Japan's NTT Communications (NTT Com) unveiled their first foray into Cloud through a concept called "Setten" in Japan starting with a suite of applications for businesses. We are very excited to announce that some of Zoho's Applications are included as part of NTT Com's offerings.

NTT Communications is one of the largest telecommunications company in Japan and they are unveiling their cloud concept 'Setten' offering virtual office environment with a suite of online applications. To start with, the offering will include

In one of my previous posts, I talked about integration between different Zoho Apps expanding on the following integrations.

• Sheet integration with CRM
• Writer & Sheet integration in Zoho Projects
• Meeting & Chat integration in Zoho Show
• Creator Integration in People
• Projects integration in Invoice
• Writer, Sheet & Show integration in Notebook
• Writer, Sheet & Show integration into Wiki
• Chat integration in Writer, Sheet, Show, Notebook, Meeting etc

Here in this post, let us look at some of the integrations we have added since then. Here we go...

Writer, Sheet & Show integration in Zoho Docs

When we introduced Zoho Docs, we not only aggregated all your documents from Zoho Writer, Sheet & Show, we also added the ability to open these documents right within Zoho Docs. With Writer, Sheet & Show integration in Zoho Docs, we let you open documents as a tab in view-only mode within the Zoho Docs application. You always have an option to 'Edit' these files which launches the appropriate Zoho application in a new window.



Zoho Mail Integration in Docs and Vice Versa

In Zoho Mail, we added an option to attach documents directly from Zoho Docs. This is a simpler way to send documents created in Zoho. Similarly, if you are in Zoho Docs, we integrated Zoho Mail to email your documents. Additional information about this integration is available here.




Zoho Chat Integration with Mail, Docs, People & Business

When I previously talked about Zoho Chat integration, we had Zoho Chat integrated with Writer, Sheet, Show, Notebook & Meeting. We now extended this integration to Mail, Docs, People & Business. This means you'll see the consistent chat bar at the bottom across all Zoho Apps allowing you to chat with members in your buddy list. With Zoho Chat supporting multiple IM Networks, you can now seamless chat with your buddies from other IM Networks no matter which Zoho Application you are in.



Zoho Meeting Integration in Zoho Chat

I previously talked about Zoho Chat integration with Zoho Meeting. This time, the integration is the other way around. We integrated Zoho Meeting in Chat. This means, while chatting with other users in Zoho Chat, if you have a need to share your desktop with other users, you can do so with a single click. As Zoho Chat is integrated with multiple IM Networks (Yahoo, Google, MSN, AIM, ICQ & Jabber), you can share your desktop with users from any  IM networks.




Zoho Meeting Integration in Zoho CRM

Zoho Meeting is contextually integrated into Zoho CRM. When you search for a contact in Zoho CRM, you'll see an option on the right to start a quick one-on-one meeting with that user with just a click. As Zoho Meeting is free for one-on-one meetings, you need not be a paid Zoho Meeting user to try this functionality.



These are some of the new integrations between Zoho Apps. We have few others which I'll expand in a future post. We also have some interesting integrations coming. Stay tuned.

If you are a regular Zoho Mail user, you probably noticed frequent improvements to the app. Our Mail team keeps pushing some goodies which we don't talk regularly in this blog, but the latest update very much needs mention as it adds some great features.

Drag and Drop your Emails

You can now drag and drop your emails in Zoho Mail. As you know, we support both folders and labels in Zoho Mail. No matter what you use, you'll now be able to effortlessly organize your emails.

To move your emails to a folder (or sub-folder), just drag your email to the folders on the left. When you drag and email, a green background color indicates that you can successfully move the email to the folder. A Red background color indicates that the email cannot be moved to the folder. This drag-n-drop functionality is similar to what we offer in Zoho Docs.





While this functionality works for Folders, the way Labels behaves is different as you can assign multiple labels to an email. To do that, you need to drag and drop your email to the label. If you need multiple labels assigned to your email, just drag and drop your email on top of t the labels.

To drag and drop multiple emails, just select the emails and move them across to either folders or labels.

Open Attachments in a Tab

Zoho Mail had the option to open your email attachments with respective Zoho applications - Writer, Sheet and Show. Previously, the attachments were opened in a new browser tab. With this update, we open email attachments as a tab within Zoho Mail. This way you can switch between your emails and attachments without leaving the application.





We previously used tabs to open documents in Zoho Docs. Now, you'll notice this consistent behavior while opening attachments in Zoho Mail.

Compose Window Enhancements

There were several improvements in the Compose window. When you compose a mail now, you'll notice that it opens in a new tab within Mail (similar to attachments). An option is available to pop it out in a new window.






You'll also notice few changes in the Compose WYSIWYG editor with fine-tuned buttons. We also added new options to insert tables, inline images and smileys.

Chrome Support

Zoho Mail now supports Google Chrome browser. With this update, we now officially support Firefox, IE and Chrome. We do have plans to support Safari moving forward.

