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Tag: Kehinde Ogundare

  • Zoho Launches AI Capabilities in Low-Code Development Platform, Zoho Creator for Faster, Easier App Creation

    Zoho Launches AI Capabilities in Low-Code Development Platform, Zoho Creator for Faster, Easier App Creation

    Zoho Corporation, a global technology company, today announces the launch of new services and features within Zoho Creator, the company’s low-code application development platform. This milestone reflects Zoho’s commitment to investing in AI capabilities that offer real-time, practical, and secure advantages to business users.

    Zoho Creator’s new AI assistant, CoCreator, facilitates faster, simpler, and more intelligent app building by using voice and written prompts, process flows and business specification documents. Powered by Zia, Zoho’s AI assistant, CoCreator drives shorter go-to-market timeframes and democratises app creation for users of varying  skill levels—all without requiring add-ons to a customer’s existing subscription. 

    Zia has served as  a bridge across Zoho’s entire product suite, including Creator, since its launch in 2015. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly central to business operations, Zoho’s complete ownership of its tech stack and deep AI integration provides customers with a higher level of contextual AI across all company workflows compared to competitors. This empowers users with a system that truly understands their data and anticipates its usage.

    “Since we introduced Creator in 2006, our mission has been to make app development simpler and faster, without compromising on functionality,” said Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria. “AI now takes us to the next level, shortening the time from an idea to an app. Today’s announcement significantly raises the baseline on speed of quality app creation with deep capabilities, without adding costs.”

    Among the newly-launched capabilities is the Idea-to-App Generation feature, allowing businesses to utilise ZohoAI or OpenAI to develop full-fledged applications including contextual integrations, automations, permission sets and insightful dashboards. By using text or voice prompts, process flow diagrams, or systems documentations like software requirement specifications (SRS), Creator will provide domain-specific suggestions, ideas for relevant fields, and modules tailored to a customer’s business

    Contextual component generation AI enhances existing applications by offering prompt-based form generation. Zia also proactively suggests contextual fields within forms, a functionality missing from many low-code development platforms. Developers of all skill levels can generate and optimise code blocks contextually within apps using Zia’s prompter, and also annotate existing code blocks for future maintenance.

    Further advancing business capabilities, users can rapidly transform unstructured data from various file types and databases into custom applications and remove inconsistencies using the AI-driven data cleansing and modelling feature. Additionally, the newly-introduced AI Skills enables businesses to build apps with specialised skills that interpret natural language instructions in the business context and automate complex chains of actions intelligently. This feature is currently available in early access and will be widely available from June 2025.

    Additional enhancements now available include document uploads that allow extraction of relevant information into an application that can then be queried easily; voice-based app generation from mobile devices; and deploying custom AI models for deploying capabilities like OCR, prediction, and object detection.

  • Feature: How Nigerian businesses can leverage Agentic AI for growth and efficiency

    Feature: How Nigerian businesses can leverage Agentic AI for growth and efficiency

    By Kehinde Ogundare

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionising industries globally, and Nigeria is no exception to this trend. Businesses in Nigeria are increasingly exploring AI-driven automation to enhance efficiency, drive innovation, and remain competitive. However, AI adoption remains relatively low, as many businesses struggle to identify practical use cases that deliver measurable ROI.

    A key emerging trend addressing this challenge is Agentic AI–a more advanced form of AI that enables businesses to create autonomous digital agents capable of handling complex tasks, optimising workflows, and improving decision-making. Unlike traditional AI models that react to user inputs, Agentic AI proactively learns, makes decisions, and automates entire processes, making it a game-changer for businesses looking to scale productivity.

    The Rise of Agentic AI in Business

    Globally, AI adoption has grown, but many businesses still hesitate due to concerns over cost, implementation complexity, and lack of clear ROI. According to McKinsey & Company, organisations that have successfully integrated AI-driven automation report efficiency improvements ranging from 20–30%. The key to unlocking AI’s full potential lies in specialised AI models designed for specific business functions–precisely where Agentic AI excels.

