Zoho Office Suite
Website: http://www.zoho.com
The Zoho Office Suite is a Web- based online office suite containing word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, note-taking, wikis, CRM, project management, invoicing and other applications developed by ZOHO Corporation(formally AdventNet Inc.), an Indian-based company. It was launched in 2005 with a web-based word processor. Additional products, such as spreadsheets and presentations were incorporated later into Zoho.
Zoho applications are free to use at the entry-level and require a fee for more extensive or professional use.
Features
Zoho uses an open Application Programming Interface for its Writer, Sheet, Show, Creator, Meeting, and Planner products. Google Gears, an application developed by Google that “enables more powerful web applications, by adding new features to your web browser.” It also has plugins into Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, an OpenOffice plugin, and a plugin for Firefox.
Components
Zoho Writer
Zoho Writer on Firefox
The suite’s word processor supports simultaneous collaboration between multiple users. It supports common formats, including Microsoft Word (DOC), Office Open XML (DOCX), OpenDocument text (ODT), OpenOffice.org text (SXW), HTML, RTF, JPG, GIF & PNG files. It can support embedded media from hosting sites, such as Flickr, Zooomr, Youtube, and Vimeo. It supports some direct blog publishing. Zoho Writer was one of the earliest online word processors to support both online and offline editing by using Google Gears. The program originally relied on polling every 8 seconds, but the latest version uses real time notification from Zoho Chat.
Zoho Sheet
Sheet is the spreadsheet application in the suite. Zoho Sheet can auto-process external data feeds (RSS/ATOM), and the ability to publish charts into blogs or other websites. Like Writer, it facilitates real-time collaboration. It has a plugin to integrate with Microsoft Excel and is available both as a desktop widget and as part of online services such as box.net and Facebook.
Zoho DB and Reports
An online database and reporting application in the suite. It can also “create charts, pivots, summary and other wide-range of reports through powerful drag & drop interface”.
Zoho Show
An online presentation program that allows users to create or (as is often the case) import Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, .pps) or OpenOffice (.odp, .sxi) presentations. It also allows users to share & collaborate on presentations and make remote presentations to clients.
Zoho Projects
Projects supports creating tasks, assigning ownership, setting deadlines and tracking milestones; working with calendars, Gantt charts, reports, share supporting files—standard features in a project management package. The free version of the software accommodates only a single project; the paid versions have greater capacities and functionality.
Zoho CRM
ZOHO CRM offers customer relationship management functionality,and procurement, inventory, and some accounting functions from the realm of ERP. The free version is limited to 3 users.
User interface similarities with the free open source vtiger CRM have sparked suggestions that ZOHO CRM might be a branded commercial version of vtiger. However, this seems to be attributable to common corporate sponsorship, not to a common software code base which ZOHO representatives have denied. In addition, ZOHO CRM is a hosted SAAS solution in the same fashion as the core components of the ZOHO Office Suite, while vtiger requires server installation.
Zoho Creator
An online database / custom application development tool which allows users to create fairly sophisticated process logic by dragging & dropping script elements on screen, without knowing code. Data can be imported from .xls, .csv, and .tsv files and create a variety of forms either from scratch or by using one of several common templates.
Zoho Wiki
A simple WYSIWYG wiki that allows users to create their own website. It supports group pages as well as sub-pages, with features like tags, tables of contents, and custom themes, custom CSS and appearance. The program can link to and work with documents the user has created with other components, such as slideshows from Zoho Show.
Zoho Planner
An online planner with a calendar, to-do lists, pages, and e-mail reminders for collaboration with other users. This component competes with Microsoft Outlook, and more directly, Google Calendar.
Zoho Notebook
Similar to Microsoft OneNote or Google Notebook, it also includes greater support for multimedia content. Users may include text, images, video, and audio in a “notebook,” and then share the notebook or individual pages. The component allows integration of documents, full-fledged applications, and content via RSS. The content from the notebook may be uploaded or gathered from the web by using the a plugin for Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer.
Zoho Chat
A chat application that can be embedded into pages or blogs. It also supports traditional private instant messaging integrating access to all the major chat clients.
Zoho Mail
Formerly known as Zoho Office Suite, is web-based collaboration groupware. The service was renamed Zoho Mail because of the misperception that it was an integration of the other Zoho services. Still in public beta, it provides services such as email, calendar, document management, task management, and contact management. Zoho Mail also integrates the Writer, Sheet, and Show components.
Zoho Meeting
A web conference application, the current version requires the creator of the conference to be using Microsoft Windows, but participants can use any operating system. Zoho Meeting allows participants to see the screen of the presenter by using either ActiveX, Flash, or Java. The “Show” and “Chat” components are integrated into the meeting, and participants can control the desktop of the presenter. The Meeting Viewer can be embedded in a separate webpage or a slide from “Show”. Zoho Meeting is currently free in public beta and offers live support.
Zoho People
On-Demand HRIS & Applicant Tracking System
Utilities
Zoho also offers some services that are not part of the Office Suite. Zoho Challenge is an online test and evaluation application for employers and potential employees, It is free for up to 25 candidates. Zoho Polls is a free surveying or rating tool that can be embedded in any page or blog. “Site24x7″ is a website monitoring service that is free on a limited basis.