28 Sep 2025
Proud to be part of this journey with @Zoho and Heading the products
@ZohoDirectory - 2023
@ZohoOne - 2017
@ZohoOneAuth - 2015
Zoho SSO - 2006
Zoho Accounts (IAM) - 2005
ManageEngine VoIPManager - 2004
and part of,
AdventNet Web Services (AWS) - 2002
AdventNet WebNMS - 2000
25 Sep 2025
Striking visual of the growth in product range of Zoho and ManageEngine from 2002 to today.
We are the only company in the world that can take on Microsoft in the breadth and depth of the product suite. Our products offer a vastly superior experience to Microsoft, please take a good look!
We are doubling down on R&D in cloud infrastructure, platforms, AI and applications, so you will see even faster innovation from us.
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7 Nov 2023
The dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and took away most of their clients.
At the same time, WebNMS had reached market saturation.
So they had to focus on building a new product.
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7 Nov 2023
Instead of paying themselves, they reinvested every bit of revenue in the development of a new product named WebNMS.
The team took the first salary when their sales reached $1M (in 1998)
Everything seemed to fall in place at the time.
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7 Nov 2023
By the end of 1997, AdventNet crossed $350K in sales.
- They adopted a direct sales model.
- Launched products like WebNMS & MailEnable which had pretty novice features.
- Began selling the software to internet companies in China and Japan.
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8/ Pivot to a new product
WebNMS hit market saturation at $10M. It was time to pivot!
Having learnt how to buildd products & also sell them, they began creating ManageEngine, a tool to manage businesses better.
In 2005, they diversified more to add a wing called Zoho Corp!
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23 Mar 2023
10/ Rejecting VC money
So, they became their own VC:
- WebNMS funded ManageEngine
- ManageEngine funded ZohoCorp
This is the ultimate freedom for any company :)
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23 Mar 2023
8/ Pivot to a new product
WebNMS hit market saturation at $10M. It was time to pivot!
Having learnt how to buildd products & also sell them, they began creating ManageEngine, a tool to manage businesses better.
In 2005, they diversified more to add a wing called Zoho Corp!
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23 Mar 2023
5/ Early growth
Soon, from $350K in 1997, Zoho grew to:
1998: Crossed $1M in revenue
2000: Reached $10M & Vembu became CEO
They focused on their IoT platform, WebNMS with teams in the US (Sales) & India (R&D).
The real growth began! 🚀
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12 Jan 2023
In 2009, Sridhar renamed Advent to Zoho Corp and divided the company into 3 domains:
• WebNMS: IoT platform that provides cloud solutions.
• Manage Engine: Offers Enterprise Management tools.
• Zoho: 50 productivity tools for sales, marketing, collaboration, & more.
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22 Oct 2022
6/18
Two years later in 1996, he kickstarted his own venture, AdventNet with Tony Thomas, who is also an IIT Madras graduate and was an old friend of Sridhar. AdventNet’s first product, WebNMS, was quickly lapped up by network leaders such as Cisco.
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22 Sep 2022
Zoho - Products
Zoho.com - This division offers products related to Online business.
ManageEngine - Offers Enterprise Management tools.
WebNMS - is the IoT software division of Zoho Corporation.
Zoho CRM - helps companies manage their deals, marketing, and client
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But, Vembu was adamant.
He declared that he was essentially married to Zoho and was not going to hand in the reigns or pursue an exit.
He ditched the offer and decided to become their own VC!
So,
1. WebNMS funded ManageEngine
2. ManageEngine funded ZohoCorp
and, so on!
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But, after a 7-year run, AdventNet stumbled on a new problem.
The WebNMS product had reached market saturation at $10M. So, they had to pivot.
But things were different this time. Now, they knew how to:
- buildd products
- get customers
- and most importantly, SELL!
(contd.)
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Soon after, at the end of 1997, the company crossed $350K in sales.
But, they didn't pay themselves yet! They put all the money back into the company to develop their IoT platform, WebNMS.
The 2 ventures were still working miles away.
US => Sales team
India => R&D
(contd.)
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30 Nov 2021
24)Over a period of time, Zoho Corporation diversified its services and evolved into three divisions. They were Zoho .com, WebNMS, and Manage Engine.
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23 Apr 2021
. @Zoho Corporation, the parent company of leading technology brands such as ManageEngine, WebNMS, and Zoho.com announced today the launch of a new business division, Qntrl. @danielnewmanUV shared his insights. bit.ly/3e30jWK #Qntrl #Automation
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23 Apr 2021
Founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas, Zoho Corp is the software company that is based in California and is behind three great brands: Zoho, ManageEngine and WebNMS, who collectively offer SaaS products to companies across the globe.
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13 Apr 2021
Zoho launches Qntrl #ZOHO #Qntrl #ZohoCorporation #EnterpriseServices #WorkflowSolution #Slack #ManageEngine #Microsoft #WebNMS #BusinessDivision telecom.economictimes.indiat…
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