Choosing the right office suite matters more than ever. Businesses and teams face a choice between global giants and smaller, tightly integrated platforms — and Zoho sits squarely in that space: a full stack of productivity, email, storage, CRM and finance tools built to work together. If you’re tired of juggling multiple vendors, worried about where your data lives, or just watching licenses eat your budget, Zoho promises a simpler, more affordable path.
This article walks you through the core Zoho apps — Writer, Sheet, Mail, WorkDrive and the rest — in plain language. You’ll get a clear sense of what each app does, why organisations (especially SMBs and compliance-minded teams) choose Zoho, and the practical steps to move over without breaking things. Read on to find out whether Zoho could be the right fit for your team.
TL;DR: Zoho is an India-headquartered software company that offers a full suite of business apps (Zoho One) — productivity, email, storage, CRM, finance, HR and low-code tools — built to work together, with options for local data hosting and migration tools to move from Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
1. What is Zoho and why it matters today
Zoho started as a small productivity company and grew into a broad platform called Zoho One, where dozens of apps work together under a single account. The idea is simple: instead of buying separate CRM, accounting, HR and document tools from different vendors, many businesses get them all from Zoho. This reduces integration work and often makes licenses easier to manage.
In 2025 Zoho kept improving collaboration, desktop sync, and AI features. For teams that want many business apps from a single vendor — or who must host data inside a specific country — Zoho is an attractive option.
2. The core apps you should know
Zoho’s product set is large, but a handful of apps matter for everyday office work. Below are the key apps and what they do in plain language.
Writer — word processor
Writer is Zoho’s document editor. It supports real-time co-editing, track changes, templates, and mail merge. Writer works in the browser and integrates with Zoho Mail and WorkDrive so you can share documents with teams easily.
Sheet — spreadsheets
Sheet covers most spreadsheet needs: formulas, charts, pivot tables and automation. Zoho Sheet supports macros and scripting for many use cases, but you should test very complex Excel workbooks (Power Query, Power Pivot or heavy VBA) before moving them.
Mail — business email
Zoho Mail is a business-grade email platform that handles custom domains, calendar and contacts. The admin console offers mailbox controls, migration tools and security settings. Many organisations use Zoho Mail to keep email costs down while retaining essential admin features.
WorkDrive — team storage & file collaboration
WorkDrive is Zoho’s shared storage system. It offers team folders, desktop sync, version history and granular permissions. WorkDrive is designed for teams that need shared spaces for documents and want admin controls over who can view or edit files.
CRM, Books, People, Creator, Analytics
Zoho CRM manages leads and sales. Zoho Books and Invoice handle accounting and billing for small businesses. Zoho People covers basic HR tasks such as leave and attendance. Zoho Creator is the low-code tool that helps build simple internal apps and forms. Having these apps in one place makes workflows smoother: leads from CRM can flow into invoicing, and HR data can connect to payroll tools.
- CRM: sales pipeline, lead management, automation.
- Books/Invoice: invoicing and basic accounting features (GST-ready flows for India).
- People: HR tools (leave, attendance, records).
- Creator: low-code app builder for forms, workflows and custom apps.
- Analytics / Zia (AI): dashboards, reports and AI-assisted insights.
3. Why businesses choose Zoho
Zoho’s main strength is breadth. You get productivity plus CRM, finance and HR in one subscription if you choose Zoho One. For small and medium businesses this often lowers total cost and removes the hassle of linking multiple vendors.
Another big advantage is data residency. Zoho publishes its datacenter locations and offers regional hosting options. For government departments and regulated industries that need data stored in a specific country, this is a practical benefit.
Zoho also invests in low-code and automation. If you want to build small apps without hiring developers, Creator and built-in automations are useful.
Integrated suite: The apps share user identities and data flows, which reduces stitching separate vendors together.
Cost & packaging: Zoho One bundles many apps into a single plan, which can be cost-effective for SMBs.
Data residency options: Zoho publishes datacenter locations and lets customers host data in specific regions (including India), a big plus for compliance-minded teams.
Low-code extensibility: Creator and APIs let you build simple internal apps without heavy developer effort.
4. Security, compliance and data residency (simple)
Zoho uses standard protections like encryption in transit and at rest, admin controls, SSO and audit logs. If your organisation needs strong compliance guarantees, ask Zoho for SOC/ISO reports and a written commitment about data residency. Don’t assume default plans include advanced DLP, eDiscovery or enterprise SLAs — those are often available on higher tiers or enterprise agreements.
