Zoho Offers Business Apps

By Zoe Francis, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

All Applications Needed to Automate Key Business Processes

Zoho wants to simplify the life of every business person in the world by making multiple business applications available with a mere click of a computer mouse.

Downloading or upgrading are not needed because Zoho's full range of business applications is available in the cloud.

"Think about the applications you used on your computer today or maybe five years ago," Raj Sabhlok, president of Zoho Corporation, explained. "Every application you had on your desktop or PC was either downloaded or you got a CD that you installed on your computer."

"The transformation with the cloud is that many of those applications are in this virtual cloud," he continued. "From a user perspective, that means you go online and use the software. You don't worry about installing, and you don't worry about maintaining it."

The great aspect about applications being available in the cloud is that they can be accessed from any computer, anywhere. An employee can access applications at the office or on their laptop at home.

It is a one-stop shop with Zoho, too. Businesses no longer have to rely on different companies for different applications, such as bookkeeping, marketing campaigns and sales tracking.

"We provide all the applications that your business might need to automate your key business processes," Sabhlok said. "We've been very aggressive in development to build out a product suite that is really unparalleled in terms of breadth of product line as well as depth of functionality.

Zoho's most popular application is CRM, which helps with every aspect of managing and expanding a business.

"It's really the flagship product that helps businesses sell and provide customer services for their customers," Sabhlok said.

Zoho Corporation started in 1996, well before the term "cloud computing" even existed. The company initially started in network management before branching out into information technology, or IT, through the company's ManageEngine division.

Companies have IT professionals who are charged with managing all the technology at that business. ManageEngine offers the software to easily manage all that technology.

"These days, it's all automated," Sabhlok said of how businesses are run. "Let's say you have a couple of hundred people throughout the organization. IT needs to monitor the machines, protect against viruses and have the latest operating systems and the correct applications. All that maintenance can be automated through software tools that ManageEngine can provide. We allow them to be much more productive in managing those systems."

ManageEngine boasts more than 75,000 customers, including three out of every five Fortune 500 companies.

While ManageEngine is a crucial part of Zoho Corporation, the Zoho division is the fastest-growing division with the greatest potential. Zoho, launched in 2004, already has more than 10 million customers worldwide.

"Our market opportunity is much bigger with Zoho," Sabhlok said. "The whole cloud computing concept is new, but growing very rapidly. Our market potential with Zoho is every business and not just the IT organization within a business. We anticipate that Zoho will grow to be our largest business."

Learn more about Zoho Corporation at these helpful links: zohocorp.com zoho.com manageengine.com.

Photo: Raj Sabhlok, president of Zoho Corporation, Cloud based business App's

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