At Zoho’s SMZ 2025 event, I had the opportunity to sit down with Tony Thomas, CEO of Zoho U.S., to talk about the company’s rapid growth and what that means for small business owners today. With 40% year-over-year growth in SMB customers in just the first half of 2025, Zoho’s expansion shows that entrepreneurs and small teams are increasingly looking for alternatives to high-cost, fragmented software solutions.
The conversation revealed a consistent theme: affordability, flexibility, and trust in technology are driving adoption. For small businesses trying to navigate tighter budgets, new AI tools, and an overwhelming array of software, Zoho’s strategy offers both lessons and opportunities.
Cost Control as the Primary Driver
The interview opened with Zoho’s impressive SMB customer growth, and Thomas quickly tied that success to one central factor.
“So, we think that the—it’s hard for us to know exactly. We do think that the, you know, economics of our offerings is the biggest driver. Companies today are dealing with increased costs, you know, and needing to manage their business more tightly, and they look at Zoho as a integrated offering that gives you great value. And keeping costs down, of course, is a key priority for businesses.”
That focus on affordability resonates strongly in today’s small business environment. Many business owners have learned the hard way that adopting separate best-of-breed solutions—CRM, email, project management, accounting—often leaves them juggling multiple subscriptions. The costs can quickly balloon to $300 or $400 a month, as I noted in our conversation. By contrast, Zoho’s pitch is simple: one low price for a broad suite of integrated tools.
Broad-Based Growth, with a Push from E-Commerce
When asked which industries or company sizes led Zoho’s growth, Thomas emphasized the across-the-board demand for better technology.
“So, it’s pretty broad based, as you might imagine. Every company needs to deploy more technology, needs to use AI and other, you know, advances in their tools, and their companies are seeing a lot of benefits from technology. And this is across the board. Certainly there is a, you know, a little more emphasis on e-commerce and other, in terms of just sheer numbers, but the interest from companies is quite broad based.”
For small business owners, this broad adoption suggests that the barriers to entry are lowering. Whether you run a service-based business, a retail store, or an e-commerce shop, the expectation today is that technology is no longer optional—it’s essential.
Pain Points: Technology Overload and Rapid Change
I asked Thomas what pain points he hears most often from American small businesses. His answer will sound familiar to any entrepreneur who has felt overwhelmed by the pace of change.
“So, certainly one of the challenges that small businesses face is the rapidly changing technology, as well as the, you know, business landscape in general. So, the change in technology requires businesses to adopt new tools quickly, and you, as you can imagine, even with Zoho, we’re offering a lot, and navigating that—trying to find the right tool and the right combination of tools for your specific business—is one of the challenges we’re dealing with. So, our approach to that is to try to create better, you know, tools for customers to find information, as well as equip our partners and our own regional teams better in serving these kinds of needs.”
This answer highlights a crucial reality: small businesses don’t just need affordable tools. They need clarity on which tools to adopt and guidance on how to put them into practice without wasting time or money.
Pricing and Bundles: Keeping It Simple
The conversation turned to pricing—always a top concern for SMBs. I asked what Zoho would recommend for a company of 5 to 20 people deciding between Zoho’s lightweight products and its full Zoho One suite.
Thomas emphasized flexibility and a “start small” approach.
“No. Certainly we recommend companies look at their needs and start small. I mean, the the the thing you don’t want to do is try to take on too much and then find it difficult to get everything working. So, you probably should prioritize where your needs are and pick the specific tools that are useful to you. That said, we are putting a lot of emphasis on packaging tools that make it easier for small companies. For example, solopreneur is something is is a target, and now there’s an individual trying to do everything. You need tools that are going to make it really easy for you, so solo is a product that we have where we have combined a lot of our tools and hidden a lot of the complexity behind it. When it comes to pricing, the, you know, we start with the products that are are free, that you don’t need to pay for, and to bundles and sweets that, you know, go up in price. But no matter how you slice it, we don’t charge a small business more than $30 per user per month for our entire package of offerings. So, it’s a pretty attractive price when you look at the the number of products we offer in the bundle.”
For small businesses, the $30 per user per month ceiling is significant. It means budgeting for software can be more predictable, even as needs expand. The advice to “start small” also aligns with lean startup principles: adopt what you need today, and grow your toolkit only as your business requires.
Implementation: How Much Help Is Needed?
