India-headquartered SaaS firm Zoho has bucked the trend by building its own infrastructure, rather than relying on cloud hyperscalers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure. According to Rakesh Prabhakar, Zoho’s ANZ lead, this full-stack strategy has allowed the company to retain control over critical areas like cost, pricing, and data sovereignty.
A Custom Solution for a Complex Problem
Most SaaS providers, including industry heavyweights like Salesforce, are beholden to cloud hyperscalers for infrastructure. This can make it difficult to manage costs, as cloud providers often apply arbitrary pricing structures and charge for unused or underutilized resources.
Zoho, however, has taken a different approach. After two decades of development, the company now runs its entire operations on a custom-built infrastructure that’s optimized for performance and efficiency. This allows Zoho to maintain complete control over its costs, which in turn enables more transparent and predictable pricing for its customers.
A Sovereignty Play
Data sovereignty – the practice of maintaining control over sensitive data within a specific geographic region – is becoming increasingly important in the age of cloud computing. With a custom infrastructure, Zoho is able to manage its data in a way that meets local regulations and customer requirements, rather than relying on cloud providers that often store data in multiple locations.
What this means
Zoho’s full-stack strategy may not be the most common approach in SaaS, but it’s one that’s paying dividends for customers and the company alike. By maintaining control over cost, pricing, and data sovereignty, Zoho is able to provide a more transparent and secure experience that’s tailored to the needs of its users.
