Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu on Tuesday accused Salesforce of using steep discounts to win customers from Zoho. He took a dig at its global competitor, after Salesforce ran a campaign offering 40% discount on its flagship products and cloud services.
“We have watched this playbook for years where they give deep discounts to get you in, followed by aggressive escalation once you’re locked in,” he wrote on X.
Vembu urged prospective buyers to seek multi-year pricing commitments from Salesforce before signing contracts. “Before you switch anything, ask them to show you standardised multi-year pricing. If they don't, that's your answer,” he said.
He further described enterprise software pricing practices as “a con-game” by players like Salesforce.
The Zoho executive also took aim at Salesforce’s technology stack, arguing that years of acquisitions have left the company with a fragmented product portfolio. “Salesforce is a garbage bin of acquired enterprise software companies over decades, held together with bubble gum and duct tape,” he wrote.
The remarks mark the latest escalation in the long-running rivalry between Zoho and Salesforce in the customer relationship management (CRM) software market.
Responding to questions about competition from Zoho in an earlier interview with AIM, President & CEO of Salesforce India and South Asia, Arundhati Bhattacharya, said the company continues to rely on innovation to stay ahead. However, she did not directly comment on the pricing.
“We believe that we are always at the market, not behind the market,” Bhattacharya said. She added that customers trust Salesforce because they believe the company will help them keep pace with technological change.
Bhattacharya emphasised that innovation remains a core value for Salesforce, arguing that companies that can innovate at scale and at speed are likely to attract customers.
Founded in 1996, Zoho has increasingly positioned itself as a lower-cost alternative to larger enterprise software providers. The company offers a broad suite of business applications, including CRM software, and remains privately held. Vembu stepped down as Zoho’s CEO in 2025 to focus on research and development as Chief Scientist.
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