Zoho dominates India as a rising force challenging Google’s and WhatsApp’s grip on Indian users. In recent months, Zoho has been quietly building its arsenal with a suite of apps, fresh messaging tools, and strong “Made in India” positioning. Suddenly, conversations in Indian tech circles have shifted. Could Zoho really become the homegrown rival that changes the game?
 |
| Zoho is an Indian tech giant competing with Google with made-in-India products / Image Credit: Wikimedia |
What is Zoho and what does it do?
Zoho is an Indian IT company that creates a wide range of software tools for businesses, helping with productivity, teamwork, and overall management. It started back in 1996 under the name AdventNet and gradually grew into what we now know as Zoho Corporation. Today, it offers tools like email, office suites, CRM, HR software, accounting, project management, support systems, and communication platforms. Zoho is best known for its unified stack of cloud-based services, particularly aimed at small and medium businesses, but also scalable to larger firms.
Zoho’s approach is to integrate many tools under one umbrella, letting users move seamlessly from email to spreadsheets to project tracking to messaging — often more cheaply and with local infrastructure control.
Who is the CEO of Zoho now?
Sridhar Vembu, who had long been the public face of Zoho, stepped away from his CEO position in 2025 to focus on research and innovation as the company’s Chief Scientist. The day-to-day operations are now overseen by other leaders, including Mani Vembu, who serves as the CEO of Zoho.com.
Vembu is married to Pramila Srinivasan, and their personal life became public after she filed a legal case claiming that she and their son with special needs were left behind and that certain Zoho shares were moved without her knowledge. Vembu publicly denied the allegations and described the situation as deeply personal and traumatic.
While personal matters grab headlines, Zoho’s business moves now get far more attention.
How Zoho started and grew
Zoho began as AdventNet in 1996, focusing initially on network management tools. Over time, it shifted toward SaaS products, rebranding as Zoho and expanding its cloud-based offerings. The founders chose a unique path: instead of chasing venture capital, they relied on revenue and internal growth. This allowed gradual but steady expansion without heavy external pressures.
Over the years Zoho built a reputation for serving small and medium businesses, offering flexible pricing, and nurturing operations even in non-metropolitan towns and rural areas. That kind of reach helps it now in challenging giants.
What are the Zoho applications and major products?
Zoho’s product portfolio is wide. Some key applications and product lines include:
-
Zoho Mail & Zoho Workplace / Office Suite: Email, word processor, spreadsheets, presentation tools, collaboration features.
-
Zoho CRM: Customer relationship management, including sales pipelines, analytics, and marketing automation.
-
Zoho Books, Zoho Expense, Zoho Inventory: Financial, accounting, and inventory management tools.
-
Zoho People: Human resources and payroll management.
-
Zoho Projects, Zoho Analytics, Zoho Creator: Project management, data analytics, low-code app building.
-
Arattai: A messaging app built by Zoho, positioned as an alternative to WhatsApp.
-
Zia / AI tools: Zoho’s emerging AI offerings, including its chat and assistant tools, to infuse intelligence into its apps.
-
Vani: A newer collaboration platform aiming to challenge Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
This suite gives Zoho strength in both business and communication domains.
Zoho Mail vs Gmail: what differs?
Zoho Mail is Zoho’s email product. In contrast, Gmail is Google’s email service. Here are the differences in simple language:
-
Privacy and control: Zoho emphasizes user privacy and claims not to use customer data for targeted advertising. Gmail, as part of Google’s ecosystem, is more integrated with ad and data systems.
-
Integration with Zoho apps: Zoho Mail connects tightly with Zoho’s productivity tools, CRM, and business apps. Gmail is part of Google Workspace and integrates best with Google’s own suite.
-
Pricing and tiers: Zoho offers free and paid tiers; Gmail also has free and paid (Google Workspace) levels. Zoho’s free tiers are often more generous for small business use.
-
User interface and features: Differences come down to features like custom domains, collaboration tools, email features, attachments limits, and security controls.
In practice, Zoho Mail is more appealing for users who want control, integration with Zoho’s ecosystem, and minimal data commercialization.
Is Zoho free to use?
Yes, Zoho offers free versions of many of its apps, especially for individuals or small teams. For example, Zoho Mail has a free tier for a limited number of users. But for businesses or advanced features, paid tiers are required. The free plans let users try basic functionality; to get full power, collaboration, storage, support, you move to paid options.
Is Zoho Mail trustworthy?
Many people wonder about trust and reliability. Zoho says it runs its own infrastructure (not relying on AWS, Azure) for user data, and hosts Indian customer data in Indian data centers. Zoho’s founder has publicly disputed claims and rumors about data handling, insisting on strong privacy promises. While no system is flawless, Zoho has built trust by being transparent, local, and privacy-focused.
Why Zoho is giving tough competition to Google and WhatsApp
The reason Zoho is now causing waves is simple: it’s playing in both business productivity and communication. That means it touches what Google does (office suite, email, collaboration) and what WhatsApp does (messaging). And it does this from a local, India-rooted vantage.
Messaging: Arattai taking on WhatsApp
Arattai is Zoho’s bet against WhatsApp. It launched publicly in 2021. But in late 2025 it burst into public view again, with daily signups rising rapidly and government ministers publicly endorsing its use. Zoho is fast-tracking end-to-end encryption for Arattai to close one of the big gaps between it and WhatsApp.
By offering features like “Pocket” (for saving messages/media), integrating meetings inside the app, and scaling for light devices and bandwidth constraints, Arattai tailors itself to Indian users.
Office tools: rivalry with Google Workspace
Zoho is not content with only messaging. It’s pushing harder in productivity and collaboration with Vani, aiming to take on Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. Zoho already has a strong presence in office tools, for email, document editing, spreadsheets, project tools. With Vani, Zoho is attempting to unify communication, office work, collaboration, AI features into one streamlined platform.
At the same time, India’s government is promoting domestic alternatives to global apps; some ministers have used Zoho tools in official presentations to signal faith in homegrown tech. That kind of institutional backing helps Zoho’s credibility and reach.
In short, Zoho now competes where Google is strong (productivity, collaboration) and where WhatsApp rules (messaging).
Challenges Zoho must overcome
The road ahead is not easy. Google and WhatsApp have been entrenched for years, with hundreds of millions of Indian users. Convincing users to switch takes offering more than just slogans. Zoho must:
-
Ensure encryption, reliability, speed, and features match or exceed global apps.
-
Handle scale and load so apps don’t crash under surging demand (Arattai faced infrastructure stress).
-
Maintain trust, especially where privacy or data rumors swirl.
-
Grow its ecosystem so switching is seamless (users don’t lose what they already have).
-
Continue innovating to offer unique value (beyond being “local alternative”).
Zoho is no exaggeration anymore. The company is pushing into Google’s territory and dueling with WhatsApp in its own backyard. Its strengths are local roots, integration, privacy orientation, and growing institutional support. But to really dethrone giants, Zoho has to combine ambition with execution.
If Zoho succeeds, India could see a major shift: using homegrown tools not just by sentiment, but because they genuinely compete (in features, reliability, privacy) with global tech. That would be a big win for digital sovereignty, and it all hinges on whether Zoho can sustain its momentum.