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<ul><li><keyword id="265415" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zoho" source="Orion">Zoho</keyword> is building on top of the technology it has created over the last 25 years, which has allowed it to launch products faster. s.</li><li>Other companies are acquiring technologies, which is a big issue these days, says Zoho.</li><li>Zoho entered edtech with <keyword id="12636762" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="trainercentral" source="Orion">TrainerCentral</keyword>, which is being pegged as a rival to “Coursera” and “Udemy”.</li><li>The company now has over 50 apps across every major business category — sales, marketing, customer support, accounting and more.</li></ul>Sridhar Vembu-led software-as-a-service (SaaS) company Zoho has launched over ten new products and services in the past eleven months. They promise to not only serve their usual enterprise clients, but also move into new verticals to serve an entirely new set of customers — from teachers to carpenters to small store owners and more. But if you dig beneath the surface, Zoho has got most of its job done already. The company is building on top of the technology and adding features to products it has created over the last 25 years of its existence, which has allowed Zoho to enter new verticals with the speed of light. “Zoho has spent the last two decades building a strong technology stack that extends from the infrastructure layer to the experience layer. All of Zoho's over 50 business applications are built on this stack, along with a common data model, Praval Singh, vice president of marketing and customer experience at Zoho Corp, told Business Insider. He noted that by working on products for almost every business need, Zoho has acquired the skill-set and know-how to work on adjacent areas too. The company started working on an audio-video (AV) framework a decade ago and the same framework is being used for several <keyword id="12343402" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zoho-products" source="Orion">Zoho products</keyword> and offerings. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Product/Service </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">What does it do? </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Base technology </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zoho Meeting </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Video calling facility </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Audio-Visual technology </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">TrainerCentral </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Education infrastructure to enable teachers to teach online </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Audio-Visual technology </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zoho Lens </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Smart remote assistant app, which allows technicians to set up online stores </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Audio-Visual technology </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zoho BackToWork </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Workplace readiness solution </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Low-code platform Zoho Creator </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Zoho’s argument is that it has built its own technology stack and while most other tech startups and businesses have built their offering through acquisition, it is a “growing problem in the industry.” These already-developed audio-visual, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies make it easier for Zoho to build new products and enter newer segments much faster. For example, adding a layer of augmented reality and analytics ⁠to these allow it to offer remote assistance. “The common framework also makes us agile. A new product that we start to work on can immediately use our existing micro-services (such as single sign-on) instead of having to reinvent the wheel,” Singh said, adding that Zoho’s leadership has been with the company for over a decade. The company now has over 50 apps across every major business category — sales, marketing, customer support, accounting and more. The company claims to have 70 million users across 500,000 companies. Singh also mentioned that Zoho’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology such as natural language processing (NPL) gets adopted across products across these different brands of Zoho. Zoho also launched <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/zoho-adds-features-that-can-turn-a-video-call-into-remote-assistance-for-repairing-cars-appliances-and-more/articleshow/87134428.cms">Zoho Commerce in 2019</a> to enable retailers to set up their online shops and provide them with tools to construct websites, accept orders, track inventory and more. This offering will allow 100 product businesses to set up online stores in three weeks. The offering too has similar features like Zoho Lens and TrainerCentral. Zoho’s latest offering is an attempt to take on <keyword id="1017386" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="coursera" source="Orion">Coursera</keyword> and <keyword id="2240844" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="udemy" source="Orion">Udemy</keyword> Zoho entered the online learning space with the launch of its latest business vertical TrainerCentral last week. It offers digital platforms to allow individual teachers, solopreneurs and experts in a particular field to offer training online. TrainerCentral — which will be a sister to Zoho’s other brands ManageEngine, Zoho and Qntrl — offers tools like website builder, business administration console, dedicated learner portal, payments gateway, online conferencing and analytics for the trainers. Aarthi Elizabeth, chief brand evangelist of TrainerCentral at Zoho, told Business Insider that Trainer Central is seen as a rival to “Coursera and Udemy” — which enables individuals and universities to offer their courses online. Coursera and Udemy have an entire catalogue of courses being offered online. Meanwhile, Zoho’s TrainerCentral offers a link to trainers who would like to hold live online sessions or classes with their students or customers. Zoho does not have any content ownership, nor any control on the courses being offered to the customers. It simply rents its software for trainers to train online, at a subscription fee of up to ₹3,000 per month. