Zoho has unveiled a new enterprise resource planning platform (ERP) designed for India’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs), providing cost-effective, integrated software to streamline operations and support business growth efficiently.
The Chennai-based firm says (ERP) is still a key software system for businesses, but its adoption among smaller Indian companies has been held back by steep costs, lengthy implementation and reliance on consultants.
Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran, global head of finance and operations at Zoho and CEO of Zoho Payment Technologies, says businesses often have no simple alternatives when they outgrow existing systems and must spend heavily to move to the next stage.
Iswaran highlights that most ERP systems depend heavily on consultants, making them costly and complex for small businesses. He told Business Standard in an interview, that Zoho is working to fill this gap with more affordable, simpler ERP solutions.
Zoho will roll out its new ERP product first in India, driven by the rapid formalisation and digitisation of businesses, growing adoption of domestic software, and interest from government departments and public sector units.
The new ERP brings Zoho’s accounting, inventory and operations software together into a single, integrated product. Existing customers using individual modules can now access a full suite with scalable functionality as their business grows.
Migration from existing ERP systems will be phased. Companies can run Zoho modules alongside current platforms and gradually shift workloads over time. Ease of adoption and minimal disruption remain key priorities, Iswaran said.
Zoho’s ERP is affordable, embedded with AI for automation, reporting, workflow creation, anomaly detection. Users can generate invoices, gain insights, flag irregularities without specialist support, making ERP accessible for smaller businesses.
