Zoho Adds AI, Sales Process Automation to Software Suite

Zoho is advancing its ambitions to become an "operating system for business" with the addition of artificial intelligence (AI) and sales process automation to its enterprise software suite. The company today is announcing the addition of AI to Zoho CRM and introducing Blueprint, a sales process automation platform. It's also upgrading two features to platforms: Zoho PhoneBridge, which connects a customer's PBX system to the Zoho CRM system, and SalesSignals, which provides real-time information about the activities of customers and prospects. Founded as AdventNet by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas in 1996, Zoho -- which rebranded in 2009 -- today offers a suite of online productivity tools and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications. It is based in Chennai, India, with US headquarters in Pleasanton, Calif. Since last July, Zoho has opened two data centers in Europe -- one in Amsterdam and another in Dublin; gave its CRM platform a major facelift; introduced context-aware help desk software; launched a note-taking app for Mac users; and unveiled a payments solution that allows businesses to create customized, secure checkout pages.