Zoho has announced additional support for three sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic: Education, Non-Profit & Government, and Retail. The Vertical Relief Plan offers a mix of services and applications free of charge to the impacted verticals
Non-Profit and Government
- Zoho Creator COVID-19 App Program. On an approved request, Zoho is building web and mobile apps using Zoho Creator. To date, it has delivered more than 10 apps including the Citizen Communication App and Medical Staff Management App for local government bodies in India.
- Zoho Desk. It is currently offering free software licenses of Zoho Desk to government agencies and departments.
- Zoho Social. This solution is now offered free to non-profits for 6 months and Zoho will consider extension requests.
- Zoho Checkout. Zoho is offering this free to non-profits.
Education
- Zoho Classes: A new mobile application that provides a full learning platform. It is completely free for government schools in India. For schools outside of India, the platform is free to up to 100 students.
- Zoho Showtime. Premium features are now available to those on a basic plan.
Retail
Zoho Commerce. Retail storefronts can use this eCommerce solution free for 60 days to help build an online presence.
Other offers
Zoho is adding and extending other offers and enhancing solutions. These include Zoho Survey, Zoho People, Zoho Recruit. These are in addition to the two major initiatives already launched, Zoho Remotely and the Small Business Emergency Subscription Assistance Program.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Once again, Zoho seems to be one of the companies leading the way in delivering support to smaller businesses. What is impressive is that the initiatives are generally global and open to all. It is not the only company to do so but to date, few others seem as comprehensive.
The reason behind this new initiative is explained by Sridhar Vembu, Zoho co-founder and CEO. He said: “We are so grateful to all the workers who are helping us weather this storm. …The Vertical Relief Plan is a way to support those people, whether they be teachers, government workers, or retailers, who are entirely committed to helping others and returning the world to solid ground.”
