Zoho Launches India's First Developer Marketplace & Multi-channel CRM

Zoho Developer and Zoho Marketplace Give Developers the Tools to Create and Sell Custom-Built Applications to Over 20 Million Zoho Users

CHENNAI, 27th JULY 2016:  Zoho launched Zoho Developer program, which provides independent software vendors (ISVs) and application developers the tools and resources to create extensions and build custom applications. Zoho also launched Zoho Marketplace where users can buy extensions and custom-built applications and developers can sell them commission-free. Together, Zoho Developer and Zoho Marketplace establish a platform—the first platform made in India—that caters to Zoho’s current and rapidly growing base of over 20 million users worldwide.

“With Zoho Marketplace and Zoho Developer, Zoho evolves from a product suite into a platform,” said Mani Vembu, COO, Zoho Corp. “At nearly two million, India has the second highest number of software developers in the world. Zoho has now become the first Indian company to have created a platform for them where they can not only create solutions but also sell them to Zoho's vast global user base. On the other hand, Zoho Marketplace empowers our customers with tools, extensions, and applications that complement their Zoho products so they can focus on their business."

Zoho also unveiled Zoho CRM, the industry's first multichannel CRM. Zoho CRM supports email, social media, live chat, and phone communications, enabling salespeople to engage their customers and prospects across all channels in real time, with SalesSignals. Its new features such as Timeline View, Page Layouts and Gamescope improve salespeople's ability to close deals.

Complementing its multichannel CRM, Zoho also launched Zoho SalesInbox, an email client designed exclusively for salespeople. Using customer data in Zoho CRM, Zoho SalesInbox automatically prioritizes customer conversations, ensures salespeople never miss an important email and provides full context for every email conversation.

Zoho Marketplace

The launch of Zoho Marketplace meets the demands of users who want to integrate third-party applications with Zoho applications, extend Zoho applications with additional features or automate new processes with custom applications. Now, these users can browse through a wide variety of solutions, find the ones that best fit their requirements and install them through Zoho Marketplace.

Currently, Zoho Marketplace offers extensions for Zoho CRM and custom applications. Most of these applications are free. Zoho Marketplace also offers a number of Zoho-developed extensions for Zoho SalesIQ. Going forward, Zoho Marketplace will offer more extensions available for other Zoho products.

Zoho Developer

Zoho Developer supports all Zoho applications that have REST APIs and is available to Zoho partners, ISVs, IT services companies, domain experts and developers. They can use it to add or customize business process and functions for Zoho CRM. They can also use Zoho Creator to build custom applications that bring brand new functionality to Zoho users. Once programme participants discover the development possibilities, they can develop solutions and distribute them on Zoho Marketplace, commission-free.

Develop a solution. As part of the programme, developers get the Zoho Developer Console, which lets them build extensions for Zoho CRM now and other Zoho products in the future. To create custom applications, developers have access to Zoho Creator. They also get access to Zoho's extensive array of open APIs. Finally, developers have access to a quick-start guide, video tutorials, the Zoho Developer forum and other self-service and live support resources.

Distribute it for a profit. Once approved, developer solutions can be distributed on Zoho Marketplace, for free or at prices set by the developers. Zoho takes no commission from Zoho Marketplace sales. Developers can also privately share the custom solutions they build for individual clients rather than sell them through the Zoho Marketplace.“The typical marketplace operator takes a significant cut of each partner sale, up to 30 percent or more in some cases,” said Vembu. “We don’t buy into that model. Our developers are doing us a great service by strengthening our ecosystem. We don't believe they should pay us a commission on top of it. That's why we don't charge a commission on marketplace transactions.”