Zoho Corporation is an Indian multinational technology company that develops cloud-based business software for organisations of all sizes. Headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, the company offers an integrated suite of applications spanning customer relationship management, office productivity, collaboration, finance, human resources, and IT management. Zoho is privately held and is known for its bootstrapped growth, rural office strategy, and an in-house training programme that recruits employees without requiring formal university degrees.
| Name | Zoho Corporation Pvt. Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, cloud computing, SaaS |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founders | Sridhar Vembu, Tony Thomas |
| Headquarters | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Chief Executive | Sridhar Vembu (founder) |
| Ownership | Privately held |
| Flagship products | Zoho CRM, Zoho Mail, Zoho Workplace, Zoho Books, Zoho Desk, Zoho One |
| Subsidiaries | ManageEngine, Qntrl |
Zoho was founded in 1996 as AdventNet, initially developing network management software for telecommunications equipment vendors. As the dot-com market shifted, the company diversified into web-based business applications. In 2005, it launched Zoho Writer, an online word processor, marking its entry into the software-as-a-service market. The corporate identity was renamed Zoho Corporation in 2009, taking its name from the Zoho.com domain and the company's flagship suite of online office and business tools.
Zoho's offerings are organised into several product lines:
Zoho operates international offices in the United States, Japan, Singapore, the Netherlands, Mexico, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and several other countries. It has resisted external venture capital and has remained profitable while reinvesting earnings into research and development.
The company runs Zoho Schools of Learning (formerly Zoho University), a programme that recruits students directly after school and trains them in software engineering, design, and business skills. A significant share of Zoho's engineers have joined the company through this programme rather than from traditional engineering colleges.
Under founder Sridhar Vembu, Zoho has pursued a rural-development strategy, opening offices in villages and small towns in Tamil Nadu and other states, including a notable office in Tenkasi district. Vembu has publicly advocated decentralised technology employment as a means of strengthening rural economies.
Zoho is considered one of the most successful Indian software product companies, distinguished by its long-term private ownership, broad SaaS product portfolio, and emphasis on indigenous engineering talent. It is frequently cited as an example of a globally competitive Indian technology firm built without external funding, and as a proponent of distributed, non-metropolitan technology employment in India.