Zoho Brings Its Global Assistance Efforts to UAE With New Vertical Relief Plan

 

 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 12, 2020:   Zoho Corporation, a global technology company that offers the most comprehensive suite of business software applications in the industry, has introduced its Vertical Relief Plan (VRP) in the UAE. The VRP is comprised of programs and tools to assist businesses and organizations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic across two verticals: non-profits & government, and retail.  

 

"We are so grateful to all the workers who are helping us weather this storm," said Sridhar Vembu, Zoho co-founder and CEO. "Beyond those on the front lines, there are workers in industries who are struggling, who are persevering, who are inventing new paths forward. The Vertical Relief Plan is a way to support those people, whether they be government workers, or retailers, who are entirely committed to helping others and returning the world to solid ground."

 

At an earlier stage of the current crisis, Zoho introduced several initiatives to assist the broader business community, including the Small Business Emergency Subscription Assistance Program and Remotely, which is being used by more than 15,000 new global businesses.

 

The VRP is a targeted effort to provide maximum assistance for businesses and organizations critically hit during this crisis. In addition to these programs, Zoho is encouraging small businesses, as well as finance, sales, marketing, and HR professionals within larger organizations to utilize discounts, training, and support programs that the company is offering to help them adapt to their changing roles during this time. Here are some of the key features of the Vertical Relief Plan: 

 

 

• Zoho Creator COVID-19 App Program: The program helps non-profits, government bodies, and communities that are working on various programs like patient monitoring or food distribution to execute their mission more efficiently with the help of apps. These organizations can place a request, and Zoho will build web and mobile apps for free using Zoho Creator, a low-code application development platform. Since the program was piloted, it has received over 70 requests and has already delivered 10+ apps, including the Citizen Communication App and Medical Staff Management App for local government bodies in India.

• For government agencies and departments around the world that are working on COVID-19 relief initiatives like citizen helplines, Zoho is currently offering free software licenses of Zoho Desk, the company's help desk software. This offering is intended to support all government bodies globally in their efforts to combat the pandemic. 

• Increasingly, non-profits are turning to social media to drive donations and manage distribution pipelines. Governments are using social media more than ever to spread awareness and communicate breaking developments. To aid them, Zoho Social is opening up its advanced edition for free for six months.

• For non-profits working to provide relief during the pandemic, Zoho Checkout is available for free, enabling them to collect online donations easily.

 

RETAIL

• Retail store-fronts, shuttered due to the crisis, can build out an online presence using the Zoho Commerce Starter Plan for free, up to 60 days. For the existing Commerce customers, the company is raising the transaction fee threshold for the next 3 months to assist with tougher economic conditions.

• Businesses providing essential services, such as retail or pharmaceuticals, can quickly set up their online presence by availing free training and rapid onboarding of Zoho Inventory, Zoho's order management software, set up specially for them.

 

Additional Programs in Support of Change Management

Whether growing or pivoting or simply trying to sustain business, Zoho is providing workers and companies additional support across several business categories: 

 

• Zoho Survey is now available at a 50% price reduction and comes with several crisis-related survey templates to help organizations jump-start the data collection process. Furthermore, Zoho Campaigns now offers crisis templates to assist with outreach and communications.

• Zoho has increased the storage limit for businesses using WorkDrive to 1TB of shared storage for the Starter plan and 3TB of shared storage for the Team plan to help businesses currently experiencing higher-than-normal volume of data.

• Zoho is offering several development programs through Zoho People, including unexpected change management training, stress management training, new technology training, onboarding training, and role-change training.

• Zoho is rolling out free Zoho Recruit video credits until the end of June, 2020. Zoho Recruit has integrated with Zoho Meeting to make the video interface possible. Additionally, Zoho Meeting is now free with Zoho Bookings, making virtual appointment scheduling seamless in order to aid the rising demands of a global remote workforce.