    For example, in customer service, AI-powered agents can automate repetitive tasks, resolve issues faster, and enhance customer satisfaction. Studies have shown that nearly 88% of Nigerian consumers consider customer experience critical to their purchasing decisions. Agentic AI can help businesses meet these expectations by providing instant, personalised support.

    In sales, AI-driven Sales Development Representative (SDR) Agent can analyse customer interactions, identify sales opportunities, and suggest targeted outreach strategies. Research highlights that businesses using AI in sales automation experience increase conversion rates and higher sales productivity.

    Similarly, Human Resources (HR) operations are being transformed by AI-powered automation. Tasks such as leave management, employee onboarding, and performance tracking can be effectively handled by Agentic AI, allowing HR professionals to focus on strategic employment engagement. Deloitte indicates that AI-powered HR automation reduces administrative workload significantly, enhancing employee satisfaction and operational efficiency.

    In IT operations, AI-powered Help Desk Agents streamline troubleshooting, diagnose issues, and execute quick fixes. This reduces downtime and significantly improves operational continuity and productivity.

    How Zoho is Innovating with Agentic AI

    At Zoho, we recognise the potential of Agentic AI and have developed Zia Agents for specific use cases within various products. Unlike generic AI models, Zia Agents provide contextual intelligence, real-time decision-making, and deep business-specific insights. Additionally, Zoho ensures that Zia agents operate within a secure infrastructure, fully compliant with various global privacy regulations, making it a trusted solution for businesses handling sensitive data.

    We have also launched Agent Studio, an AI-powered platform that enables our customers, partners, and independent developers to create specialised agents for their specific needs. These can be hosted on Agent Marketplace, where they can be monetised. Nigerian businesses can utilise Agent Studio to build hyperlocal agents for various industries.

    The Future of Business with Agentic AI

    The shift towards Agentic AI is inevitable as businesses increasingly seek smarter, more autonomous systems to drive efficiency and growth. Organisations that embrace AI-driven today will be better positioned to compete in Nigeria’s evolving digital economy.

    For Nigerian businesses looking to scale efficiently, Agentic AI  offers a practical and results driven approach to automation. By leveraging Zoho’s Zia Agents, companies can achieve higher productivity, ensuring long-term success in a competitive marketplace. 

    Kehinde Ogundare is the Country Head of Zoho Nigeria

  • Feature- Unleashing Nigeria’s business potential: The cloud as a catalyst for growth

    Feature- Unleashing Nigeria’s business potential: The cloud as a catalyst for growth

    By Kehinde Ogundare

    Nigeria’s entrepreneurial spirit is undeniable. Amidst a dynamic and competitive market, businesses are brimming with potential, poised to become regional and even global powerhouses. However, realising this potential requires navigating a challenging landscape—one marked by limited IT resources, complex operational hurdles, and the inertia of traditional business practices. For Nigerian businesses, the path to sustainable growth lies in digital transformation, with cloud-based technologies serving as a key enabler.

    With a burgeoning middle class and a tech-savvy population, Nigeria offers fertile ground for innovation and expansion. Yet, many businesses remain tethered to manual processes, limiting their ability to scale and compete effectively. This is where cloud technology and comprehensive digital toolsets become indispensable.

    The need for digital transformation

    Traditional growth models lack the agility needed to keep pace with an evolving market. Manual processes lead to inefficiencies, limited data insights hinder informed decision-making, and restricted IT resources stifle innovation. To overcome these hurdles, businesses must adopt digital tools that streamline operations, automate workflows, and provide actionable insights.

    Digital transformation isn’t about adopting technology for its own sake—it’s about scaling efficiently. In today’s digital economy, scaling is critical for businesses seeking to expand their market reach, remain competitive, and meet evolving customer demands. Digital tools enable businesses to amplify their impact, drive revenue growth, and optimise costs, ensuring long-term sustainability.

    The power of cloud-based solutions

    Cloud-based platforms eliminate the need for costly infrastructure investments, offering businesses access to cutting-edge technology on a flexible, scalable basis. By automating repetitive tasks, streamlining workflows, and enhancing productivity, these platforms free up valuable resources, allowing businesses to focus on strategy and customer engagement.

