Zoho unveils made-in-India ERP platform

Zoho, the Chennai-headquartered global Software as a Service (SaaS) company, on Friday launched its enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology platform, with a promise that it would be cost-effective and less cumbersome to implement.

Further, Zoho’s ERP platform will see part of its product development and other activities driven out of Kumbakonam—a town located about 300 kms from the company’s headquarters, it said in a statement.

Zoho's ERP is a made-in-India solution and will help businesses scale without rigid architecture or high costs typically associated with legacy ERP platforms. It would compete with global ERP companies such as SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft.

Zoho CEO Shailesh Davey

“With Zoho ERP, we have built a powerful, compliance-ready platform that serves as a strong homegrown alternative to global ERP solutions. This product, requiring deeptech R&D, has been developed with the support of talent from Kumbakonam, and its future growth will also be driven from here. We have replicated our Tenkasi model successfully here,” said Shailesh Davey, CEO of Zoho.

The SaaS major claimed that its low-code and no-code capabilities allow for easier implementation, support customisation without third-party dependencies, reducing complexity and total cost of ownership. This is in contrast to longer timelines and more complex products available in the market today.

Also, the Zoho ERP has embedded artificial intelligence (AI) into the platform, which performs multiple functions, inclduing predictive insights, anomaly detection, and end-to-end visibility across finance and operations.

Zoho ERP brings together core financial management, billing management, spend management, supply chain management, besides omnichannel commerce and payroll management on a single platform. The solution also offers asset management, budgeting, and continuous financial close while providing financial controls and an audit trail.

Its ERP also has industry-specific capabilities for manufacturing, distribution, retail, and non-profit businesses.

Given that the town of Kumbakonam will play a key role in the future roadmap of Zoho ERP, the company plans to open a larger office later this year. It established its presence in this town in 2020.

The expansion plan will include a 2,000-seater campus, which will create software development jobs. Besides, the company has also invested in upskilling initiatives.