Exclusive: Zoho's AI Director discusses right-sizing AI for business needs

Zoho's AI Director, Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, has made it clear: businesses can no longer afford to ignore AI's transformative potential.

From his early days as a lone researcher in 2011 to leading a growing AI team within Zoho, Ramamoorthy has witnessed the potential of AI in enterprise contexts, especially in key markets like Australia, where Zoho has recently seen remarkable growth. This year alone, Zoho recorded an 18% revenue increase and a 19% rise in new customers in Australia.

"AI isn't about standalone features," Ramamoorthy explained. "It's about embedding intelligence directly into workflows where it truly matters."

Australia has been a focus for Zoho, as highlighted at its recent Zoholics user conference. Since entering the market formally in 2019, the company has expanded its local presence significantly, doubling its partner network and growing its Australian customer base, with businesses now using an average of 18 applications from Zoho's 55-product suite.

"Since arriving in Australia over five years ago, the market has grown from strength-to-strength for Zoho," said Rakesh Prabhakar, Head of Zoho Australia and New Zealand. He added, "Our goal is to empower local businesses with tools and support to thrive."

Key to Zoho's strategy in Australia is its commitment to "transnational localism," a company-wide initiative to provide tailored support and resources within regional markets. As part of this, Zoho has established an office in Adelaide, focusing on local hires to expand its go-to-market team in Australia. "In doing so, it enables us to better support the burgeoning local business and innovation sector both in Adelaide and nationwide," Prabhakar noted.

Privacy and security are also fundamental to Zoho's global and regional strategy. "Our privacy policy is straightforward: our AI models aren't trained on customer data," Ramamoorthy explained, a practice reflected in Zoho's close partnerships with privacy and cybersecurity initiatives. Among these is Cyber Wardens, a government-backed programme designed to equip Australian small businesses with essential cybersecurity knowledge.

"Cybersecurity is an essential foundation for businesses today," Ramamoorthy said, noting that Zoho's commitment to privacy is underscored by the fact that its free tools remain ad-free.

These partnerships extend into regional development networks, such as Zoho's collaboration with SA Leaders, an organisation supporting South Australian business leaders. Together, they offer workshops focused on streamlining business processes and preparing companies for digital transformation. Zoho also works with local government councils to provide training sessions for small business owners, including a recent workshop in Wyndham, Victoria, which taught 30 entrepreneurs how to create effective sales funnels.

The company's AI growth, privacy commitment, and partnerships underline a broader trend towards integrated solutions that deliver lasting value. Ramamoorthy explained, "AI adoption isn't just about having the technology. It's about using it in a way that complements a well-integrated business." Zoho's right-sizing approach to AI—categorising models by size and application—is a core part of this strategy. While smaller models with under three billion parameters support simple tasks like receipt scanning, larger models with over 50 billion parameters address complex generative functions. "It's about using the right tool for the job," Ramamoorthy said, stressing the importance of "contextual relevance while reducing costs."

Zoho's AI-powered features, embedded directly into products like Zoho CRM and Zoho Expense, reflect this approach.

For example, its customer support ticket assignment feature uses contextual intelligence to optimise workflows based on employee availability and expertise. "Our AI now evaluates who is available, who is overloaded, and who can meet SLAs, enabling us to provide the best customer experience without burdening employees," Ramamoorthy said.

Ramamoorthy also noted the rise of AI in business conversations, driven by new products like ChatGPT, which have brought AI from a niche interest to a mainstream business tool. "Now, AI is part of sales conversations," he said. As AI becomes central to business strategy, Zoho's integrated platform approach offers an alternative to traditional software silos, which often fragment data streams and limit AI's effectiveness.

"Our customers tell us they need more than disconnected software tools," Ramamoorthy said. "They need a platform that cuts across departments."

Reflecting on his 13-year journey at Zoho, from intern to AI Director, Ramamoorthy pointed to the company's enduring commitment to experimentation and growth. "Zoho has grown tremendously, but what's stayed the same is our commitment to bold experiments and the long game. We aim for meaningful R&D—our goal isn't just to publish papers but to deliver something valuable to our customers," he said.

This dedication to innovation is evident in the work of Zoho Labs, the company's research wing, where Ramamoorthy described a blockchain project that eventually pivoted to cryptography. "Blockchain principles are beautiful," he explained, "but we realised they didn't suit enterprise use cases. So we pivoted into cryptography, where we're now making productive use of those skills."

Looking ahead, Ramamoorthy believes that Zoho's focus on right-sizing AI, maintaining high privacy standards, and nurturing strong local partnerships will continue to position it as a trusted technology partner in Australia and beyond. "At Zoho, we're always looking to refine our tools to support our customers as they grow," he concluded.