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Companies </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Market cap, as on December 7 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">User base </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Udemy </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$2.83 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Over 35 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Coursera </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$3.85 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Over 77 million </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: NASDAQ, Media reports The platform has plans to soon integrate with Zoho CRM (customer relationship management) to help trainers engage with leads better and convert customers faster. “Zoho was already in the learning infrastructure space with ShowTime, which was a platform to host live virtual training sessions, webinars and web conferences, therefore already having an established community of trainers and learners, which is an advantage as they do not have to develop a user base from scratch. They are offering this same community a more advanced platform to grow their businesses and to learn better,” investment firm Blacksoil’s founder and chief executive Ankur Bansal told Business Insider. Correction: A previous version of the story has been corrected to reflect Zoho’s point of view. The launch date of Zoho Commerce has been corrected to 2019 and changes have been made to show that TrainerCentral is not just a B2B product. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ril-tata-motors-hcl-tech-and-pnb-among-top-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-december-7/slidelist/88135183.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">RIL, Tata Motors, HCL Tech and PNB among top stocks to watch out for on December 7</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-now-lets-you-turn-on-disappearing-messages-for-all-chats/articleshow/88136344.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">WhatsApp now lets you turn on disappearing messages for all chats — here’s how to enable it</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/how-to-check-star-health-and-allied-insurance-ipo-allotment-online/articleshow/88132939.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Star Health and Allied Insurance IPO — Here is how to check your allotment status, GMP at a discount</a>

Zoho is selling its video calling app in as many ways as possible

<ul><li>India’s central bank will be releasing a paper on digital payment charges soon.</li><li><keyword id="30067" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI" source="Orion">RBI</keyword> is also planning to introduce UPI-based payment products to India’s feature phone users.</li><li>Currently, no UPI player in India makes money out of it.</li></ul>The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will release a discussion paper on charges on digital payments in India, Governor <keyword id="6359111" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shaktikanta-Das" source="Orion">Shaktikanta Das</keyword> revealed as part of the monetary policy announcement on December 8. In order to further boost financial inclusion, RBI will also be introducing a unified payments interface (UPI)-based payment products for feature phones. Notably, UPI is currently the most popular digital payments method in India. Nearly 4.1 billion transactions worth ₹6.68 lakh crore were carried out by UPI in November 2021. RBI will also enhance the transactions limited to ₹5 lakh for UPI payments for RBI's Retail Direct scheme. The previous limit was ₹2 lakh. Das believes that it will help deepen the UPI payment segment and ease the transactions even further. RBI will release a discussion paper on various charges in the payment system which includes cards, wallets and UPI, Das said. One of the long-standing demands of the UPI players in India is the imposition of merchant discount rate (MDR) on these transactions, which will allow the facilitators to make money on it. Currently, any digital payments player — including Paytm, Google Pay and PhonePe — makes no money on UPI-based payments as they are not allowed to charge any commission on it. Although the same players can charge on other non-UPI digital transactions. PhonePe’s Founder and Chief Executive Sameer Nigam, in a press conference held on September 8, had highlighted that currently 85-90% of the firm’s transactions are carried out using UPI that has "zero MDR". PhonePe currently processes over 45% of UPI transactions in India on a monthly basis and is the biggest player in this domain. However, it is still not sure if RBI would take due notice of this matter. Ankit Bhatnagar, Head of Product at Mswipe, said, “At Mswipe, we witnessed this trend too with our merchants seeing an uptick in UPI transactions. Mswipe merchants clocked transactions worth INR 810 crore in September 2021, a significant increase over the year from INR 132 crore in October 2020. RBI’s proposal of introducing UPI-based payment products for feature phones will further boost the acceptance of digital payments and also boost financial inclusion. This will not only benefit users in terms of flexibility and convenience but also ensure to bring more small merchants into the digital economy while also strengthening the payments infrastructure of the country." "Additionally, RBI’s decision on forming a panel to study <keyword id="8261758" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-payments-charges" source="Orion">digital payments charges</keyword> will mitigate the concerns of customers over the reasonability of various charges incurred by them and will bring in more transparency and regulation in the system as a whole,” he added. