Zoho Expands into Qatar

Zoho, a global technology company, has unveiled its first office in Doha, Qatar, following a remarkable surge in its regional growth. The company achieved a 29% increase in revenue and a 50% expansion in its channel partner network throughout 2023. This expansion was highlighted during a press conference at Zoholics Qatar 2024, where Zoho also released insights from its latest survey on productivity and collaboration trends in Qatar.

The new Doha office reflects Zoho’s commitment to meeting the growing demand for its cloud-based business applications in the Qatari market. To enhance its local presence, Zoho has hired locally and broadened its network of IT service providers and resellers. This strategic move is aimed at delivering tailored services and solutions, including popular products like Zoho One, Zoho Books, Zoho People, Zoho Creator, and Zoho Expense. Notably, Zoho reported a 27.5% revenue growth through its channel partners in 2023.

Hyther Nizam, President of Middle East and Africa (MEA) at Zoho, expressed enthusiasm about the company’s growth in Qatar, praising the local market’s dynamic business environment and its proactive approach to digital transformation. “We are excited to see our expansion in Qatar, which continues to show a strong appetite for innovative tech solutions. We remain dedicated to offering cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving needs of businesses and support Qatar’s economic growth,” said Nizam.

The survey conducted by Zoho included 396 employees in Qatar and 3,301 across the MEA region, revealing significant trends in workplace productivity and collaboration. Despite the rise of hybrid and remote work post-pandemic, the majority of respondents in Qatar are working fully on-site (60%), with 32% adopting a hybrid model and only 8% working remotely. Respondents heavily rely on digital tools, with a substantial portion using multiple apps daily. The survey highlighted the importance of unified task tracking, with many reporting time savings through this approach.

Challenges with information accessibility were also noted, with 25% of respondents reporting limited or no access and over 24% needing occasional assistance. Despite these challenges, there is a clear desire for improved collaboration practices. The survey also pointed out a lag in technology adoption, with 72% of companies having made no changes in the past two years, indicating missed opportunities for leveraging AI and streamlined workflows.

Remote workers showed a higher tendency to adopt new technologies and use a wider range of apps, yet they faced challenges in accessing relevant data. On-site and hybrid workers expressed a greater need for improvements in communication and collaboration tools.

Nizam emphasized the value of Zoho Workplace, the company’s enterprise collaboration platform, which has been providing a unified experience since 2017. The survey results validate Zoho’s approach to tackling data access issues, task tracking challenges, and communication difficulties. “Our integrated communication layer across various business functions fosters effective and contextual collaboration,” added Nizam.