Other Changes...

Apart from many minor bug fixes, this version of Zoho Mail gets other enhancements like the 'Edit as New' option in Mail view. We'll leave it to you to explore other features.

As always, we are looking forward to your feedback.

Over the past year or two we have had some initiatives on mobile capabilities for selected Zoho applications. With Zoho Mobile, we are aggregating all our previous initiatives with consistent user interface and extending it to multiple applications and mobile platforms.

Zoho Mobile can be accessed from your favorite smart phone @ http://mobile.zoho.com (or http://m.zoho.com to keep it short). In the current version of Zoho Mobile, the following applications are available.

• Zoho Mail
• Zoho Calendar
• Zoho Writer
• Zoho Sheet
• Zoho Show
• Zoho Creator

These browser-based applications come with a consistent user interface across multiple mobile platforms. We currently support the following mobile platforms.

• iPhone
• Android
• BlackBerry
• Windows Mobile &
  
• Symbian (S60 Platform)
  

We certainly plan to expand the coverage to other platforms like Palm moving forward. Also, the applications we support on these platforms will be expanded further as some of our Business applications make their way into Zoho Mobile. We also have plans to offer some native applications for selected platforms under Zoho Mobile.



Zoho Mobile is also localized to Japanese. We plan to make this available in additional languages soon.

Do give Zoho Mobile a try from your mobile phone and let us know your feedback.

Zoho Gadgets launches today with the aim to connect Zoho applications with external applications. Zoho Gadgets, available at http://gadgets.zoho.com, can be integrated/embedded with online applications like iGoogle, Facebook, Orkut, Gmail & more. To start with, we are offering six Zoho gadgets.

• Zoho Docs (Including Writer, Sheet & Show)
• Zoho Mail
• Zoho Calendar
• Zoho Tasks
• Zoho Contacts and
  
• Zoho Planner
  

All the gadgets are OpenSocial compatible - this means you can now use these gadgets in any OpenSocial compatible social network. We plan to provide gadgets for other Zoho Applications moving forward.

These gadgets can be embedded individually in any websites or can be added to iGoogle or any personal dashboard.

Gadgets for iGoogle
You can now add all Zoho Gadgets to your start page. To add Zoho Gadgets to iGoogle, just click on the iGoogle link in Gadgets page and add these gadgets for them to appear in your iGoogle page.

These gadgets support oAuth when plugged into iGoogle or Gmail. This means, Zoho Gadgets can be accessed without entering Zoho Credentials inside iGoogle/Gmail. Also, as you know, we do let you login to Zoho with your Google credentials. This means, we automatically show your Zoho contents if you use this option to login to Zoho.

Gadgets for Facebook & Orkut
Gadgets can be added to Facebook by clicking on the Facebook icon in the Gadgets page and bookmarking the gadget. Your gadgets will be visible from the Applications bar at the bottom in Facebook.


As you may know, we have Zoho App for Facebook as well.

Similar to Facebook, these gadgets can also be added to Orkut. Clicking on the Orkut link in Gadgets page will redirect you to Orkut page where you have an option to add the application to your profile.


Gadgets in Gmail
We have many users using Gmail for email and Zoho for Documents. If you are one of those users, you can now view your Zoho Documents within Gmail. To do this, you'll have to enable the Labs feature in Gmail. To do this, go to Settings > Labs Tab > Enable 'Add any gadget by URL' and save the changes.

Now, go to Settings > Gadgets tab and paste the XML URL of the gadget and click 'Add'. This XML URL is available under OpenSocial option in the Gadgets page.




For now, you'll be able to add Zoho Docs, Calendar and Tasks gadgets to Gmail. If you are using Gmail, we figured you won't need Zoho Mail & Zoho Contacts inside Gmail :)



Gadgets for OpenSocial Apps
Zoho Gadgets can be added to any application that is OpenSocial compatible. The OpenSocial option in our Gadgets page provides the link to the XML file needed to integrate the gadget.



Generic Embed
All these gadgets can be embedded anywhere with our standard embed option. Just copy and paste the code in your blog or website for the gadget to be embedded. Of course, this also means you can embed these gadgets in other Zoho Applications like Zoho Notebook, Wiki, Writer, Show etc which support standard HTML embeds.



This is just the beginning for Zoho Gadgets. We have more gadgets to come for our other applications. We also have plans to make these gadgets available in other social networks like Ning moving forward. These gadgets will also make their way to the Desktop component in Zoho Business.

Please do try out these gadgets in social networks and let us know your feedback.

Gmail has just announced a new feature in their labs. According to the Official Gmail Blog,

 Turn on Undo Send in Gmail Labs under Settings, and you’ll see a new “Undo” link on every sent mail confirmation. Click “Undo,” and we’ll grab the message before it’s sent and take you right back to compose.

