The global software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector has become a cornerstone of digital transformation, and Malaysia is emerging as one of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic markets in this space. Valued at USD 1.01 billion in 2024, the country’s SaaS market is projected to more than double to USD 2.36 billion by 2030, growing at a healthy compound annual rate of 18.48%.
Several forces are fuelling this trajectory: government-backed initiatives like MyDIGITAL to accelerate cloud adoption, the agility of Malaysia’s SME sector, and rising demand from industries such as fintech, e-commerce, healthcare, education, and logistics. Beyond cost savings and scalability, businesses are increasingly seeking SaaS platforms that integrate AI, automation, and compliance — capabilities essential for staying competitive in a digital-first economy.
Amid this momentum, Zoho Corporation, a global technology company with a suite of over 60 business applications, is doubling down on Malaysia. The company reported 22% revenue growth in 2024 within the market, reflecting strong adoption of its enterprise-grade solutions. But Zoho isn’t stopping at growth figures — it is making strategic moves to embed itself deeper in the country’s innovation ecosystem while rolling out proprietary AI tools.
Building Malaysia’s Startup Ecosystem
Earlier this year, Zoho partnered with Cradle Fund’s MYStartup platform to launch the Zoho for Startups initiative. This program, introduced at the MYStartup NXT micro-conference in Cyberjaya, provides early-stage companies with software credits, training, and access to Zoho’s business suite. By enabling startups to adopt scalable, cost-effective tools from the outset, the initiative supports both business growth and the broader goal of strengthening Malaysia’s digital economy.
AI as a Business Enabler
At its flagship Zoholics Malaysia 2025 user conference, Zoho turned the spotlight on its latest AI innovations. The headline announcement was Zia LLM, Zoho’s proprietary large language model built entirely in-house using NVIDIA’s AI accelerated computing platform. Unlike generic AI models, Zia LLM has been trained with Zoho’s product ecosystem in mind, tailored for business functions like structured data extraction, code generation, summarisation, and retrieval-augmented generation.
What sets Zia LLM apart is its focus on right-sizing: it comes in three models — 1.3B, 2.6B, and 7B parameters — to balance performance with resource efficiency. More importantly, the solution emphasises data privacy, processing information securely on Zoho servers rather than third-party AI clouds. This approach aligns with growing business and regulatory concerns around data sovereignty.
Complementing this, Zoho introduced Zia Hubs, a new feature within its WorkDrive platform that makes unstructured business data searchable and actionable. Whether documents, videos, or audio files, content can now be unified and contextualised across applications, enhancing collaboration without compromising security.
The Future of CRM
Zoho also expanded its CRM for Everyone platform, embedding deeper AI features to make customer relationship management a cross-departmental tool. With agentic AI-driven report creation, no-code customisation, workflow automation, and visual design capabilities, the CRM has evolved into what Zoho describes as the “central nervous system of modern business.”
A Long-Term Commitment
Gibu Mathew, VP & GM of Zoho APAC
According to Gibu Mathew, VP and GM of Zoho APAC, “Our AI innovations are designed to empower Malaysian businesses with smarter tools for productivity, security, and collaboration.” This perspective reflects Zoho’s strategy: not just offering software, but embedding itself into the workflows of local enterprises and aligning with Malaysia’s digital ambitions.
As Malaysia’s SaaS market matures, AI will become the differentiator between tools that simply digitise processes and those that fundamentally transform business operations. Zoho’s approach—balancing AI innovation with affordability, privacy, and local ecosystem investment—positions it as a player to watch in Malaysia’s digital future.
