Business Case Studies, Leadership Case Study, Tata Group,Ratan Tata

Code :BSM0046

Year : 2009

Industry : Information Technology and IT Enabled Services

Region : US India

Teaching Note:Available

Structured Assignment :Available

Abstract: This case was primarily written to illustrate how an obscure disruption can threaten to unsettle very well established industry and its players. California-based AdventNet has launched Open Source Software (OSS) – Zoho suite (Zoho), an on-demand online suite of applications. With Web-based services gaining prominence, market giants like Microsoft and Google have also come out with their unique Web-based and Web-enabled applications. While Microsoft has a strong hold on the market for office applications, Zoho is garnering tremendous popularity as it provides users the freedom to work from anywhere in addition to being free from vendor initiatives. Even though Zoho reached large number of users and created a mark in the Web world, will it gain better acceptance and popularity in the presence of such market giants? Can it succeed and pose tough competition considering the fact that it is an OSS and several other small players are entering the market? How can it make enough revenues to sustain its business model?