MANAMA: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: In line with its commitment to the region, Zoho Corp. has announced to open its office in the Kingdom of Bahrain by the year-end.
Saran B. Paramsivam, Regional Director MEA, Zoho, on the sidelines of Zoholics Bahrain, the company’s annual user conference, told the Press conference that Zoho’s plans to open it office in Bahrain falls within its strategy and commitment to the countries where it operates.
Saran said that Bahrain’s Zoho business model’s compelling success story is one of the keys to have an office in the Kingdom, seventh across the region, to serve its customer base locally.
“In Bahrain over 28 per cent revenues come from the partners and the year 2024 recorded 28 per of cent growth on year-on-year basis.”
Zoho, a 29-year-old technology company is worth $1billion, not by evaluation, and as privately held company continues to expand its customer base through innovation and software solutions as Zoho currently has 55 plus software solutions serving a broad spectrum of customer base of 121 million, users, globally out of which are 900K are paid customers which projected to touch one million by the year end. Since the company is not listed entity, many figures including R&D were not known, however, Saran did discuss the growth trajectory of the company saying that R&D has been one of the keys for a technology company like Zoho and the company has been reinvesting in these crucial segments to support sustained growth patterns.
He would not comment on budgetary projections for Bahrain office but emphasized Zoho’s commitment to bridging the skill gaps and preparing a generation of local leaders to take on the challenge in 2025 and beyond. He also touched upon the
Apart from opening an office in Bahrain, it also announced the launch of Ulaa, a secure browser for enterprises. Additionally, the company announced the launch of Ulaa Enterprise, the enterprise version of its privacy-focused browser, in Bahrain—aimed at helping organisations strengthen their cybersecurity readiness and proactively defend against cyberattacks.
The announcement underscores Zoho’s commitment to contribute to Bahrain’s Vision 2030 goals of economic diversification and innovation-led development.
Over the past year, Zoho has achieved a 28% growth in revenue and a 19% growth in partner revenue in Bahrain, while expanding its local partner network by 22%. 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—tools that are increasingly relied upon by businesses seeking scalability and efficiency.
“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,” added Saran.
“This move reflects our philosophy of transnational localism—bringing global innovation to local communities while respecting and nurturing regional strengths. By hiring locally and establishing a stronger on-ground presence, we aim to contribute to Bahrain’s growing digital ecosystem and support the country’s broader economic diversification goals.”
The new Bahrain office will also offer an opportunity to local talent, reinforcing Zoho’s dedication to investing in Bahraini professionals and supporting the national workforce as part of its‘transnational localism’ strategy.
Amid this regional growth, Zoho also launched Ulaa Enterprise, a secure, enterprise-ready browser designed to meet the evolving cybersecurity needs of modern organisations in Bahrain. With the MENA region witnessing a significant spike in cyberattacks—particularly phishing and browser-based intrusions—Ulaa Enterprise arrives at a critical time for businesses seeking to strengthen their cybersecurity posture. 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 embedded with Zia, Zoho’s AI assistant, which provides AI-driven security and productivity features. ZeroPhish detects phishing risks in real-time before a user clicks. Zia also improves user productivity by intelligently organising tabs based on behaviour, reducing the hassle for multitasking professionals.
“It is uncommon for businesses to consider investing in paid browsers as part of their security strategy. However, with the sharp rise in cyberattacks across the MENA—particularly those stemming from unsafe and unsecured browsing—this mindset is shifting. Ulaa Enterprise was built specifically for organisations that want to strengthen their first line of defence, enhance cybersecurity hygiene, and safeguard both their data and their customers’ trust,” he added.
According to Gartner, 25% of organisations will implement at least one secure enterprise browser (SEB) technology by 2028 to supplement their existing secure remote access and endpoint protection strategies.
Ulaa Enterprise is available immediately to organisations across the Middle East and North Africa.