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/zoho-freshworks-and-top-indian-saas-companies-have-given-500-entrepreneurs-to-the-indian-startup-ecosystem/articleshow/88145310.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Zoho, Freshworks and top Indian SaaS companies have given 500 entrepreneurs to the Indian startup ecosystem</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/humanoid-robot-sophia-is-entering-the-metaverse-with-intelligent-nfts/articleshow/88156738.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Humanoid robot Sophia is entering the metaverse with ‘intelligent’ NFTs</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/here-is-what-to-expect-from-the-rbi-monetary-policy-today/slidelist/88150941.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Six charts explain what the market expects from the RBI’s monetary policy review</a>

These are the likely changes in digital payments as indicated by the RBI governor

<ul><li>The new <keyword id="7567986" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="auto-debit" source="Orion">auto-debit</keyword> guidelines for recurring <keyword id="6359540" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="payments" source="Orion">payments</keyword> kicked in from today, October 1.</li><li>“The current <keyword id="30067" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rbi" source="Orion">RBI</keyword> guidelines place more friction in recurring payment,” said Upekkha’s Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan.</li><li>Industry experts believe that this move will push more SaaS companies to move overseas and chase international clients.</li></ul>The new auto-debit guidelines for<a href="https://businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/what-is-e-mandate-or-upi-autopay-and-how-to-enable-it-for-jio-hotstar-and-others/articleshow/86650600.cms?_ga=2.76036176.459036666.1632714936-227132192.1626769520"> recurring payments</a> kicked in from today, October 1, but the Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry expects this new regulation to have a much deeper impact on their businesses. Before getting into this, it is important to understand what the guidelines really say. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to do away with automatic recurring payments by adding a layer of authentication for transactions. A user will have to manually mandate such transactions every month, dropping the idea of recurring payments altogether. Now where does the <keyword id="11064864" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SaaS-industry" source="Orion">SaaS industry</keyword> come into play? The <keyword id="4360787" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-saas-companies" source="Orion">Indian SaaS companies</keyword> — which are poised to meet a fifth of world’s software demand and pocket a revenue of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/amazon-twitter-hyundai-and-dominos-are-buying-indian-software-fuelling-a-75-billion-dream-chased-by-top-vcs-like-sequoia-and-tiger-global/articleshow/85646116.cms">$75 million in the next four years</a> — are worried that this would lead to default or delayed payments, impacting their revenue. Suresh Sambandam, founder of work management software company Kissflow, in a conversation with Business Insider, explained that any small ticket-size SaaS companies in India — whose payments range between $5 to $500 a month — go through a credit card-enabled payments system that is recurring in nature. The latest step, which adds an additional layer of authentication, is going to introduce default in payments, a lot of paperwork and a lot of human involvement to follow up with customers on past payments. “Earlier it was a smooth transaction and now it's overcomplicated,” he added. Thiyagarajan Maruthavana, partner at Upekkha Value SaaS Accelerator, told Business Insider said, “In the last 15 years, while the global SaaS market grew manifold to $200 billion in revenue, the domestic SaaS market failed to take off due to lack of easy collection of recurring payments. Many global SaaS startups and corporations have dialled back their India market plans in the last 5 years due to this issue.” “The current RBI guidelines place more friction in recurring payment,” he further added. Both Sambandam and Thiyagarajan reiterated that this move will push more SaaS companies to go after international clients as well as headquarters. “However it does not impact the SaaS industry from India as these Indian SaaS companies had already moved away from serving the domestic market to the global market. The guidelines impact only a handful of SaaS businesses that focus on Indian customers. These companies will now be forced to move their geography focus elsewhere,” Thiyagarajan said. Ankur Bansal, co-founder of BlackSoil Capital, in a previous conversation with Business Insider, had highlighted that SaaS business margins are really high and they are even higher from customers based out of the US or Europe. This is why most SaaS companies — such as Zoho, Freshworks, Postman, MindTickle and others — usually go after clients in international markets. This, in turn, also increases their valuation in the eyes of the investors significantly. These companies, along with many others, do have a portion of their customers coming in from India as well, which is going to get impacted now. The