Technology adoption often stalls because of fears around complexity. I asked what kind of implementation support small businesses could expect.
Thomas acknowledged the variability:
“Yeah, that, that’s a question I have to punt a little, in the sense that it depends on, on, you know, which products you’re talking about, you know, and the type of business you are, how much complexity your specific implementation has. For a lot of products you don’t need any help; you should be able to figure it out. It’s self-guided. For other things, it’s more complicated; you need to think harder about what is your business process and how the tool—it needs to be customized, or you adapt your business process to the tool. So, it can vary a lot, so, you know, and and my knowledge of it is also limited, given the breadth of things that that we have. But for many tools, absolutely, you can get started without any, you know, external help at all.”
This highlights a critical consideration for entrepreneurs: evaluate not just cost, but the time and expertise needed for setup. If a tool aligns closely with your current processes, you may be able to self-implement. But more complex shifts—like migrating your accounting or CRM systems—may require outside help.
Migration: Switching Without Losing Momentum
Switching software is a pain point for every small business. Concerns over downtime, data loss, and hidden costs often prevent entrepreneurs from making needed changes.
I asked what a typical migration from platforms like Shopify or QuickBooks looks like.
Thomas explained:
“So, this is an area that, as you can imagine, it’s a frequent request that we are constantly working to keep up on. So, for things like QuickBooks, we have tools to help with the migration and also work with partners that help you do that. So, we are able to offer a A range of tools, and—but it’s it’s it’s a constant game of keeping up with each product and adding the migration, so your mileage will vary depending on which product and suite you’re talking about. I’m not sure about shop if—I’ll have to, you know, get that information for you, but certainly for quick books, we are helping customers with the migration.”
For SMBs, the key takeaway is that migrations are rarely one-size-fits-all. Zoho offers tools and partner support, but the complexity will depend on what you’re migrating. Planning ahead, budgeting time for testing, and working with knowledgeable partners can ease the transition.
Privacy and AI: Building Trust Amid New Regulations
With AI tools proliferating, small businesses are rightly concerned about data privacy, resilience, and compliance. I asked whether SMBs can keep their data out of AI training models by default, and how Zoho handles retention and deletion.
Thomas reaffirmed Zoho’s privacy-first stance:
“Yeah. So, we we are very privacy focused, as Raju mentioned this morning. We are looking at, you know, minimizing, you know, any information shared outside. I mean, certainly when it comes to using something like the large LLMS Open AI and so on, customers make the choice of whether to, you know, use them, and any information that is shared—certainly we are using the APIs that ensure no customer data is used in Training. So, customers can feel pretty safe with using this low suite when it comes to AI, and with the, with the increasing regulation across geographies, you know, managing compliance with the AI is a priority for us. So, being a privacy focused company, these are items that we, you know, invest a lot in and and pay a lot of close attention to, so our customers don’t have to.”
For small business owners, this is an important reassurance. As new AI regulations come into play, choosing vendors who prioritize compliance and minimize exposure is becoming a necessity.
Key Lessons for Small Business Owners
This conversation with Tony Thomas underscores several lessons that SMB owners should keep in mind in 2025:
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Affordability is critical. Avoid stacking too many subscriptions that inflate costs. Look for bundled solutions that cap pricing.
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Start small, grow smart. Don’t try to implement every feature at once. Prioritize the tools that solve your most pressing problems.
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Implementation matters. Evaluate how much setup support you’ll need. Some tools are plug-and-play; others require planning and customization.
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Plan for migration. Switching systems is never seamless. Use vendor tools, budget extra time, and lean on partners when necessary.
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Demand privacy. As AI becomes more embedded in business software, ensure your vendor treats privacy and compliance as core commitments.
Final Thoughts
As the conversation wrapped up, I thanked Thomas for his time. His answers reinforced Zoho’s value proposition for small businesses: a comprehensive suite of tools at a price point that respects tight budgets, paired with a strong emphasis on privacy and flexibility.
For entrepreneurs weighing their technology stack in 2025, the message is clear. You don’t need to overpay for software, but you do need to adopt tools that help you stay efficient, compliant, and competitive.
Zoho’s U.S. CEO summed it up best: businesses today need integrated, affordable, and privacy-conscious solutions. And while technology may feel overwhelming at times, the right strategy is to start small, choose wisely, and grow into the tools as your business scales.
