KPMG to use over 60 Zoho applications in consulting-led and managed-service engagements for enterprises

The alliance will combine KPMG’s advisory capabilities with Zoho’s cloud applications across advisory, implementation, managed services and reseller models.

KPMG in India plans to use more than 60 cloud-based business applications from Zoho in consulting-led and managed-service engagements as part of a new strategic alliance targeting mid-market and large enterprises in India.

“The alliance brings together KPMG’s advisory-led expertise and Zoho’s scalable cloud solutions as enterprises navigate changing business and technology requirements,” said KPMG in India partner for digital solutions and strategy, Unaise Urfi.

“By bringing together our advisory-led expertise with Zoho’s scalable cloud solutions, the collaboration is intended to help organisations explore a more integrated approach to transformation initiatives,” Urfi said.

She added that the alliance will help enterprises align technology adoption with their broader strategic objectives and allow the two companies to address a wider range of transformation opportunities.

The two companies will work across multiple stages of the transformation lifecycle, from advisory and strategy to implementation and managed services.

The alliance will also follow a multi-model structure covering alliance, managed services and reseller engagements.

This will allow KPMG to bring Zoho’s applications into different types of customer engagements, including consulting-led transformation projects and ongoing service delivery.

The companies will also pursue joint go-to-market opportunities, with plans for co-selling and co-delivery of customer engagements.

KPMG and Zoho will jointly identify potential opportunities and coordinate sales and delivery roles for engagements.

Under the managed services model, Zoho solutions will be used within KPMG-led service delivery models.

The reseller model will allow KPMG to integrate Zoho services into its consulting-led offerings.

The companies will also work on joint marketing through events, co-branded initiatives and industry engagement.

AI, integration and data governance

The alliance will also focus on helping enterprises address fragmented technology environments and disconnected data, which Zoho said can limit the scale of digital and AI initiatives.

Zoho’s director of global partner programme, Bishan Singh, said disparate tools, siloed data and integration challenges are holding businesses back from scaling their digital operations.

“Businesses in India are sitting on enormous potential to scale digitally, but disparate tools, siloed data, and integration hassles hold most of them back,” Singh said.

He said the fragmented digital foundation also limits how far enterprises can scale AI initiatives.

The alliance will combine Zoho’s technology stack with KPMG’s advisory expertise to develop integrated cloud solutions aimed at supporting intelligent automation, collaboration and data-driven decision-making.

Singh also highlighted data protection and residency requirements as enterprises adopt cloud and AI technologies in India.

He said Zoho’s ownership of its technology stack, including the AI layer, will allow enterprises to address privacy, data residency and governance requirements as part of the technology deployment.

KPMG and Zoho also plan to develop industry-specific and use-case-driven solutions based on changing market requirements.

The companies have not disclosed specific customer deployments, industries for the planned solutions or revenue targets under the alliance.