latest move will leave Indian SaaS companies with little reason to actually operate in India. What do other experts have to say? <div type="image" title="India’s new guidelines on recurring payments sends SaaS industry in a turmoil" msid="86679002" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Anand Jain, cofounder and chief strategy officer at CleverTap&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> “Recurring services don’t need the friction of executing the payment on a recurring basis — that friction makes business, especially SaaS business, tougher… The requirement for banks to provide at least 24 hour notice before a recurring payment is executed also ensures that unnecessary payments or buyers’ guilt are reduced. The only challenge I see is that this will need better help and training by financial institutions for their end users in setup. But India is getting much more savvy with these things.” — Monish Darda, cofounder and chief technology officer at Icertis, said. “These are a matter of habit, for instance, when RBI made 2FA [two-factor authentication] mandatory, we all thought that it would dent online transaction volumes. While there was some inconvenience felt initially, digital transactions (one-time password et al) have grown manifold in recent times and are set to continue to grow. In fact, the safety net provided by these checks and balances will only bring new users to the fold. Having said that, this will [be an] inconvenience [to] merchants and customers both for pre-existing debit mandates, since the card issuers will have to revalidate the mandates now.” — Shishir Mankad, managing partner and head of financial services at management consulting firm, Praxis Global Alliance said. 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New guidelines on recurring payments may send SaaS companies out of India, say experts

<ul><li><keyword id="4621694" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks" source="Orion">Freshworks</keyword> made its debut in the US-based Nasdaq on September 22 and it is the first Indian SaaS company to do so.</li><li>Freshworks was the first Indian SaaS company to achieve a billion dollar valuation, in 2019.</li><li>The company has now crossed a $10 billion valuation, thanks to its public listing.</li></ul>The Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry had already been growing exponentially since last year, but Freshworks’ public listing at Nasdaq has taken it all to another level. The company, which makes customer engagement software for businesses, was valued at a whopping<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/freshworks-ipo-500-crorepatis-12-billion-market-cap-and-more-that-emerged-from-indias-first-saas-listing-at-nasdaq/articleshow/86445614.cms"> $12.2 billion </a>after it opened 21% above the initial offering price of $36 apiece. Freshworks sold 28.5 million common shares, hitting an intraday high of $48.75 on September 22. Freshworks was founded over a decade ago by <keyword id="2167965" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="girish-mathrubootham" source="Orion">Girish Mathrubootham</keyword> and <keyword id="2167964" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shan-krishnasamy" source="Orion">Shan Krishnasamy</keyword>. Both the co-founders were former employees of Zoho Corp, which too is one of the biggest SaaS companies in India. Both Zoho Corp and Freshworks are rivals and the biggest players in this industry. Here is a glimpse of Freshworks’ journey so far: <table class="redcator-table-advance" style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; box-shadow: none; width: 910.922px; font-family: Merriweather; padding-bottom: 10px !important; background-image: inherit !important; background-position: inherit !important; background-size: inherit !important; background-repeat: inherit !important; background-attachment: inherit !important; background-origin: inherit !important; background-clip: inherit !important;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Year </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Development </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Early 2010 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Girish Mathrubootham decided to start his entrepreneurial journey. Shan Krishnasamy too decided to join this venture as a co-founder. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">October 2010 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Mathrubootham and Krishnasamy resigned from Zoho Corp. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">December 2010 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks, then known as Freshdesk, incorporated in the USA due to lack of recurring payment solutions in India. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">March 2011 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Created a team of six people — three developers, one UI/UX designer, one customer acquisition/support engineer and Mathrubootham himself as product manager and CEO. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">December 2011 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Raised $1 million in a funding* round led by Accel. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">August 2015 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Acquired co-browsing and live video chat provider 1CLICK.io. This was Freshdesk’s first acquisition. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">August 2015 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The company crossed 50,000 customers. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">June 2017 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshdesk rebranded to Freshworks. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">June 2017 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The platform was used by 100,000 companies in 145 countries. