Billionaire-backed Zoho plans more Mideast, Africa data centers

Zoho sells open-source, cloud-based software that handles everything from emails and documents to accounting and hiring — for about half the price of equivalent Google and Microsoft services

• Zoho to open data centers in UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
• Local profits fund expansion, targeting lower costs and prices
• Regional business grew 50 percent in the past year

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Zoho Corp., a software firm owned by the Indian billionaire Vembu family, is in talks to build out its own data centers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, three of its fastest-growing markets.

The firm has appointed Equinix Inc. to set up facilities in the UAE and has started discussions for centers in Saudi Arabia and South Africa, Hyther Nizam, the head of Middle East and Africa at Zoho, said in an interview. It already has hubs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and will fund the expansion with profit generated in the markets, he said, without disclosing the size of the investment.

Big Tech firms such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Microsoft Corp. are working to plant more cloud and co-location data centers across the Middle East and Africa to get closer to a growing customer base and as governments increasingly insist that data stays within their borders.

“Procurement has, to some extent, become influenced by geopolitical and policy considerations,” Nizam said.

Zoho sells open-source, cloud-based software that handles everything from emails and documents to accounting and hiring — for about half the price of equivalent Google and Microsoft services, he said.

Building and running its own data centers in Africa, rather than relying on other companies’ infrastructure, enables the firm to control its costs and provide local-currency and even subsidized pricing in some instances. This has helped the regional business grow 50% in the past year, he said.

Established in 1996, the software company generates the bulk of its annual revenue, which Nizam said totaled about $1.5 billion, in the US and India. Zoho serves more than one million paying customers, operates 20 data centers worldwide, and sees Africa and the Middle East as a key growth driver.

Zoho already has several offices in Africa, including in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt, and plans to expand to Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

“We are committed to putting our money on the table, and expanding further in the region,” Nizam said.