Zoho unveils Vani, a visual-first collaboration platform for SMBs

Chennai-headquartered global SaaS firm, Zoho Corporation, on Wednesday, launched Vani, a new division offering an intelligent, visual-first collaboration platform designed to reshape the way small and medium businesses (SMBs) brainstorm, plan, and execute projects.

Vani provides an integrated workspace that brings together whiteboarding, flowcharts, diagrams, mind mapping, and video collaboration on one infinite canvas, moving teams beyond static tools into dynamic, interactive workspaces.

“Even a small increase in ease of collaboration can translate into extraordinary productivity gains for SMBs,” said Karthikeyan Jambulingam, Head of Product for Vani. “The goal is to eliminate app-switching and process complexity, enabling seamless ideation and execution across departments.”

Central to the platform is its Space and Zone model, which gives structure to collaboration. While a Space acts as the overall canvas for a project, Zones function as sub-canvases, allowing teams to work in parallel without interference while keeping visibility of the big picture.
Vani also comes with a library of templates and kits for strategy, design diagrams, social media planning, and more. Mind mapping tools help users connect and organise ideas visually, accelerating the shift from raw concepts to actionable plans.

To boost productivity further, Vani integrates AI-powered features, including instant content generation, auto-creation of structured visuals, and summarisation across entire projects or specific elements. Built-in video meetings allow teams to discuss and align without leaving the canvas, with sessions recorded to enable asynchronous collaboration.

The launch comes amid growing momentum for Zoho, buoyed by government endorsements as India pushes for digital sovereignty. Beyond SaaS, Zoho is also investing in deep-tech—through its Zia LLM and robotics acquisitions—signalling ambitions to build the full technology stack. Against this backdrop, Vani is not just a new product but a step in Zoho’s broader strategy to position itself as a homegrown challenger to global incumbents.