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">December 2018 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks turned unicorn, after raising $100 million at a valuation of more than a billion dollars. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">November 2019 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks valued at $3.5 billion, after raising $150 million. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">November 2019 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">It crossed 150,000 customers. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">March 2020 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Zoho Corp filed a lawsuit alleging that Freshworks stole confidential information and built a business out of it. </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">August 2021 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks filed for $100 million IPO in USA </td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">September 2021 </td><td style="padding: 5pt; border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Freshworks made its debut on Nasdaq and its valuation touched $12 billion. </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>*Freshworks has raised one funding round every year since 2011. There was a year-long break in 2017, when the SaaS firm did not raise any capital. Freshworks and Zoho’s rivalry took a serious turn in 2020, when Zoho filed a lawsuit <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/zoho-says-freshworks-intentionally-accessed-database-in-new-us-lawsuit/articleshow/79413070.cms">alleging</a> that Freshworks stole confidential information and built a business out of it. Vembu-led company has also accused Freshworks of poaching its employees and customers. The battle is still ongoing. According to a report by investment firm Chiratae Ventures and consulting firm Zinnov last month, the Indian SaaS segment has the potential to clock a total turnover of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/india-software-service-sector-needs-more-than-200000-employees-by-2025/articleshow/84632003.cms">$75 billion</a> by 2025. Companies like Zoho, Freshworks, and others are expected to be at the forefront of it. Freshworks was the first Indian SaaS company to achieve a billion dollar valuation, in 2019. A year later, the company closed another round at a valuation of $3.5 billion. It is backed by some of the prominent investors across the globe — Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Accel, Steadview, CapitalG and more. The company raised another billion dollars through its public issue. It’s valuation also increased over three times to $12.2 billion. The SaaS giant has acquired 13 companies to date including AnswerI1Q, Flint, CanvasFlip, Natero, and Zarget, among others. "I feel like an Indian athlete who has won a gold medal at the Olympics. We are showing the world what a global product company from India can achieve,” Mathrubootham said, in an <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/freshworks-ipo-creates-more-than-500-crorepatis-in-india-with-70-of-them-aged-below-30-7496681.html">interaction </a>with Moneycontrol. He further claimed that the <keyword id="11167545" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshworks-ipo" source="Orion">Freshworks IPO</keyword> has made 500 crorepatis in India, 70 of which are under 30. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/vodafone-idea-and-airtel-need-tariff-hikes-agr-moratorium-might-not-be-enough-say-analysts/articleshow/86285450.cms">Vodafone Idea and Airtel need tariff hikes, AGR moratorium might not be enough, say analysts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtel-vodafone-idea-and-jio-welcome-telecom-relief-package-but-analysts-are-divided-on-whether-it-is-enough/articleshow/86252002.cms">Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Jio welcome telecom relief package, but analysts are divided on whether it is enough</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/airtel-challenges-telecom-departments-demand-of-1400-crore/articleshow/86260516.cms">Airtel challenges telecom department's demand of ₹1,400 crore</a>

The success story of India’s first SaaS company to be listed in Nasdaq

<ul><li>Madras High Court has reportedly allowed the winding down petition filed by <keyword id="48085" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="credit-suisse" source="Orion">Credit Suisse</keyword> AG against the airline for a default of $20 million.</li><li>Due to this, shares of its competitor Interglobe Aviation (<keyword id="6354706" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indigo" source="Orion">Indigo</keyword>) surged nearly 4% on Tuesday.</li><li><keyword id="6358032" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="spicejet" source="Orion">SpiceJet</keyword>’s stock was down 0.2% at ₹68.70.</li></ul>Debt-laden SpiceJet’s woes are not over yet as the Madras High Court has <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/hc-allows-winding-up-plea-against-spicejet-by-credit-suisse-ag/articleshow/88134533.cms">reportedly </a>allowed the winding petition filed by Credit Suisse AG against the airline for a default of $20 million. Further, the court has asked the official liquidator (Credit Suisse) to take over the assets of SpiceJet on the grounds of inability to repay debts by the airline. <div type="image" title="spiceet" height="900" width="1200" msid="88165010" hostid="261"></div> Apparently, Credit Suisse had approached the court to receive the payment on behalf of Switzerland-based <keyword id="1548061" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sr-technics" source="Orion">SR Technics</keyword> from SpiceJet. SR Technics is a maintenance, repair and operations service provider for aircraft, engines and components. Following this, shares of its competitor Interglobe Aviation (Indigo) surged nearly 4% on December 7. <div type="image" title="indigo 2" height="900" width="1200" msid="88164984" hostid="261"></div> SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/zoho-is-selling-its-video-calling-app-in-as-many-ways-as-possible/articleshow/88137006.cms">Zoho is selling its video calling app in as many ways as possible</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/these-are-the-states-with-confirmed-cases-of-omicron-covid-19-strain-in-india/slidelist/88138240.cms">Omicron in India — Maharashtra and Rajasthan have recorded 19 positive cases so far</a>

