Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has openly challenged Microsoft, declaring that his Indian tech company now offers a more comprehensive and superior product suite. Sharing his thoughts on X, Vembu urged users to “take a good look,” highlighting its growth since 2002 through a visual chart that showcased both Zoho and its IT arm, ManageEngine. He emphasised that it is the only company globally capable of matching Microsoft in both the breadth and depth of its software offerings.
Investment in Innovation
Vembu stressed that Zoho’s products deliver a “vastly superior experience” and announced plans to double investment in research and development.
The company will focus on cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, platforms, and applications to accelerate innovation. This ambitious vision has sparked excitement across India’s tech community, with many hailing it as a potential game-changer for businesses seeking alternatives to US-based SaaS tools.
Zoho as a Complete Alternative
A notable voice in the tech community highlighted that an Indian company could function entirely using its domestic software suite without relying on a single American tool. The suite already offers strong alternatives to key US platforms: Zoho Sheet for Google Sheets, Zoho Show for PowerPoint, Zoho Connect for Microsoft Teams, and so on.
While users acknowledge that tools like Gmail or Chrome will not be abandoned overnight, the message is clear. Its B2B suite is now sophisticated enough for companies to gradually exit the US SaaS ecosystem.
With aggressive R&D, a growing product ecosystem, and a focus on delivering a holistic experience, it is positioning itself as a serious global contender capable of redefining enterprise software right from India.
Striking visual of the growth in product range of Zoho and ManageEngine from 2002 to today.
We are the only company in the world that can take on Microsoft in the breadth and depth of the product suite. Our products offer a vastly superior experience to Microsoft, please take a… pic.twitter.com/rzbd2bPrI2
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) September 25, 2025