    An integrated SaaS platform offers a unified ecosystem to manage all facets of a business. By providing a centralised suite of applications, it automates workflows, reduces manual data entry, and improves team collaboration. Businesses can reduce operational costs and accelerate decision-making, ultimately enabling faster expansion into new markets.

    With Zoho software, the emphasis is on contextual intelligence, leveraging AI to provide genuine customer value. In a market where customer experience is paramount, Zoho’s AI-powered insights enable businesses to personalise interactions, anticipate needs, and strengthen customer relationships. Zoho’s unwavering commitment to customer privacy also ensures that businesses can leverage data responsibly, fostering trust and long-term loyalty.

    A holistic approach to business growth

    Zoho’s philosophy of optimising the entire technology stack—from hardware to software—ensures seamless integration and optimal performance. This holistic approach translates into better technology for Nigerian businesses, enabling them to focus on their core competencies without being weighed down by technical complexities.

    For Nigerian businesses, digital transformation is no longer optional—it’s a necessity. By embracing cloud-based technology, they can overcome traditional growth barriers, scale efficiently, and unlock their full potential.

    The future of Nigerian business is digital. By adopting the cloud, businesses can transform challenges into opportunities, paving the way for sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

    Kehinde Ogundare is the Country Head of Zoho Nigeria

  • Zoho Launches Projects Plus, a Unified, Data-Driven, and AI-rich Project Management Platform Empowering Enterprises 

    Zoho Launches Projects Plus, a Unified, Data-Driven, and AI-rich Project Management Platform Empowering Enterprises 

    …New platform supports evolving enterprise customer needs after Zoho Projects registers 32% YoY growth in MEA in 2024, seeing more businesses migrate from third-party apps

    Zoho Corporation, a global technology company, today announced the launch of  Projects Plus, a flexible, collaborative new platform providing data and intelligence-driven project management for mid-sized and large organisations. Through native integration of four key Zoho applications—Projects, WorkDrive, Analytics, and Sprints—Projects Plus enables asynchronous collaboration, seamless file management, real-time business intelligence, and Agile or Waterfall workflows. 

    Zoho Projects has seen rapid growth, doubling its revenue in 2024, with 55% of new users migrating from Microsoft Projects and JIRA. Projects Plus builds on this success by focussing on better data democratisation, AI-powered insights, hybrid project management, and collaborative work management. As 18% of enterprise customers deployed both Zoho Projects and Zoho Analytics, Projects Plus directly addresses these needs by consolidating the two, and more, into a singular, efficient solution. 

    “The surge in digitalisation across the nation and the hybrid work culture have necessitated project management tools to be well ingrained in the overall software architecture of an organisation. With Projects Plus, which can be easily customised and integrated with other apps, we have brought together key tools like analytics, file management and collaboration, and the option to use blended project management methodologies, creating a value-packed offering not yet available in the market. Furthermore, Projects Plus synthesises the latest AI-driven tools, data-first analytics, and privacy-focused protections into software that anticipates the evolving needs of international enterprise organisations, expanding Zoho’s global reach,” said Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria. 

    Business Intelligence Leading to Project Democratisation 

    The shift toward Data-Driven Project Management (DDPM) is transforming how  organisations make decisions. Instead of relying on intuition, businesses can now leverage real-time data and analytics to drive efficiency. Projects Plus captures insights across multiple dimensions—including time tracking, budgeting, task completion, and deliverability metrics—helping teams make smarter, data-backed decisions. 

    Predictive analysis plays a crucial role in this approach, using historical data to forecast risks, estimate project timelines, and anticipate resource needs. By analysing past trends, businesses can proactively plan and mitigate risks before they impact project success. Progress tracking has also evolved beyond traditional static tools like Gantt charts. With real-time dashboards, project managers now have dynamic, up-to-date insights that provide a comprehensive view of project status, allowing them to identify and address bottlenecks as they arise. 