Indigo stock gains as a plea to shut down SpiceJet has been admitted

<ul><li>The Indian government has warned cab aggregators over rising consumer complaints.</li><li>The government is expected to issue guidelines to remove unfair trade practices.</li><li>The government has also asked aggregators to reveal their algorithm and policies for determining price and cancellation charges.</li></ul>The government has come down heavily on cab aggregators like <keyword id="1042120" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="uber" source="Orion">Uber</keyword> and <keyword id="6354720" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola" source="Orion">Ola</keyword> amid increasing consumer complaints over “unfair trade practices” such as surge pricing, ride cancellation, drivers refusing to turn on the air conditioner and more. According to a <a href="https://zeenews.india.com/auto/indian-govt-directs-ola-uber-to-improve-cab-quality-services-stop-unfair-trade-practice-2462130.html">report</a>, the consumer affairs ministry held a meeting with companies such as Uber, Ola, Rapido, Meru Cabs and Jugnoo and warned the companies of strict action. The main issues under discussion included the surge pricing, frequent cancellation of rides by drivers over trivial issues such as the destination and payment mode, refusal to turn on air conditioners in cabs, different pricing for different users and more. Cab aggregators have announced <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/uber-announces-a-price-hike-of-12-for-cab-rides-in-delhi/articleshow/90793725.cms">price hikes</a> in several cities across the country. One of the reasons announced for the price hike was the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/petrol-and-diesel-prices-hiked-for-the-13th-time-in-15-days/articleshow/90655551.cms">increasing</a> cost of petrol and diesel in the country. Some cab drivers have also been <a href="https://telanganatoday.com/cab-drivers-in-hyderabad-to-charge-extra-for-ac-amid-rising-fuel-prices">refusing</a> to turn on the air conditioner, asking riders to pay an additional amount. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Govt warns about strict action" comment="subhead" text="Govt warns about strict action">Govt warns about strict action</cmsannotation> “We told them (cab aggregators) about the rising consumer complaints against their platforms. We gave them the statistics also. We have asked them to improve their system and redress the consumer complaints otherwise the competent authority will take strict action,” Rohit Kumar Singh, consumer affairs secretary said after the meeting. "The authority is likely to issue an advisory to ensure that unfair trade practices by cab aggregators are not carried on in violation of consumers' rights," said Nidhi Khare, chief commissioner, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA). "The number of complaints is very high and therefore we have called the cab aggregators for an explanation of their policies," Khare said. “We are engaged with the Department of Consumer Affairs and deeply appreciate the feedback provided by them and will continue to provide our inputs. We strive to be the platform of choice for riders and drivers alike and continue to invest in technology and customer support to deliver an excellent experience for them," Nitish Bhushan, Head of Central Operations, Uber India and South Asia said in a statement to Business Insider India "We are committed to continually raising the bar – for ourselves, our industry, and most importantly for the people who use our services," Bhushan added. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Inflated price for old customers" comment="subhead" text="Inflated price for old customers">Inflated price for old customers</cmsannotation> Another issue that has come under the government’s scanner is surge pricing and differential pricing for old and new customers. "It appears that cab aggregators are using algorithms to lure new customers, putting old customers at a disadvantage. This is an unfair practice," Khare added. As per the regulator, cab aggregators are charging a premium to their existing customers and offering discounts to lure new customers. Differential pricing for the same location has been termed as an “unfair practice” by the regulator. Khare has added that aggregators will be called upon to reveal their algorithms and policies that are used to determine prices, cancellation charges and surge prices. The aggregators have also been asked to reveal the steps taken by them to safeguard customer’s personal data on their platforms. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/ubers-ceo-said-hiring-will-be-treated-as-a-privilege-and-inefficient-incentives-will-be-cut/articleshow/91439331.cms">Uber's CEO said hiring will be treated as a 'privilege' and inefficient incentives will be cut</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/how-a-group-of-youtubers-pranked-a-scam-call-centre-in-india-that-earns-18-million-per-year/articleshow/91463331.cms">Here's how a group of YouTubers pranked a scam call centre in India that makes $18 million per year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/top-profitable-startups-in-india-in-2021-22-zerodha-zoho-dream-11-and-firstcry-in-the-list/slidelist/91484233.cms">Top 10 profitable startups in India – from Zerodha to Zoho and Firstcry, here’s the list</a>

