My Experience with the Zoho Apps

In the past, I’ve ranted relentlessly about how we should be more privacy-focused and eclectic when it comes to the applications we use in our day-to-day. I’ve written about the plethora of alternatives to Alphabet products (the company behind Google) and other companies that make a killing by selling their users’ data (at least the stuff they can get away with!). Lately, I had to find a notebook application, one that was relatively free and/or inexpensive, online, and good enough to be useful when collaborating with others. Upon finding one such app that fit the bill, I also discovered (or rather, rediscovered) a whole suite of apps from the same organization: an Indian company called Zoho.

I wasn’t new to Zoho since I’ve been using its Email provider as my personal email for years now. Also, it seems that it doesn’t just target individuals but also companies since its email client (both web and mobile apps) are so professional that I originally thought I was dealing with an American company! Even if not many people know about this email alternative, it’s beyond doubt that it’s a worthy one. That’s partly because of the lack of ads, its generous free data bandwidth, and the fact that the company doesn’t exploit its users by selling their data.

But I regress. The app that lured me to the Zoho ecosystem was the Notebook. Even though I had the Zoho Email for years, I never explored anything else (I guess I was too involved in other projects back then!). The Zoho Notebook changed all that. Although I didn’t know anyone else who uses it, at least not personally, I found that the videos and articles describing its features were quite convincing. Also, unlike many other Notebook apps out there, the Zoho one has a Linux client (which is great if you are committed to this sort of operating system). Also, its tech support is nothing like I’ve ever seen. I’m still using the free version of the notebook but the response I got for the tickets I’ve opened with them (partly to test the tech support it offers) was better than any other online company I’ve ever interacted with over the years. I’m not going to go into detail about the Zoho Notebook features. Suffice it to say that before that I was using Notion and Joplin and I’ve given up on them since then (though I still have Joplin on my computer as a backup).

Lately, I decided to start using an online calendar so that I could collaborate better with others. The Google Calendar that everyone and their dog seems to use these days was a worthy alternative (even better than the MS Outlook one I was used to from my Microsoft days). Still, I value my privacy more than that so I said to myself “it’s either a privacy-respecting option or the offline calendars from now on.” Call it a premature New Year’s resolution, if you will, but my resolve on this was solid. It would be pretentious otherwise, especially since I have a podcast touting the merits of privacy and how everyone should aim to use privacy-respecting software. So, without shedding any tears, I said goodbye to the calendar I was using (mostly because all the people I was collaborating with were using it) and sought alternatives. I didn’t limit my search to Zoho products but after a while, it was clear that this was the Calendar app for me. It’s not as refined as some of its competitors but both its web-based presence and the mobile app are solid. The sync with my phone’s calendar is seamless and works in both directions. Also, it doesn’t take many computational resources meaning that I can have it open on my browser all the time, without having to worry about the browser crashing.

What about cloud storage? Well, it seems that Zoho has an app for that too, the WorkDrive. I have to give it to them, they know how to come up with catchy names for their products! The app itself lives up to the reputation Zoho has built through its other apps. I haven’t used it that much though, to be honest, partly because I already have all my stuff on a couple of other online storage alternatives. However, if I get into the Zoho Office Suite (a real possibility these days), I may consider it seriously. That’s partly because it integrates well with other Zoho products and partly because all Zoho Office files are free of charge when stored on WorkDrive. Of course, they need to be saved in the Zoho file format, but that’s a small sacrifice to make, in my view. Also, the Zoho Office Suite integrates seamlessly with the Notebook app, making the transition from a note to a document very efficient.

I’m not going to try to convince you to use Zoho apps for your workflow. I’ve seen how challenging it is to convince anyone about anything outside their comfort zone when it comes to apps. However, I’m going to share this experience of mine with you and let you make up your own minds about these apps. The Zoho company may not have the prestige or glamour that big tech companies have and it’s likely that it may never get to that level. But if it’s committed to preserving its users’ privacy and provides a plethora of services at a high enough quality standard, that’s good enough for me. What about you? Let me know in the comments below. Cheers.