Zoho Tirunelveli Office: A Rural Retreat for Tech Professionals

Zoho CEO, Sridhar Vembu, stated on September 9 that the company is aggressively opening offices in rural areas, while also announcing the opening of another office in a rural area of Tamil Nadu. The new Zoho office was inaugurated in Tirunelveli, a city in South Tamil Nadu.

Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho, announced this development on September 9, emphasizing the company's commitment to establishing offices in rural regions.  This marks another step in Zoho's initiative to expand its presence in rural areas. 

Tirunelveli Zoho Office:

Tirunelveli, located 623 kilometers from Zoho's Chennai headquarters and with a population of approximately 3.5 million, is now home to one of Zoho’s latest offices.

Unlike the typical glass-paneled skyscrapers found in urban areas, Zoho's new Tirunelveli office is designed in a traditional South Indian architectural style. It was situated away from residential areas and surrounded by green spaces. The Zoho office’s interior features modern comforts like comfortable workstations, recliners, and elegant woodwork.

Tirunelveli Zoho Office Works:

This facility will accommodate coders and engineering managers dedicated to developing data analytics products for global clients. This expansion is in line with Zoho's overall plan to establish ten new offices in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, generating job opportunities for 500 to 1,000 individuals in each location.

Currently, the company has offices in Chennai, Tenkasi, and Renigunta, and is in the process of setting up a new office in Madurai for 1,300 employees, with plans for another office in Uttar Pradesh.

Sridhar Vembu's On Rural Offices:

Sridhar Vembu has embraced this rural initiative personally, having relocated to a village in Tenkasi since the pandemic. He has become a prominent advocate for rural living, often sharing his experiences of walking through fields, visiting local ponds, and commuting via electric rickshaws.

Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu said, “Going for a walk in a village is a divine experience. After tasting this life in a village, it would be very hard for me to move to any major city anywhere now. That is the truth. I can almost say that I am addicted to this rural life,” 

This decision shows Vembu's commitment to rural India extends beyond personal preference, he believes that talent is plenty in small-town India and that relocating offices can help ease congestion in major cities while boosting rural economies.

“We have many smaller satellite offices too and I work out of a small satellite in a remote village. We are taking aggressive steps to direct our growth in Tamil Nadu towards rural offices so we don't further overcrowd Chennai,” 

Vembu aspires to achieve a "meaningful presence everywhere" within the next 20 years. The company's expansion into rural areas reflects a broader trend of tech workers increasingly choosing to work from their hometowns, a shift accelerated by the pandemic.

Zoho:

Zoho established its rural office in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu in 2011 with just 10 employees. Currently, it has around 900 professionals working in a non-urban area.