Zoho Corp, a global technology company, has announced it will invest $5 million in Bahrain startups over the next five years as it plans to open its first office in the country followed by a data centre.
This is in line with Zoho’s commitment to contribute to Bahrain’s Vision 2030 goals of economic diversification and innovation-led development, and the hiring of local talent.
The Bahrain office will be staffed by local talent, reinforcing Zoho’s dedication to investing in Bahraini professionals and supporting the national workforce as part of its ‘transnational localism’ strategy.
“As part of our continued expansion in Bahrain, Zoho is deepening its commitment to the local economy by opening a dedicated office and investing in the development of local talent,” Saran Paramsivam, Regional Director for MEA at Zoho, told Trade Arabia.
The announcements were made on the sidelines of Zoholics Bahrain, the company's annual user conference.
It’s part of Zoho’s strategy and its nature of business to have a data centre wherever they have an office. Currently, the company has six offices in the region, primarily in the GCC, and two data centres in Saudi Arabia.
Paramsivam said Zoho collaborates with local partners to foster synergistic growth for the company while supporting the local economy.
Additionally, the company announced the launch of Ulaa Enterprise, the enterprise version of its privacy-focused browser, in Bahrain, with an aim of helping organisations strengthen their cybersecurity readiness and proactively defend against cyberattacks.
Ulaa Enterprise provides centralised policy management, data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities, and complete visibility with fine-grained controls over user behaviour.
These features allow enterprises to prevent unauthorised downloads, screen captures, and uploads of sensitive information, all while eliminating the need for third-party software or heavy virtual desktop infrastructure.
Ulaa Enterprise is also embedded with Zia, Zoho's AI assistant, which provides AI-driven security and productivity features.
Over the past year, Zoho has achieved a 28 per cent growth in revenue and a 19 per cent growth in partner revenue in Bahrain, while expanding its local partner network by 22 per cent.
The company’s top-performing products in 2024 include Zoho Books (VAT-compliant accounting software), Zoho People (HR management), Zoho One (operating system for businesses), Zoho Creator (low code app development platform), and Zoho CRM.