Always confirm three things in writing before you buy: where data will be stored, how fast incident notifications will arrive, and which compliance reports you will receive.
5. Migration: what’s easy — and what needs care
Moving to Zoho often goes smoothly for common items. Mailboxes can be migrated using IMAP, Exchange or PST imports. Drive content can move to WorkDrive using migration tools that preserve many permissions. These are the low-effort, high-value parts of a migration.
Complex items need more work. Heavy Excel files with Power Query, Power Pivot or lots of VBA often do not convert cleanly. Google Apps Script automations must be rewritten if you move away from Google Workspace. SharePoint site architectures and Teams channels require mapping into WorkDrive’s team folders or a rethought collaboration model.
Begin with an inventory. Flag files with macros, scripts or platform dependencies. Run a pilot with 5–10 real power users and their actual documents. Validate fidelity and permission mapping. Then plan a phased migration with coexistence windows and a short hypercare period after cutover.
Zoho provides migration tools and guides for the common scenarios:
Email: Zoho Mail supports IMAP/Exchange/PST migrations and has a migration wizard and admin guidelines to move mailboxes with folder structure and metadata. That makes mail migration straightforward for many organizations.
Drive → WorkDrive: Zoho offers migration guides and options to move Google Drive content into WorkDrive. Shared drives and permissions can be migrated, but large orgs should stage migration and verify permissions. (Zoho Corporation)
From Microsoft 365: Zoho has transition guides for moving from Microsoft 365 to Zoho Workplace and one-click options for mail. Complex SharePoint architecture, Teams files and advanced Excel features (Power Query, complex VBA) will need planning and sometimes rework. (Zoho)
In short: Mailboxes and basic docs/files → often low-to-medium effort. Complex spreadsheets, macro-heavy files, Apps Script or Power-platform automations → medium-to-high effort and need manual testing and rewrites.
6. Practical migration checklist
- Inventory files: flag anything with macros, PowerQuery, Apps Script, or SharePoint dependencies.
- Pilot: pick 5–10 power users and migrate mail + a set of shared files.
- Permissions mapping: export current sharing reports and map to WorkDrive Team Folders.
- Mail migration: run small batch IMAP/Exchange migrations, verify, then schedule MX cutover.
- SSO & provisioning: configure SAML/SCIM to automate user provisioning.
- Training & rollback: run 2 weeks of support and keep backups until fully stable.
7. Short pros & cons
Zoho often offers better overall value for small and medium businesses because Zoho One bundles many apps in one plan. If you need one vendor for CRM, accounting, HR and documents, Zoho saves procurement time and lowers the license count.
Large enterprises with heavy governance or advanced Excel/Power Platform requirements may find Microsoft 365 a better practical fit despite higher cost. Teams that live in the browser and want instant co-editing with strong AI writing help may prefer Google Workspace.
Pros
- Lots of built-in apps in one ecosystem.
- Regional data hosting options and compliance documentation.
- Cost-effective bundles for SMBs and startups.
Cons
- Advanced Excel/PowerPlatform features and Google Apps Script often need manual work to reproduce.
- If you rely on many third-party integrations tied to Microsoft or Google ecosystems, check compatibility.
Short FAQ
Is Zoho secure for business use?
Zoho provides encryption, admin controls and SSO. For regulated or public sector use, ask for SOC/ISO reports and written data-residency details.
Can I migrate my Gmail and Drive to Zoho?
Yes. Mail and basic Drive files migrate with built-in tools. Shared drives and permissions often translate but should be piloted.
What happens to Excel macros and Google Apps Script?
Complex Excel macros and Power Query workbooks may need manual rework. Google Apps Script must be rewritten for Zoho’s scripting or Creator.
Does Zoho integrate with Microsoft or Google tools?
Yes. Zoho offers integrations and connectors, but verify specific third-party apps you depend on.
Conclusion
Zoho is a practical, cost-efficient choice for organisations that want many business apps from a single vendor and value local hosting options. It is well-suited to SMBs and compliance-focused organisations. If you are evaluating Zoho, run a small pilot with real user files, request compliance reports, and draft a simple migration runbook before you buy.
Sources & further reading
- Zoho One — applications overview. (Zoho)
- Zoho Writer — features. (Zoho)
- Zoho Sheet — features & macro support. (Zoho)
- Zoho Mail — migration tools & guides. (Zoho)
- Know Your Datacenter — Zoho datacenter & compliance locations. (Zoho)