    Additionally, quality control analytics ensure that every stage of a project meets predefined standards. By continuously monitoring data related to project deliverables, businesses can uphold high-quality outcomes, reducing errors and inefficiencies throughout the project lifecycle. With these enhanced analytical capabilities, Projects Plus enables organisations to shift from reactive project management to a more strategic, data-driven approach that improves execution and results. 

    Projects Plus integrates Zia, Zoho’s AI engine, to automate complex data analysis and provide predictive insights, helping project managers focus on strategic leadership. By analysing project performance data, businesses can identify inefficiencies and optimise processes, streamlining workflows to improve productivity. AI-powered insights also enable smarter resource allocation by identifying where resources are being underutilised or overburdened. This ensures that the right people are assigned to the right tasks, maximising efficiency across teams. 

    Forecasting and planning are also significantly enhanced through AI-driven analysis. With more accurate predictions about project timelines, costs, and potential risks, organisations can make proactive adjustments to avoid delays and cost overruns. This results in better project outcomes, improved resource management, and higher overall efficiency. 

    Pricing and Availability 

    Projects Plus is available immediately and priced at NGN7200 per user each month, when billed annually—27% lower than combining Projects, Sprints, Workdrive and Analytics when purchased separately.  For regional pricing, go to https://www.zoho.com/projectsplus/ 

  • Not Using Unified Collaboration Platform Resulting in Productivity Loss for Nigerian Businesses, Reveals Zoho’s Survey

    Not Using Unified Collaboration Platform Resulting in Productivity Loss for Nigerian Businesses, Reveals Zoho’s Survey

    Zoho, a leading global technology company, has unveiled the results of its study, “The State of Productivity and Collaboration in Nigeria, 2024”, which surveyed over 500 organisations with more than 50 employees across the country. The findings reveal critical workplace productivity challenges, including the overwhelming impact of data silos resulting from fragmented systems and inefficient app usage. The survey study also highlights the growing demand for unified platforms, which can help businesses streamline employee collaboration.

    “Nigerian businesses have adopted a variety of cloud tools over the years to support their digital transformation journey. However, they are beginning to recognise that these disconnected tools often lack integration with their existing technology stack, creating silos that hinder collaboration and lead to productivity losses. As this issue gains attention, the demand for unified collaboration platforms with advanced AI capabilities has surged, as corroborated by the survey findings. In Nigeria, we’ve observed a notable increase in the adoption of Zoho Workplace, reflecting this trend. Zoho Workplace set the standard for a unified experience as early as 2017, well ahead of the industry giants. It offers not just a unified interface, but brings contextual data to the forefront, saving time, and enabling users to focus on what truly matters,” said Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria.

    Key Findings from the Study

    The study shows that 55% of Nigerian businesses have adopted a fully on-site work model, while 31% operate in a hybrid setup, and the remaining 14% were in completely remote roles. Most remote roles are held by individual contributors with limited collaboration requirements, while hybrid workers face significant barriers in maintaining effective communication.

    The survey also revealed that 51% of employees use 1–5 apps daily, 35% use 6-10 apps, while 14% rely on more than 10 apps. App usage is higher among senior executives, with 81% of the C-Suite employees using more than 10 apps, while 72% of junior employees use 1-5 apps. The most commonly used tools are for productivity and collaboration (68%), followed by project management (47%), business intelligence (47%), and accounting (43%). Despite widespread app usage, only 50% of the respondents track their tasks in a unified view, with higher adoption rates among the C-Suite (78%) and senior leadership (63%).

    Productivity Challenges and Opportunities

    For the Nigerian workforce, the biggest collaboration challenge is poor WiFi/data connectivity (80%), across demographics. This indicates the need for solutions that have an offline mode and can work in lower data connectivity.

    Other collaboration challenges are digital fatigue (54%), and information spread across too many apps (45%). For middle managers, the second biggest challenge, after poor WiFi, is communication with employees in a remote or hybrid setup. According to the respondents, the most effective way to improve productivity in Nigerian workplaces is to enable quick access to necessary information from different apps (78%), followed by adoption of new technologies like AI (72%), and the ability to communicate from within business apps (55%).