Indian government accuses Ola, Uber and other aggregators of inflating cab prices for older customers

<ul><li>Considering no one knows when normalcy will resume, traditional job seekers in rural and urban areas need to adapt to digital processes, highlighted Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho.</li><li>Jayesh Ranjan, IT Secretary of Telangana said that 68% of MSMEs did not have an e-mail id 5 years back, which was disheartening.</li><li>To bring some balance between rural and urban jobs, more economic activity has to happen at the rural level, particularly high paying <keyword id="1077059" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Technology-jobs">technology jobs</keyword> have to be moved to <keyword id="6361659" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rural-Areas">rural areas</keyword>, added Vembu.</li></ul>To push India towards digitisation, while addressing the people on the nation’s 74th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that in the next 1,000 days (i.e. by May 2023), nearly 6.5 lakh Indian villages will be connected with optical fibre to get improved connectivity. But India’s businesses, especially the smaller ones, have still not embraced a connected world. In a recent virtual event organised by Business Insider for small businesses -- <keyword id="4106334" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="msme-exchange">MSME Exchange</keyword> -- Sridhar Vembu, founder of software-as-a-startup (SaaS) firm Zoho shared a relevant example for businesses struggling to move digital. “For a community of singers who perform music in the temples of south India for several functions, singing in temples is their main source of income. They have now witnessed a major decline in [their] regular income. For us, clearly these people can organise online events, but the point is they don’t know how to. To perform music online, audio needs to be properly tuned with softwares and much more. Further, considering we do not know when normalcy will resume, these traditional job seekers need to learn digital processes,” said Vembu. According to a report by World Economic Forum -- Indian Cities in the Post Pandemic World, released on January 7, 2021 -- about 70% of India's gross domestic product (GDP) comes from its cities and around 25-30 people migrate to cities from rural areas every minute. The development model of India in the last 20-30 years has been very urban centric where one has to bring talent out of villages into cities. Vembu feels, in this process, we are overcrowding urban areas and leaving rurals empty which is not good. “So to bring some balance to this situation, more economic activity has to happen at the rural level, particularly high paying technology jobs have to be moved to rural areas. The idea is to create jobs for people who otherwise might have to shift to urban areas,” says Vembu. Jayesh Ranjan, the information technology (IT) secretary of Telangana, highlighted a survey that said 68% of India’s MSMEs did not have an email address five years back, which is very disheartening to hear. He feels that MSMEs can benefit from technology and it is only a matter of mindset holding them back. If unfortunate circumstances like a pandemic come up, dramatic changes can literally happen overnight. He cited an example of how the government and Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) literally converted thousands of kirana (mom and pop) stores into online stores overnight. “They created their website, inventory, payments getaways and so on,” said Ranjan. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/twitter-is-giving-away-140-free-nfts-to-followers-and-theyre-not-available-any-other-way/articleshow/84010546.cms">Twitter is giving away 140 free NFTs to followers — and they’re not available any other way</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/new-technology-is-putting-conventional-jobs-out-of-business-msme-exchange-panelists-highlight-on-how-it-helps-in-the-long-run/articleshow/84013275.cms">New technology is putting conventional jobs out of business -- MSME Exchange panelists highlight on how it helps in the long run</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/swiggy-coo-vivek-sunder-will-be-exiting-the-company-by-october/articleshow/84010468.cms">Swiggy COO Vivek Sunder will be exiting the company by October, CEO Sriharsha Majety may take over</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/vodafone-idea-stocks-tank-after-march-quarter-results/articleshow/84010118.cms">Vodafone Idea shares in deep red as an uncertain future looms</a>

Digitisation push for small businesses could create technology jobs in rural areas, say Business Insider’s MSME Exchange panelists

<ul><li><keyword id="381854" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indiamart" source="Orion">IndiaMart</keyword>’s share price is now above the ₹8,000-mark, compared to ₹1,800 in March 2020.</li><li>The B2B e-commerce company now sits on a market cap of ₹27,483.8 crore ($3.7 billion).</li><li>IndiaMart competes with Tencent-backed Udaan and publicly listed company Just Dial, which was recently acquired by Reliance Industries.