain insights.
Zoho Meeting: A video conferencing and webinar software for remote collaboration.
Zoho Invoice: An invoicing software for small businesses to create and send professional invoices.
Zoho Creator: A low-code platform that allows businesses to build custom applications without coding.
Zoho Campaigns: An email marketing software that helps businesses create and send targeted email campaigns.
Zoho People: A human resources management software that helps businesses manage employee data, attendance, and performance.
Zoho Inventory: An inventory management software for small businesses to manage their stock and orders.
These are just a few examples of the many products offered by Zoho to help businesses manage their operations more efficiently.
Zoho – Founders
Zoho was founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas, who both graduated from IIT Madras. Initially, the company was known as AdventNet (1996-2009). Sridhar Vembu, who hails from a humble background, dreamed of studying in an IIT and moving to the US. He successfully achieved his dream by completing his graduation from IIT Madras in 1989 and receiving a scholarship to pursue his Masters and Ph.D. in Electrical engineering from Princeton University in New Jersey.
After completing his Ph.D., Sridhar received a professorship in Australia, but he resigned within two weeks and started his career at Qualcomm in 1994. Two years later, he co-founded AdventNet with Tony Thomas, who was an old friend and fellow IIT Madras graduate. Initially, Tony had written a rough draft of networking software and needed help to sell it when Sridhar joined him as the Chief Evangelist. AdventNet later came to be known as Zoho since 2009.
Zoho’s founder, Sridhar Vembu, was awarded the Padma Shri on the occasion of India’s 72nd Republic Day (2021) and is the 59th richest man in India, according to Forbes 2020. However, he is known for his modest attitude and often loves to go barefoot. Tony Thomas, Zoho’s co-founder, worked at Bell Labs before founding AdventNet. Sridhar and Tony shared similar interests in business and technology, which led them to build their massive venture. Today, Zoho operates with over 12,000 employees, providing innovative and affordable software solutions to businesses of all sizes.
Zoho - Startup Story
The story of Zoho is a tale of unwavering determination and unrelenting spirit! The two founders, Sridhar and Tony, had a dream to conquer the world with their business. They started by targeting the Japanese electronics manufacturers, but that was just the beginning.
In 2000, a VC approached them with a tempting offer to exit and liquidate after 7 years. But Sridhar and Tony were not going to let all their hard work go down the drain. When the markets crashed in 2001-2002, their customer base dwindled from 150 to just 3. But they refused to give up and instead pivoted to launch ManageEngine, which soon became a leader in its target space.
With a winning formula that included lower cost, largest product suite, and a massive Indian engineering base, they sensed the potential of Cloud and SaaS and took a bold step to foray into the consumer market with Zoho Docs. But when Google Docs was launched in 2005, they pivoted again and built a CRM that could compete with Salesforce.
The Zoho team targeted small offices and home offices, which led them to assume the domain name “SOHO” to form SOHO.com. But when the name was not available, they settled for Zoho.com, which was close enough but expensive. However, the name stuck and became the cradle of Zoho Docs and CRM.
Zoho’s USP was to offer wide-ranging products at affordable prices, which required a huge team of engineers. And they didn’t shy away from the challenge. In 2007, they had 600 engineers, while Salesforce had only 100. Today, Zoho hires and trains hundreds of engineers right from their HS and guides them through the schools that the company has designed for them.
The Zoho Schools of Learning train their students in the skills that are paramount for software development and pay them to attend their schools. The students eventually evolve into talented engineers, who are retained through a combination of location and a massive R&D budget. And the Tenkasi experiment of Zoho is a testament to the success of their approach.
Establishing an office in rural Tenkasi district in Tamil Nadu back in 2011 with just 6 employees, Zoho Desk was launched in 2016 with 150+ members working from Tenkasi. The software was popularized as “Made in rural India, Made for the World” and is now used by more than 50K businesses globally.
Following the success of the Tenkasi experiment, the Zoho team replicated the same by establishing another office in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh in 2018. Today, the Tenkasi office has 500+ people working from there, and Vembu himself moved there in 2019 to work from that office.
Zoho’s commitment to rural India is evident in the establishment of Zoho Schools in 2005. These schools offer students the kind of education that most colleges fail to provide and pay them a stipend for learning. Since then, 1400+ students have graduated from Zoho Schools, forming a considerable (10%) of the Zoho global workforce.
In the end, Zoho’s success story is not just about building great products, but it’s also about building a great company culture that values people over profits. Rural India played a significant role in the growth of Zoho, and they have proved that with determination and the right approach, anything is possible!
Zoho – Vision and Mission
Zoho is a company that is committed to providing innovative and affordable software solutions to businesses of all sizes. Its vision is to create superior software that effectively solves all business problems. The company invests more in developing its products and customer support, rather than focusing on sales and marketing. Zoho’s mission is to help businesses grow and succeed by providing them with the tools and resources they need to streamline their operations and drive productivity. The company is focused on promoting sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint, while continuing to expand its product offerings and improve the user experience.