    There is a clear demand for unified collaboration platforms bolstered with AI capabilities that can be integrated into existing software ecosystems. Such solutions will not only help in reducing the time taken to do the job, but can also reduce digital fatigue as one will not have to juggle multiple apps.

    The Economic Outlook

    As per the survey, 51% of the respondents said their organisation had adopted new technology to prepare themselves for the economic challenges. Those who said their companies had adopted new technology were more positive about the ability of their company to deal with the competition (rating 4 out of 5) than those who said their company had not adopted new technology (rating a little over 3 out of 5). However, largely, respondents feel their companies are adequately prepared to face economic challenges (57%).

    In fact, according to the findings, slow adoption of emerging technologies like AI emerged as the most significant factor hindering their ability to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market, cited by 46% of the respondents. Other reasons cited as causing competitive disadvantages were low adoption of digital tools (45%), and employees switching between too many apps (41%).

    Zoho Workplace

    Zoho Workplace is a unified collaboration platform that brings together communication, collaboration, and productivity applications, showing all relevant information and tasks in a single view. It comprises email, chat, online meeting, webinar, office suite (word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation), file storage, and social intranet.

  • Zoho Launches AI-Rich Version of Zoho Analytics, Democratising Self-Service BI to Any Persona or Business

    Zoho Launches AI-Rich Version of Zoho Analytics, Democratising Self-Service BI to Any Persona or Business

    …introducing unified metrics, generative AI-powered reports and insights, and a custom ML model building studio  

     Zoho Corporation, a leading global technology company, today launched a new version of Zoho Analytics—Zoho’s self-service BI and analytics platform. Among more than 100 other enhancements, Zoho Analytics has developed powerful new AI and ML capabilities, enabling diagnostic insights, predictive analysis, and automated report and dashboard generation.

    Additionally, Zoho Analytics now includes a custom ML model-building studio, seamless integration with Open AI, 25+ new data connectors, and third-party BI platform extensions. The latest version has added power, intelligence, and flexibility to serve a broader range of businesses and users than competitors in the market.

    Recent research from Oracle reveals that 97% of business leaders want data to drive their decision-making processes. Additionally, a Gartner study predicts that by 2026, two-thirds of B2B sales organisations will shift from intuition-based to data-driven decision-making.

    “Zoho Analytics, launched as Zoho Reports in 2009, entered the market long before technology had caught up with Zoho’s forward-thinking vision for business intelligence,” said Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria. “Since then, Zoho has made considerable investments around automation, no-code/low-code development, third-party integration, machine learning, and Zia, Zoho’s in-house AI engine. The latest version of Zoho Analytics is one of the first solutions from the company to take advantage of every one of these decades-long investments. The result is a democratised platform that is powerful, intelligent, and flexible enough to benefit everyone and anyone.”

    The latest version of Zoho Analytics has advanced across four key areas: Data Management, AI, Data Science & Machine Learning, and Extensibility. Below are notable highlights of the platform across these four categories.

    Data Management Hub

    Zoho Analytics has expanded its data management capabilities, adding Stream Analytics, ETL data pipelines, and metrics-layer enhancements to ensure broader access to more accurate data for businesses. It has expanded its 500+ data connector portfolio by adding Stream Analytics, along with 25 other new data connectors. Business users can now create and manage complex ETL data pipelines within the platform. New Unified Metrics Layer enables users to define, standardise, monitor, access control, and catalogue all business metrics in a single pane. The platform also extends to serve in a Headless BI mode, allowing data apps to consume the same metrics in real time for consistent and dependable insights.

    BI Infused with Generative AI

    Zoho Analytics has introduced Generative AI capabilities across the BI platform to accelerate the adoption of insights for a broad spectrum of user personas. With Zoho’s AI-powered, automated insights engine, Zia Insights, now provides diagnostic analytics contextually, bringing decision intelligence into the platform.

