Zoho Office Suite

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Zoho Office Suite
Zoho logo

Zoho Writer
Developed by AdventNet Inc.
OS Any (Web-based application)
Genre Online office suite
Website http://www.zoho.com

The Zoho Office Suite is a web office suite which includes tools for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, note-taking, wikis, CRM, project management, invoicing and other applications. Being web-native, all Zoho applications are operating system independent.

The applications can be used either to create content or to manipulate files created with other widely distributed office suites. Zoho can read and write file formats used in Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org, and other systems. The programs in the suite can be used individually but offer additional integration benefits when used together. The data (document) files can be saved on Zoho's servers as well as those of several integration partners like box.net or Omnidrive, which allows synchronization back to the local PC.

Although some applications, e.g. Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects, have Pro features available for a fee, Zoho has stated a commitment to maintaining a free tier of entry-level applications. A single registration grants access to all the Zoho products.

Zoho has opened the Application Programming Interface (API) for six of its products: Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet, Zoho Show, Zoho Creator, Zoho Meeting and Zoho Planner. This has enabled third parties to create programs that use the Zoho services. Zoho itself has created a plugin to integrate Zoho into Microsoft Word and Excel, as well as a browser plugin that can open text documents or spreadsheets without having word processing or spreadsheet applications installed. It has also created a desktop widget that allows users to run Zoho products on their desktops in a similar way to traditional office programs. In connection with the introduction of the iPhone, Zoho released a mobile version of Zoho Writer, Sheet, and Show called iZoho, available at iZoho.com.[1] Zoho also made its applications available on Facebook after the social networking website opened its API.[2]

Contents

[edit] Components

[edit] Zoho Writer

Zoho Writer is a full-featured word processor which supports real-time collaboration between multiple users. It can import documents originated in a multitude of formats, like Microsoft Word (DOC, DOCX), OpenDocument text (ODT), OpenOffice text (SXW), HTML, RTF, JPG, GIF & PNG files, embed photos from sites like Flickr or Zooomr, videos from Youtube, Vimeo..etc, and publish directly to major blogging platforms. Writer is also the editing engine used in several other Zoho products. Zoho Writer is now available in a variety of formats, including a desktop widget, a plugin for Microsoft Word, online storage service SteekR, and Facebook, among others. Zoho Writer was one of the earliest online word processors to support both online and offline editing, using the browser plugin Google Gears.[3]. Zoho Writer originally relied on polling every 8 seconds, but the latest version uses real time notification from Zoho Chat.

[edit] Zoho Sheet

Zoho Sheet [1] is the spreadsheet application in the Zoho Office Suite. With the exception of running macros (a task no online spreadsheets handle) it supports most standard spreadsheet functions, and adds a few innovative twists, including auto-processing external data feeds (RSS/ATOM), and the ability to publish charts into blogs or other websites. Like Writer, it facilitates real-time collaboration, and it integrates well with other app's like Zoho Notebook or Creator. Zoho Sheet 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.

[edit] Zoho DB and Reports

Zoho DB and Reports [2] is the online database and reporting application in the Zoho Office Suite. It can also "create charts, pivots, summary and other wide-range of reports through [a] powerful drag & drop interface".[4]

[edit] Zoho Show

Zoho Show, the online presentation program allows users to create presentations from scratch or (as is often the case) import from their library of Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, .pps) or OpenOffice (.odp, .sxi) presentations. The resulting online presentation can be shared, played as slideshow, collaborated upon, and be embedded in blogs or websites. Zoho Show is one of the products that sets Zoho Office Suite apart from its competitors, most of which do not have a similar slideshow product.

[edit] Zoho Projects

Zoho's Project management software supports creating tasks, assigning ownership setting deadlines and tracking milestones; working with calendars, Gantt charts, reports, share supporting files—all the standard features expected in a project management package. While one can debate the merits of online/offline for individual office applications, project management by definition is team-work and as such a natural fit for the Web. Zoho Projects is free for one project.

[edit] Zoho CRM

As its name suggests, Zoho CRM offers customer relationship management functionality. Furthermore, it also goes beyond CRM with procurement, inventory, and some accounting functions which are more in the realm of ERP. Zoho CRM is free for up to 3 users, and costs $12 a month for each additional user. There is also an Enterprise Version of Zoho CRM costing $25 a month for each user.

[edit] Zoho Creator

Zoho Creator is an online database / custom application development tool which allows users to create fairly sophisticated process logic without knowing how to code, simply by dragging & dropping script elements on screen. Users can import data from .xls, .csv, and .tsv files and create a variety of forms either from scratch or by using one of several common templates.

[edit] Zoho Wiki

Zoho Wiki is a basic WYSIWYG wiki that allows users to create their own collaborative pages. It supports group pages as well as sub-pages, with features like tags, tables of contents, and custom themes and appearance. Zoho Wiki may also link to and work with documents the user has created with other Zoho services, such as slideshows from Zoho Show.

[edit] Zoho Planner

Zoho Planner is an online planner with a calendar, to-do lists, pages, and e-mail reminders. Like all other Zoho Products, these features may be shared with different collaborators or groups. Zoho Planner competes with Microsoft Outlook, and more directly, Google Calendar.

[edit] Zoho Notebook

Zoho Notebook is a powerful application that enables the creation of content from many different types of media. It is somewhat similar to Microsoft OneNote or Google Notebook, but 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 with their friends. Zoho Notebook even allows integration of documents, full-fledged applications, and content via RSS.[5] The content from the notebook may be uploaded or gathered from the web by using the Zoho Notebook plugin for Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer.

[edit] Zoho Chat

Zoho Chat is a chat application that can be embedded into pages or blogs. It also supports traditional private instant messaging.

[edit] Zoho Mail

Formerly called Zoho Office Suite, Zoho Mail 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.[6] Still in public beta, it provides services such as email, calendar, document management, task management, and contact management. Zoho Mail also integrates Zoho Writer, Sheet, and Show.

[edit] Zoho Meeting

One of the most recent Zoho tools, Zoho Meeting is a web conference application that allows participants to see the web conference without downloading or installing any separate software. 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. Zoho Show and Zoho Chat are integrated into the meeting, and participants can choose to control the desktop of the presenter. The Meeting Viewer can even be embedded in a separate webpage or a slide from Zoho Show. Zoho Meeting is currently free in public beta and offers live support.

[edit] Utilities

Zoho also offers some services that are not part of the Zoho 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. And 24x7 is a website monitoring service that is free for up to two websites.

[edit] Third-party Utilities

Zoho provides APIs for its applications, which makes possible the creation of third-party utilities. One of them is an OpenOffice.org plugin that gives access to documents stored at Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet, and Zoho Show services.

[edit] Competitors

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Zoho Blog (2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-29.
  2. ^ Zoho joins Facebook, Between the Lines, ZDet Blog (2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  3. ^ Lifehacker (2007). Zoho Writer Adds Full Offline Access with Gears. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
  4. ^ Zoho DB and Reports (home page). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
  5. ^ Zoho Announces Notebook, Read/Write Web, Richard MacManus (2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  6. ^ Zoho Mail, Zoho Blogs (2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-02.

[edit] External links