Sridhar Vembu is the founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation, established in California in 1996. The company is the parent organization of three prominent brands; Zoho, ManageEngine, and WebNMS – which offer SaaS (Software as a Service) products to businesses worldwide.
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Q. We have heard a lot about AI for the past few months, so what is your say over there?
Sridhar Vembu: You can take ChatGPT as an example, but one thing to keep in mind is that there is still text prediction revision because such tools don’t have a lot of truth or reality. So, they can give you very plausible and clear-sounding texts, but they might not have a connection with reality or truth. This problem has to be solved; these tools have to be augmented with what is true and what is a fact. Those are the types of problems that have to be solved.
For example, these tools do not know the notion of gravity, where objects automatically fall. So, these things have to be taught to these tools. This applies even to mathematics; for example, these tools have problems with adding, subtracting, etc. These things are different from text prediction. All these other things will be brought to AI; that’s how I see the future.
“Leadership commitment is an ongoing requirement for R&D, which cannot be established as a department that is simply created and left unattended.”
Q. How do you suggest for a company at the SME level or corporate level to keep a balance between R&D or innovation and revenue?
Sridhar Vembu: It is good first to have spent a proportional budget already. It’s true for almost most companies because this is what keeps enhancing your offerings. R&D is not some Nobel Prize-winning new research. For example, I could be managing a restaurant where new recipes are considered R&D. How do you create your new recipes? If I find some new formula, my sales could suddenly grow up, but for that, I will be experimenting. I would have one or two people try new things. This could be true in media too; how you present your information better, what kind of visuals are easier to understand, etc. In other words, you are curious, and your mind is constantly learning how to do this better. This is the continuous improvement process of every business having a proportional budget. It is good to allocate. The leadership should also be committed to this. R&D is not some department you set up and forget; the leadership has to be constantly committed to this.
Q. What can you say to a new entrepreneur who starts his journey and listens to this statement, “money is not important”?
Sridhar Vembu: Money is important because otherwise, how do you pay the bills, pay your employees, or invest in products? In the quest for money, however, it is important to keep in mind the idea of not sacrificing any long-term goals we have. In a sense, if I’m worried about the next quarter’s profit result, I may take decisions that harm the long-term commitment of employees, the commitment of customers, etc. That is bad. In other words, we have to keep a balance between making sure we are able to pay our bills and making sure we’re viable, relevant, and vibrant in the long term, so that balance is important.
“Establish trust with the employees in order for them to work together and gain the trust of the customers.”
Q. How do you see the benefits for businesses in light of the relations between the governments of the UAE and India?
Sridhar Vembu: The ties between the two nations are very strong and getting stronger. Hence, the business climate is very good here, particularly for Indians. We also see in the market customers who love doing business with a company like us because we come with a very different mindset. First of all, our technology is world-class and very affordable. We also come with a very humble approach of working with customers, learning from them, and applying those lessons to our software. So, this refreshing approach is also something good to customers; they love it, and that is how this cultural connection is actually fueling our expansion.
Q. Do you have any final message for our readers or advice on how they can grow in their business and personal lives and keep the balance between the two?
Sridhar Vembu: It’s important to keep the long-term focus and make sure you take care of your employees well; offer them a safe, secure work environment and create your team. Earn the employees’ trust so that collectively the employees can go and earn the customer’s trust.
