'Net Features : zoho

Forget Docs - Zoho has Arrived on Google Drive

Michael Garrity — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 15:27:00 GMT

When Google Drive was announced, it was clear that the company had every intention of keeping it closely aligned with its Google Docs office suite. Fortunately for those of you who aren’t too keen on Docs, Zoho is now offering an alternative.

Thanks to an integration using Google Chrome extensions, Zoho is able to tap into Google’s cloud storage service to offer users its Writer, Sheet, and Show products with Google Drive integration, making it available to all of Zoho’s over 6 million customers.

Many users take umbrage with the fact that Google forces them to use all of their products in order to access one, as everything in the suite is so closely integrated. One can click on an attachment in Gmail that will automatically open with Docs. Likewise, files saved in the cloud will be automatically saved to Drive. All of this is useful to a hardcore Google consumer, but for those who don’t necessarily want to use all of these services, it can be a major annoyance.

The downside to this integration is that Zoho users will have to access each package separately in the Chrome Store. Here’s Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet, and Zoho Show.

Zoho Gets Social with Customer Support App

Allison Howen — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:00:00 GMT

If you are frequently responding to customer support issues via Facebook and Twitter, the updated Zoho Support app may just be exactly what you need to make the process less time-consuming and more effective.

Online app provider Zoho’s updated customer support app now integrates with both Facebook and Twitter. The new integrations enable businesses to quickly and easily monitor, route and respond to support requests on both social networks.

Users that leverage these new features will be able to provide their customers with unified Facebook and Twitter support from one central location, capture social interactions such as tickets, obtain notifications when an increasing number of tweets contain specified escalation keywords, as well as automatically direct specific keywords to specific support agents or teams.

Social media is a powerful tool that can affect a company’s reputation if not closely monitored. By becoming proactive and emphasizing strong customer support via these channels, brands have the opportunity to build their customer bases as well as loyalty among their current customers.

Zoho CRM Cozies Up to LinkedIn

Pete Prestipino — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:30:00 GMT

Business application provider Zoho released several new features for its Zoho CRM offering – which now boasts more than 25,000 active customers.

In addition to a much needed redesign of its interface, Zoho is now integrating with professional network LinkedIn. Zoho users will be able to associate a CRM contact’s profile with that users’ LinkedIn profile, providing access to contact details as well as some information on that individual’s business and professional activity. Another nice aspect of the integration is that it supports LinkedIn messaging directly within Zoho.

The popular business SaaS provider has also announced integration with its own Zoho Creator product, which will enable users to build custom apps that can appear inside, and access data from within, the CRM application.

Another noteworthy new feature is Webhooks. Aiming to improve the CRM system’s extensibility, Zoho’s Webhooks allow users to integrate with external systems. For example, there might be a need within an enterprise to update an accounting system when a new account is closed.

Zoho Makes Online Meetings Easy with HTML

Allison Howen — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:35:00 GMT

Zoho, a company that offers on-line business, productivity and collaboration applications, has announced an HTML viewer that aims to make joining online meetings easier.

The Zoho Meeting HTML viewer doesn’t require installation or plugins, which allows someone to join a meeting with just a click of the mouse.

Zoho Meeting is designed for online meetings, remote support and Web conferencing. Aside from the new HTML viewer, a Java, ActiveX and Flash viewer are also available.

The HTML viewer is secure and efficient. It is also supported by most browsers, including: Google Chrome (1+), Mozilla Firefox (3.0+), Internet Explorer (9+), Safari (3+) and Opera (9.5+).

Online Recruitment at Zoho [Applicant Tracking]

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Online business application provider Zoho released Zoho Recruit today, an applicant tracking system that helps staffing agencies, recruiting professionals and HR departments to source, track and hire prospective employees.

The solution enables hiring departments to automate the hiring process - from creating and posting job opening to recruing new employees. Through the activity dashboard, recruiters are able to see a snapshot of interviews scheduled, job openings added new clients and status updates.

Zoho Recruit also features a "candidate module" which helps track the progress of candidates, a "job opening" module which lets managers create job requirements, and a few others add-ons which will help recuriters manage all recruitment data from a single user interface. Zoho Recruit is free (for one user/five applicants) but has paid plans starting at $12/mo.

“Now, our users have a complete staffing and hiring solution that lets them acquire, screen, assess and position candidates in a short span of time. Zoho Recruit streamlines the recruitment process, so staffing teams can focus on strategies for acquiring the right talent,” said Raju Vegesna, Zoho evangelist.

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Zoho Discussions Arrives... In a Very Big Way

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:25:00 GMT

Zoho might just be the most interesting software/technology company around today - and it's only getting better. In addition to its already deep suite of productivity, collaboration and business applications, Zoho just launched Zoho Discussions.

