News

Zoho Expands Qatar Operations & Releases New Survey Data

The productivity platform has seen strong regional growth and increased demand for its cloud-based solutions.

Published

2 years ago

September 11, 2024

zoho expands qatar operations and releases new survey data

Productivity and collaboration platform Zoho has announced the opening of its first office in Doha, Qatar, following significant regional growth. The company experienced a 29% increase in revenue while expanding its partner network by 50% in 2023.

Zoho’s remarkable growth in Qatar underscores the rising demand for its cloud-based business applications. The firm’s new office and strategic expansion should enable it to offer more tailored services while strengthening customer relationships.

Hyther Nizam, President of Zoho for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) stated: “We are excited about our continued success in Qatar […] The dynamic business landscape and progressive approach to digital transformation provide an ideal environment for our expansion. We are committed to supporting the country’s journey towards digitalization by offering cutting-edge solutions that cater to the evolving needs of businesses and contribute to national economic growth”.

Productivity & Collaboration Trends In Qatar

The announcement of a new local office was accompanied by news of a Zoho productivity and collaboration survey that revealed important insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by businesses in Qatar, as well as local productivity and collaboration trends.

zoho infographic on collaboration and productivity

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Here are some of the key findings:

Despite the shift towards hybrid and remote work post-pandemic, 60% of Qatari businesses have fully returned to on-site work, while 32% have adopted a hybrid model. Only 8% of respondents work fully remotely.
The use of digital tools was widespread, with 51% of respondents using 1-5 apps daily, 31% using 5-10, and 18% using more than 10 apps.
Unified task tracking was shown to save time, with 76% of those using it reporting savings of up to three hours. However, 77% of those manually tracking tasks or not tracking at all also noted potential time savings with a unified system.
Access to information remains a challenge, with 25% of respondents reporting limited or no access, and 24% needing occasional help finding information.
The survey highlighted a lag in technology adoption, with 72% of companies reporting no significant changes in the last two years, despite the competitive advantages of AI and automated workflows.
Remote workers were more likely to adopt new technology and use a broader range of apps, but they struggled with data access. In contrast, hybrid and on-site workers expressed a greater need for improved collaboration tools and communication.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

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The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.