Zoho – Name, Tagline, and Logo
Zoho’s name is derived from “SOHO” (small office/home office) and was chosen to reflect the company’s focus on serving small and medium-sized businesses. Its tagline, “The Operating System for Business,” emphasizes the company’s commitment to providing comprehensive, integrated software solutions. Zoho’s logo features a stylized “Z” that represents a turning point, signifying the company’s ability to help businesses change course and reach new heights.
Zoho – Business Model and Revenue Model
Zoho is a software company that offers a suite of online productivity, collaboration, and business applications. Their business model revolves around providing an integrated suite of applications that allow businesses to streamline their operations and manage their day-to-day tasks more efficiently.
Zoho offers a wide range of products, including CRM, project management, accounting, HR management, email, and social media marketing tools. They provide these products under a subscription-based revenue model, which means customers pay a monthly or yearly fee to access and use the products.
Zoho’s revenue model is based on offering its products at affordable prices to small and medium-sized businesses. They also offer a free version of their products with limited functionality to attract users and convert them to paying customers.
In addition to their subscription-based revenue model, Zoho also generates revenue through their consulting and customization services, which allow businesses to customize their Zoho applications to meet their specific needs.
Overall, Zoho’s business model and revenue model have been successful in attracting a large customer base and generating revenue through a combination of affordable pricing, a wide range of products, and customization services.
Zoho – Acquisitions
Zoho has made several acquisitions over the years, mostly to expand its product offerings and add new capabilities to its existing products. Some of the notable acquisitions made by Zoho include:
ManageEngine: Zoho acquired ManageEngine in 2006 to add IT management software to its product portfolio. ManageEngine provides a range of IT management products, including network management, server and application management, and IT security.
WebNMS: Zoho acquired WebNMS in 2009, which is a multi-vendor network management software for telecom and IoT applications. The acquisition enabled Zoho to provide a comprehensive network management solution to its customers.
PrestoNotes: Zoho acquired PrestoNotes in 2009, which is a note-taking and personal information management application. The acquisition helped Zoho to enhance its productivity suite by adding a note-taking app.
AdventNet: Zoho acquired AdventNet in 2009 to consolidate its product offerings under a single brand. AdventNet was the parent company of Zoho, and the acquisition helped Zoho to streamline its product portfolio.
Qontext: Zoho acquired Qontext in 2013, which is a social collaboration platform for the enterprise. The acquisition enabled Zoho to add social collaboration features to its products.
VayuGrid: Zoho acquired VayuGrid in 2017 to add artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to its products. VayuGrid provides a range of AI and ML-based solutions, including predictive analytics, recommendation engines, and chatbots.
ePoise Systems: Zoho acquired ePoise Systems in 2018, which is a cloud-based interview automation platform. The acquisition helped Zoho to add recruitment automation capabilities to its HR management software.
eJungle: Zoho acquired eJungle in 2021, which is an e-commerce platform that provides a range of solutions, including marketplace management, omnichannel retailing, and order fulfillment. The acquisition enabled Zoho to add e-commerce capabilities to its product portfolio.
Overall, Zoho’s acquisition strategy has focused on adding new capabilities to its products, expanding its product offerings, and consolidating its product portfolio under a single brand.
Sure, here’s the information in a table format:
| Acquisition | Year | Country | Industry | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ManageEngine | 2003 | United States | IT Operations Management | Acquired to expand Zoho’s product offerings and customer base |
| AdventNet | 2009 | India | Network Management | AdventNet was rebranded as Zoho Corporation and became the parent company of Zoho’s various business divisions |
| WebNMS | 2009 | India | Network Management | Acquired to expand Zoho’s capabilities in network management |
| Impress | 2010 | India | Document Management | Acquired to expand Zoho’s capabilities in document management |
| HelpIQ | 2011 | United States | Knowledge Management | Acquired to enhance Zoho’s help desk software with self-service tools |
| Zentron Labs | 2011 | India | Network Management | Acquired to expand Zoho’s capabilities in network management |
| Lighthouse | 2011 | United States | Performance Monitoring | Acquired to enhance Zoho’s IT operations management offerings |
| SparrowIQ | 2011 | United States | IT Analytics | Acquired to enhance Zoho’s IT operations management offerings |
| SupportBee | 2015 | United States | Help Desk | Acquired to enhance Zoho’s help desk software |
| ePoise | 2017 | India | HR Software | Acquired to enhance Zoho’s human resources offerings |
| Civo | 2021 | United Kingdom | Cloud Infrastructure | Acquired to expand Zoho’s cloud offerings and capabilities |
Zoho – Funding
Zoho is a privately held company and has not raised any external funding. The company has been profitable since its inception and has grown solely through its revenue streams from its products and services. Zoho’s CEO, Sridhar Vembu, has stated in interviews that the company does not intend to go public or take external funding, as it wants to maintain its independence and control over its direction and growth.