Introduced to the market today, Zoho Discussions is software for enabling businesses and organizations to create internal and external communities - you might know that as forums. We're taking a closer look at the platform today for an upcoming issue but highlights of Zoho Discussions include:

- Community Engagement. Businesses and organizations keep their users coming back through the use of familiar social networking features such as profiles, integrated chat, private messages among users, user labels and more.

- Content Discoverability. Content stored in communities created with Zoho Discussions is easy to find through the integrated advanced search, custom organization, as well as RSS/Secure RSS subscription options and SEO.

- Branding. Zoho Discussions allows businesses to remain in control of their brand and the user experience they provide to customers through custom URLs, branding options and elements, customizable look and feel, even including full rebranding (white labeling) options.

- Topic Administration. Allows community moderators to manage the lifecycle of posts and discussions. For example, depending on the topics enabled, community users will be able to vote on an idea or select the most popular solution for a problem.

The Zoho Discussions forum software (SaaS) is available in a free version, but paid plans starting at $25 per month (for an unlimited number of users) are also available.

“We want to provide our customers with the relevant applications they need to run their businesses,” said Raju Vegesna, Zoho evangelist. “Zoho Discussions is another piece of that puzzle. It’s a key application that customers can easily include in their website to create a natural spot where customers gather to exchange ideas and experiences, support each other and provide feedback to the company. For example, Zoho Discussions has been powering our own Community site, forums.zoho.com, that we use to stay in close contact with customers, partners and our own teams. So, we’ve seen how effective this form of interaction can be.”

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Zoho CRM Integrates with Zoho Email

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:43:00 GMT

Zoho's Online CRM and its Mail service are now forever integrated.

Users of the Zoho CRM in the past were not able to email the prospects in their CRM database directly from the platform. Zoho has now brought these two services together, making the platform that much more of a competitor to SugarCRM's Enterprise edition and even SalesForce.

In addition to now being able to manage email (composing and reading too) within the Zoho CRM, another interesting aspect of the integration is that the same permission structure that applies to Accounts/Contacts will apply to e-mails to/from those contacts. The Zoho blog explains it well: "When Steve Salesman, maintains an e-mail communication with Charles Customer, Steve's manager will be able to refer to those e-mail communications." Makes sense, right?

Perhaps the most powerful feature of this integration however is the ability to add a CRM contact directly from the Zoho Mail interface. Users simply select "Add to CRM" from the 'More Options' drop-down in Zoho Mail. After creating the contact, Zoho CRM users can also add a task (send a follow up email for example).

Zoho is definitely ramping up to steal some market share from its competitors. In its open invitation to "Zwitch to Zoho" http://www.zoho.com/crm/zwitch.html the company is offering a free, no obligation assessment with a Zoho CRM specialist, free data migration services and free trial periods (free service for up to 6 months depending on the time left on a Salesforce contract).

Zoho Chat with Everyone

MaureenA — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Zoho, a company known for its collection of online products for small- and medium-sized businesses launched its Chat 2.0 Multi-Channel version. This new version allows users to log into multiple instant messenger platforms at the same time, allowing for conversations with colleagues and friends who use different IM products including Yahoo!, Google, MSN and AIM. Chat 2.0 is integrated into other Zoho products to streamline business practices and conversation. Website Magazine has covered Zoho product launches and applications in previous posts.

Other additions to Chat 2.0 include Zoho Meeting, which allows users to share desktops with other users; Zoho Calendar to allow users to organize events and meetings; and Groups to allow users to organize contacts. The company offers 19 products ranging from e-mail, word processing to invoicing and CRM - some free and others paid, depending on the size of the business.

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Zoho Introduces Enterprise CRM

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:45:00 GMT

Zoho has announced the addition of an enterprise version of Zoho CRM, extending its suite of business applications. The new release (professional for $12/user/month and enterprise level at $25/user/month) should make it easier for larger enterprises to implement the solution. Enhancements include the introduction of Role-based Security Administration, enhancements in product customization and data administration, support for 11 languages, SSL support for professional and enterprise version, integration with Zoho sheets and quite a bit more. Quite an interesting development considering the deepening Google-Salesforce alliance.

Zoho Launches Invoicing Solution

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Zoho has launched Zoho Invoice, a solution which gives users the ability to create estimates and invoices. Website Magazine has covered many Zoho applications in the past and this latest development brings the Zoho suite of free and paid solutions to an even larger group of professionals.

A run down of the Zoho Invoice features:
- Create and send branded invoices, quotes or estimates.
- Automate repeated invoicing through recurring invoices.
- Track outstanding invoices and customer payments. Accept payment online.
- Send overdue reminders, acknowledge payment receipts.
- Expand your business overseas, with support for multi-currency.
- Data security and backup. SSL encryption of data on transit.
- Powerful reports to see how your business is doing.

The solution is integrated with PayPal, so invoices can be generated and sent to customers, who can then make payments directly through PayPal. The application is free for sending up to five invoices per month; four monthly subscription versions range from $5 to $35 and allow from 25 to 1,500 invoices to be sent each month.