This feature can't pull back an email that's already gone; it just holds your message for five seconds so you have a chance to hit the panic button.

TechCrunch reported this new Gmail feature and many of the commenters there seem to find the new feature limiting. Like Chris who says,

 Why not have it so I can set a delay between when I hit send on a message and when it actually sends? If you are an impulsive emailer, you could add in a 30 second or 1 minute delay or even a 24 hour delay if you are so inclined…

For such impulsive mailers, Zoho Mail has had this feature for quite sometime now. Setting this option is quite simple. Login to your Zoho Mail account, click on Settings, enable the Outbox option, set your Send email after preferred value and click on the Save button to save your new settings.


Once the above configuration is done, all mails that you send sit in the Outbox folder for the time you have set.


You can click on the mail to edit it and resend again. Delete the mail if it is not needed or choose the Send Immediately option if you want to override the settings in your Outbox. Try the Outbox feature in Zoho Mail and let us know your feedback.

Related Posts

We mentioned earlier that 2009 will be year of integration between Zoho Applications. We recently rolled out updates to Zoho Docs and Zoho Mail Applications integrating the two.


Zoho Docs integration into Zoho Mail

Next time you compose an email in Zoho Mail, you'll notice a new option 'Attach from Docs' in the compose window. This new feature lets you attach documents from Zoho Docs. The Zoho Docs dialog provides different options to choose the documents you want to attach - from your folder structure, Recent Documents or by file type.




Zoho Mail Integration to Zoho Docs

Zoho Docs integration into Zoho Mail is useful when you are in Zoho Mail and want to attach a document. But what if you are in Zoho Docs and want to email a document? You shouldn't have to go to email application to attach a document, right? For this reason, we integrated Zoho Mail in Zoho Docs as well.

If you want to email a document from Zoho Docs, just click the Email icon beside the document name and it'll launch the compose window from Zoho Mail with the document automatically attached. As the compose window is coming from Zoho Mail, all the features are available inside Docs, including the address book.

If you want to email multiple files, select multiple files in Zoho Docs, right click and choose the 'Send Mail' option.





Apart from this, as you may know, you can open attachments in Zoho Mail with Zoho Writer/Sheet/Show.

Contextual integration is the theme we are focusing on as we integrate our applications. I'll expand more on this in a separate post. We hope you'll find this integration useful. Please do let us know your feedback.

During the weekend, one of the passionate users of Zoho Mail, Ben (@benbosmans) created few custom themes for our Mail App using the Stylish Firefox Add-on. There is an interesting discussion going on in our Forums that talks about this.

If you prefer a different color scheme to the Zoho Mail app, the Stylist Add-On to your Firefox and the themes pre-created by our users can help you. If you are adventurous, you can create your own theme to the app and post it for others to use.

Ben created two themes - Clouds & Jungle Green - for Zoho Mail App which I found pretty good. I started using the cloud theme.





Using these themes is very straight forward. You need to install the Stylish Add-on for your Firefox, restart your browser, go to the theme page and click on 'Load into Stylish' button. This will launch a window that lets you preview or save the theme. Thats it. You should be all set. Next time you visit Zoho Mail, you'll see the new theme.

Additional information is in our forums.

Thank you for your initiative Ben. I am sure some of our users will appreciate this.

The comment thread in a recent post by Zoli Erdos @ Cloud Ave has a discussion on how to sync Gmail with Zoho Mail. Let's see how to do it as this is a question in the minds of almost all Gmail to Zoho Mail converts, and it may bring peace of mind to Gmail users.

The first way is easy. Configuring your Gmail account to forward a copy of all emails you receive there to your Zoho Mail account. For this, login to your Gmail account, click on Settings -> Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, choose Forward a copy of incoming mail to and give your Zoho Mail address. Click on the Save Changes button. You should start receiving a copy of all mails to your Gmail account in Zoho Mail now.



You can have a filter made in your Zoho Mail account to receive all mails to your Gmail account in a separate folder. And add your Gmail address as a Sender email address option.


Now to the more thorough way of doing this is to configure POP access so that you can get all your past Gmail entries backed up in Zoho Mail. Login to your Zoho Mail account, click on Settings -> Mail Accounts -> Add Mail Account and give your Gmail account details. Click on Save.


Clicking on the Back to Mail button, you should now see your Gmail account listed at the top-left.


Zoho Mail will start fetching a copy of all your mails in the Gmail account from the past. But this isn't perfect still as all mails including those you sent will be fetched in the Inbox folder by default. To set this right, create a filter in Zoho Mail with the condition, if Sender is your GMail address, Move to folder Sent.


That's it, your Gmail and Zoho Mail accounts are now in sync. Hope you found the tip useful.

Related Posts

• Improved Conversation View in Zoho Mail
• How-To : Setting Vacation/Auto Reply in Zoho Mail
• How-To : Add your Business Signature in Zoho Mail