Zoho – Investments
Zoho is a privately held company and has not disclosed any major external investments. However, the company has made some strategic investments in other companies. Here are some notable investments made by Zoho:
| Company | Investment Type | Amount | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| vCom Solutions | Strategic Investment | Undisclosed | 2017 |
| WebNMS | Strategic Investment | Undisclosed | 2017 |
| ManageEngine | Acquisition | Undisclosed | 2019 |
| ThoughtSpot | Strategic Investment | $15 million | 2020 |
| Five9 | Acquisition | $500 million | 2021 |
| Qontext | Acquisition | Undisclosed | 2021 |
| Mipsology | Strategic Investment | Undisclosed | 2021 |
Note: The information presented in this table is based on publicly available sources and may not be exhaustive or up to date.
Zoho – Growth and Revenue
| Zoho Financials | FY21 | FY20 | FY19 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Rs 5,442.4 Cr | Rs 4,385.9 Cr | Rs 3,410.7 Cr |
| Expenses | 3,024.1 Cr | Rs 3,369.7 Cr | Rs 2,885 Cr |
| Profit/Loss | Profit of 1,917 Cr | Profit of Rs 800.8 Cr | Profit of Rs 515.8 Cr |
Zoho – Competitors
Zoho competes with a wide range of companies in various segments of the market. Here are some of Zoho’s main competitors:
Salesforce: A cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform used by businesses of all sizes for sales, marketing, customer service, and other functions.
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite): A cloud-based productivity suite that includes email, calendaring, file sharing, document editing, and other tools.
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365): A cloud-based productivity suite that includes email, calendaring, file sharing, document editing, and other tools, as well as Microsoft’s cloud-based CRM and ERP software.
HubSpot: A marketing, sales, and service software platform that helps businesses attract, engage, and delight customers.
Freshworks: A cloud-based customer engagement software suite that includes customer support, marketing automation, CRM, and other tools.
Monday.com: A cloud-based project management and collaboration tool that helps teams manage projects, workflows, and communication.
Asana: A cloud-based project management and collaboration tool that helps teams track and manage tasks, projects, and workflows.
Trello: A cloud-based project management and collaboration tool that uses a visual “board” system to help teams organize and prioritize tasks.
Airtable: A cloud-based database and project management tool that allows users to create custom workflows, databases, and dashboards.
Wrike: A cloud-based project management and collaboration tool that helps teams manage projects, workflows, and communication.
Zoho – Future Plans
Zoho has ambitious plans for the future, as stated by the company’s founder and CEO, Sridhar Vembu. Here are some of the future plans of Zoho:
Expanding its product offerings: Zoho plans to continue expanding its product offerings to cater to the evolving needs of its customers. The company is expected to launch new products and services to enhance its existing product suite.
Increasing global presence: Zoho plans to increase its global presence by expanding its reach to new markets. The company is expected to focus on emerging markets such as Africa and Southeast Asia, as well as developed markets such as Europe and North America.
Investing in AI and Machine Learning: Zoho plans to invest heavily in AI and Machine Learning technologies to enhance its products and services. The company is expected to leverage these technologies to improve its existing products and services and launch new AI-based products.
Enhancing customer experience: Zoho plans to enhance its customer experience by investing in customer service and support. The company is expected to expand its support team and invest in new technologies to provide faster and more effective support to its customers.
Building a robust partner ecosystem: Zoho plans to build a robust partner ecosystem by partnering with other companies to offer integrated solutions. The company is expected to collaborate with other software vendors, system integrators, and resellers to offer end-to-end solutions to its customers.
Maintaining a bootstrapped business model: Zoho plans to maintain its bootstrapped business model and avoid external funding. The company is expected to continue to invest in R&D and maintain a strong balance sheet, without diluting its ownership or control.
Zoho - FAQ's
- What is Zoho’s revenue in 2020?
- Zoho’s revenue in 2020 is US$590 million.
- Is Zoho an Indian company?
- Yes, Zoho is an Indian company headquartered in Chennai, India.
- What is Zoho’s tagline?
- Zoho’s tagline is “Made in India. Made for the world.”
- Who is Sridhar Vembu?
- Sridhar Vembu is the Founder of Zoho. He was awarded the Padma Shri on the occasion of India’s 72nd Republic Day (2021).
- What does Zoho do?
- Zoho is a SaaS company that offers online software, including e-mail, word processors, spreadsheets, wikis, and customer relationship management.
- What companies use Zoho?
- Advanced Technology Services, Inc., ALTUS, Inc., and Amazon India are among the top companies that use Zoho CRM.
- Where is Zoho Corporation headquartered?
- Zoho Corporation is headquartered in Chennai.
- What is Zoho Corporation’s Chennai address?
- The research and development campus is located in Estancia IT Park, Chennai, while the product Zoho Desk was built and launched at the Zoho office in Tenkasi.
