Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw picks Zoho over Google and Microsoft, here's why

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced that he is switching to Zoho, an Indian alternative to Microsoft and Google for productivity software. In a post on X, he encouraged people to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swadeshi call by adopting indigenous platforms and services.

“I am moving to Zoho, our own Swadeshi platform for documents, spreadsheets and presentations. I urge all to join PM Narendra Modi’s call for Swadeshi by adopting indigenous products and services," Vaishnaw wrote.

Responding to the announcement, Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu said, “Thank you Sir, this is a huge morale boost for our engineers who have worked hard for over two decades to build our product suite. We will make you proud and make our nation proud. Jai Hind."

What Is Zoho?
Zoho Corporation was established in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas. Based in Chennai, the company has built a diverse portfolio of more than 55 software applications catering to businesses of different sizes. Its suite spans critical areas including email, project management, HR, customer relationship management (CRM), accounting, analytics and more.

Zoho is one of the rare Indian software companies that has achieved large-scale global adoption without relying heavily on outside investment. Its steady growth has made it a trusted alternative to global giants like Microsoft, Google and Salesforce.

With its tagline “Made in India. Made for the world.", Zoho serves over 130 million users across more than 150 countries. The client base is diverse, including startups and large corporations. Companies such as Amazon, Netflix, Deloitte, Puma, Toyota, Sony and L’Oreal rely on its tools for day-to-day operations.

This international adoption has cemented Zoho’s reputation as a credible global player, proving that Indian software can compete at the highest level.

Zoho’s ecosystem covers almost every business need. For customer management, Zoho CRM helps track leads and drive sales, while Zoho Campaigns and Zoho Social manage digital outreach. Zoho SalesIQ supports live chat with website visitors.

In finance, Zoho Books manages accounting, Zoho Invoice streamlines billing, Zoho Expense tracks company costs and Zoho Inventory ensures stock is managed efficiently. Digital approvals are handled via Zoho Sign.

On the productivity side, Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet and Zoho Show serve as replacements for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Cloud storage is managed through Zoho WorkDrive, while Zoho Mail and Zoho Cliq ensure smooth communication. Other apps like Zoho Notebook, Zoho Meeting and Zoho Calendar support planning and collaboration.

Human resources are also supported through Zoho People, which manages employee data, and Zoho Recruit, which helps streamline hiring. For IT and security, Zoho Vault provides password management, while Zoho Lens enables remote assistance.

Zoho’s AI Push
Zoho is actively building its own artificial intelligence models. Zia LLM is the company’s AI tool that processes data on Zoho’s servers, ensuring privacy while supporting business tasks such as summarisation, data extraction, code generation and decision-making.

The company has also launched Zia Agent Studio, a no-code platform where businesses can create AI-driven “digital employees." These agents can screen candidates, analyse sales opportunities or identify new business prospects. More than 25 AI agents are already available on the Zia Agent Marketplace for immediate use.

Zoho Projects Pricing
Zoho Projects, the company’s project management software, comes in three tiers.

Free Plan: Supports up to five users with 5 GB of storage. Includes integrations with Microsoft Teams, Zapier and Zendesk.

Premium Plan: For teams of up to 50 users, offering 100 GB storage, unlimited projects and 20 templates. Priced at $4 (around Rs. 353) per user per month when billed annually.

Enterprise Plan: Designed for larger organisations with no user cap, 120 GB storage, unlimited projects and 30 templates. Priced at $9 (around Rs. 796) per user per month on annual billing.