Zach Sims at The Rev2 has an in-depth writeup on Zoho. From his post,
Zoho does replace typical Microsoft Office products like Word and Excel. As I mentioned earlier, however, Zoho brings lots of new features to the table. In their traditional products, like Zoho Writer and Zoho Sheet, the company adds online collaboration like competitors Google Docs and Buzzword. Version tracking is included as well. Pagination is a new feature that Google Docs doesn’t include, and the easy Zoho Start page is a good way to edit documents with a tabbed interface. Raju conceded that Google Docs offered simplicity, but he claimed that’s not what he was after. Instead, Zoho beats Google’s offerings in both breadth and depth. They offer more, and each of their applications includes more features. Switching to Zoho seems like a no brainer for me, and Zoho says that’s been the typical trend they’ve seen. Users typically find Zoho after experiencing something like Google Docs. Finding more features and more applications, they settle on Zoho.
Much has been said across the web about the Zoho suite, and we’re not the first to praise the service for its usability. I’ve used lots of competing services, like Buzzword and Google Docs. To me, Zoho is the more businesslike environment for word processors on the internet, and that’s advantageous. It’ll be easier for those who are looking for features, not good looks, to adapt. I absolutely loved the writing atmosphere in Buzzword when I tried it out, and Zoho Writer is far more sterile. Still, it provides more tools than Buzzword and, for those looking for more than a simple word process, is a much better option. As far as I’ve seen, Zoho is the only word processor that truly encompasses most of Microsoft’s features and should make it easy enough for typical users of MS Word to adapt to an online word processor.
Zoho is miles away from the competition. They’ve created a mobile interface for Zoho Creator, and iPhone users can use a nifty interface to read their Zoho docs on-the-go. There’s no interaction available for those documents yet, but Zoho plans to enable users to write from their iPhones in the near future. Zoho’s Facebook application may take the fun out of Facebook, but it’s there as a productivity option for those who want an office within Facebook. I think it’s a valuable tool that actually adds some productivity value to Facebook.
Raju said Zoho loves feedback. I’d give them some suggestions, but I find that there’s so little not to like, and so much to like that it’s hard to come up with anything. In concluding our phone call, Raju told our users to “give Zoho a try.” If you do, I know you won’t be disappointed.
You can also listen to the podcast that Zach recorded with Raju.
Sharon Machlis at Computerworld blogs writes about her interview with Raju. From her post titled 'How Zoho plans to compete with Google',
It's a brave company that tries to go head-to-head with Google, the Internet's most formidable presence. But that's where Zoho finds itself, as it battles for mind and market share for its online suite of office applications.
There are already more than a dozen free Zoho apps: word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, wiki, organizer, database, planner, online meetings and more. And none carry advertisements.
If you've never taken a look at Zoho's online suite, I suggest you give it a whirl. I'm a particular fan of Zoho Creator, the online database tool with an easy drag-and-drop interface for creating data input forms and data views.
Zoho doesn't charge for most of its applications - exceptions are Zoho Projects (project management, a Basecamp competitor) and Zoho CRM (taking on another major powerhouse, Salesforce.com, which seems worried enough about the upstart to have purchased a top ad on Google anytime someone searches for Zoho).
Thanks Zach & Sharon!
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