</li></ul>If you invested ₹25,000 in <keyword id="5802502" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indiamart-intermesh" source="Orion">IndiaMart InterMesh</keyword> Limited last year in March, your shares would now be worth over ₹1,21,000. It wasn’t a long time ago that IndiaMart’s shares were valued at ₹1,846 (March 27, 2020), right after India stepped into the pandemic-induced lockdown. Along with these restrictions came massive supply chain disruption that left Indian industry — from manufacturing to healthcare — in a void. IndiaMart has been gaining from it since then. A business model that allows buyers and sellers to interact and cash in on their product needs — without physical contact — has allowed IndiaMart to garner the interest of more customers and get confidence of retail investors amidst the pandemic. IndiaMart currently competes with Tencent-backed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/indian-b2b-e-commerce-startup-udaan-raises-280-million-valuation-jumps-to-over-3-billion/articleshow/80132753.cms">Udaan</a> (valued at $3 billion) and publicly listed company Just Dial (market cap of $845 million), which was recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-retail-to-buy-majority-stake-in-justdial-vss-mani-to-continue-as-md-and-ceo/articleshow/84477000.cms">acquired </a>by Reliance Industries. IndiaMart’s share prices were above ₹8,900 as of September 8, 2021. The company’s share prices have increased 24% in the last month, from ₹7,236 on August 9. It now sits on a market capitalisation of ₹27,483.8 crore ($3.7 billion). <div type="image" title="Indiamart share price has gone up nearly five times in last 18 months and the record profit is only a part of what’s driving it" msid="86058098" hostid="261"></div> Jyoti Roy, equities strategist at Angel Broking, told Business Insider India that COVID-19 has shifted B2B commerce trends, from offline to online, and IndiaMart is strategically positioned to cater to such trends. Structural changes have happened in terms of supply and demand, and how these needs are met, he added. As COVID-19 has forced micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) into the digital arena, all companies that enable such transformation have benefited from it. In general, any newage business — like Affle India or Route Mobile — that lays more stress on digital or digitisation have benefited in the last one year, Roy added. Deven R Choksey, managing director of KR Choksey Investment Managers, noted, “everyone wants to make investments in these kinds of businesses when they are not losing money. In a business-to-customer (B2C) model ecommerce platform loses money.” <div type="image" title="Indiamart share price has gone up nearly five times in last 18 months and the record profit is only a part of what’s driving it" msid="86058074" hostid="261"></div> Founded in 1996, by Dinesh Agarwal and Brijesh Agrawal, IndiaMart currently enables business and discovery for MSMEs. It helps these small businesses with buyer and seller negotiations as well as quotation and invoicing of products. The company has been planning to expand further into the commerce side of the business, with payments, logistics/tracking and transactional financing. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Key points to note about IndiaMart’s performance in April to June quarter of FY22 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">IndiaMart reported a revenue of ₹210 crore, with a new profit of ₹91 crore. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">The company had 66 lakh suppliers on its platform. Its traffic grew to 248 million (24.8 crore). </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">It witnessed organic growth and did not incur any advertising spends. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">The company had 146,000 paid suppliers. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Average revenue per user (ARPU) increased to ₹49,700. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">It reported a revenue of ₹750 crore in FY2021. </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: IndiaMart’s financial report, Motilal Oswal “Apart from collections and revenue growth, IndiaMART has shown higher resilience on the margin front. While we concur that margins at current levels are unsustainable, it would see positive benefits from cost optimisation and operating leverage in the long term,” Motilal Oswal said in a <a href="https://www.motilaloswal.com/site/rreports/637628892983928419.pdf">report </a>published in July 2021. More small businesses are going digital, placing orders and finding new customers online. The company has over 70% market share in the underlying industry, the report noted. What’s better, the buyers and sellers on IndiaMart are less sensitive to pricing by the platform, according to Motilal Oswal, allowing the company to steadily increase its average revenue per user. ALSO WATCH: IndiaMart’s founder Dinesh Agarwal explaining the recent trends in e-commerce <div type="Video" msid="86061546" hostid="261" title="IndiaMart’s founder Dinesh Agarwal explaining the recent trends in e-commerce" dataSource="BUSINESSINSIDER" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=86061546"></div> Motilal Oswal, in the report published before Reliance’s acquisition of Justdial, added, “IndiaMART would continue to work on gaining buyer and supplier traction to emerge as the market leader in this space.” Meanwhile, Roy of Angel Broking said that B2B e-commerce is still at an nascent stage but there is a lot of growth potential for each company over the next three-five years. Therefore, it’s too early to comment on competition at the moment. He also noted that the new age digital businesses have the potential to be valued much higher than the traditional information technology (IT) business that enjoys supremacy today. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-policybazaar-investor-info-edge-invested-in-nearly-2-startups-every-month-in-2021/articleshow/86028438.cms">Zomato, PolicyBazaar investor Info Edge invested in nearly 2 startups every month in 2021</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/byjus-bags-another-150-million-to-fund-its-acquisition-spree/articleshow/86027937.cms">Byju’s bags another $150 million to fund its acquisition spree</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zoho-corp-invests-5-million-in-medical-devices-startup-voxelgrids/articleshow/86000656.cms">Zoho Corp invests $5 million in medical devices startup Voxelgrids</a>

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