    Ask Zia, Zoho’s multilingual Natural Language Querying AI copilot, has been enhanced, allowing users to trigger actions and build custom data models. Users can now converse with Ask Zia within IM channels, including Microsoft Teams, to generate deeper, faster, and more contextual insights and actions. Zoho Analytics now has Auto Analysis, enabling AI-powered automated metrics, report, and dashboard generation.

    Zoho Analytics’ seamless Open AI integration drives more relevant and accurate query responses. Using Open AI APIs with BYOK, users can more easily find public datasets and create formula & SQL queries.

    Data Science and Machine Learning Studio

    Zoho Analytics now features the Data Science and Machine Learning (DSML) Studio, supporting users to build custom machine learning models for specific business requirements. With AutoML, a no-code assistant, to build custom ML models easily. With ‌feature engineering, hyperparameter tuning, and comprehensive model analysis, it enables users to ‌ train, test, compare, deploy, and manage models.

    Zoho Analytics also features Code Studio, the platform’s new integrated Python code environment where users can create custom ML models, as well as import Python models or externally built libraries, which can be executed within the platform.

    Platform Extensibility

    Zoho Analytics is more deeply extendable, adding new capabilities such as its no-code builder for data connectors, actions framework, BI fabric, and client SDKs. It is a composable platform on which any analytical solution can be built. Its new BI fabric enables businesses to consolidate insights from multiple BI platforms, such as Power BI and Tableau, onto one, easily accessible and searchable analytics portal.

    Within Zoho Analytics, users can trigger actionable workflows, including URL and Webhook actions. The platform integrates seamlessly with Zoho Flow, enabling 500+ app triggers. It features a no-code data connector builder, allowing users to create custom connectors to bring data from any custom application. Partners can also build data connectors that can be published and sold on Zoho Marketplace.

    The new Zoho Analytics release features over 100+ updates, including new visualisations, enhanced dashboard building, audit and admin controls, revamped mobile apps, Right-to-Left (RTL) support, and more.

  • Zoho Partners with She Code Africa to Empower and Upskill Women Through Specialised Training on Zoho Creator

    Zoho Partners with She Code Africa to Empower and Upskill Women Through Specialised Training on Zoho Creator

    Zoho, a global technology company, is partnering with She Code Africa (SCA), a leading non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering and upskilling African women in tech. With this partnership, Zoho will conduct Train the Trainer sessions for SCA Academy trainers to introduce them to Zoho Creator, the company’s low-code app development platform. These trainers will subsequently train more students, associated with SCA, to build powerful applications using low-code to solve actual business problems.

    The upskilling sessions will be provided as part of the ‘Young Creators Programme’ (YCP) run by Zoho Creator. As part of the programme, Zoho will host 30 female trainers from the SCA Academy and will conduct a three-day in-depth training session about building enterprise-grade applications with low-code technology. The training will take place at the Zoho office in Lagos, Nigeria. The trainers will also receive free access to the Creator platform for one year, along with training material. 

    “At Zoho, we believe in supporting local communities by upskilling and hiring local talent, empowering local businesses with our technology, and promoting responsible and sustainable development. Our growth strategy, known as transnational localism, embodies these values. In continuation of this commitment to support progress at the grassroots, we are partnering with She Code Africa to equip Nigerian students with critical tech skills,” said Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria.

    “The ‘Young Creators Programme’ aims to bridge the technical skill gap and support talent-building for our youth who will be the next generation of leaders and professionals. We are glad to partner with Zoho to help our trainers learn the latest advancements in low-code technology, and then pass on the knowledge to our other students,” said Maryblessing Okolie, Community Manager.  

    Launched globally in 2022, the Young Creators Programme is a training programme aimed at equipping future business leaders with advanced digital skills and fostering innovation in technology.  The programme brings value by providing access to Zoho Creator’s powerful platform to help participants build custom applications in a simple and seamless manner without extensive programming knowledge. Beyond skill development, the programme boosts confidence, fosters personal growth, and opens doors to further opportunities in the technology industry. The programme has trained more than 2000+ students on Zoho Creator globally, enabling participants to earn programme completion certificates and exciting prizes.