KPMG India & Zoho strike digital transformation alliance

KPMG in India and Zoho have formed a strategic alliance to support digital transformation projects for enterprises in India, mainly targeting mid-market and large organisations.

The arrangement combines KPMG in India's consulting and advisory capabilities with Zoho's portfolio of more than 60 cloud-based business applications. The companies plan to work together across strategy, implementation and managed services as businesses update operations and connect business systems.

The alliance comes as Indian businesses face growing pressure to modernise technology estates while meeting tighter expectations around governance, automation and data use. It is intended to provide an integrated option for organisations seeking to replace fragmented software setups with broader cloud-based systems.

Under the structure outlined by the companies, the relationship will cover several commercial models, including alliance work, managed services and reseller arrangements. This is designed to let the firms engage clients in different ways depending on the nature of a project.

Scope of work

Planned areas of collaboration include joint market activity, co-selling and co-delivery of projects, managed services built around Zoho products, and the development of industry-specific offerings. The companies also expect to identify opportunities to integrate Zoho services into consulting-led programmes run by KPMG in India.

The focus on larger organisations reflects a broader shift in the Indian software market, as companies look to consolidate tools, improve interoperability and strengthen controls around operational data. For many businesses, those efforts are also linked to plans to deploy artificial intelligence systems on top of existing enterprise software.

Unaise Urfi, Partner, Digital Solutions and Strategy, KPMG in India, outlined the consulting firm's view of the agreement. "Our alliance with Zoho marks a significant milestone in enhancing collaboration with technology partners, reflecting KPMG in India's focus on supporting clients as they navigate the evolving landscape of business and technology. 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. This collaboration creates an opportunity to support enterprises in aligning technology adoption with their broader strategic objectives. Ultimately, the alliance underscores a commitment to leveraging complementary strengths, with the aim of helping both organizations address a broader range of transformation opportunities for clients," Urfi said.

AI and governance

Zoho framed the partnership around common problems facing companies that have adopted multiple disconnected systems over time. Those issues can make it harder to move data between teams, automate workflows and create a consistent foundation for broader technology programmes.

"Businesses in India are sitting on enormous potential to scale digitally, but disparate tools, siloed data, and integration hassles hold most of them back. This broken digital foundation also limits how far AI initiatives can scale. Our alliance with KPMG in India allows enterprises to leverage Zoho's technology stack together with KPMG in India's advisory expertise to build integrated cloud solutions for elevated experiences, intelligent automation, seamless collaboration, and data-driven decision making," said Bishan Singh, Director, Global Partner Program, Zoho.

Singh also pointed to rising scrutiny over where business data is stored and how it is handled. "Today, with data protection and residency regulations tightening across India, Zoho owning the entire technology stack, including the AI layer built into it, means enterprises won't have to compromise on privacy, data residency, or governance," he said.

The reference to data residency is likely to resonate with larger Indian businesses, particularly in regulated sectors reviewing how cloud software fits with internal compliance requirements. Concerns over privacy and control have become more prominent as companies consider wider use of AI tools and more centralised business platforms.

For KPMG in India, the agreement adds a software partner to its transformation and advisory work at a time when consulting firms are under pressure to offer clients more joined-up delivery models. Rather than limiting projects to strategy advice, many clients now expect consulting groups to help with implementation, service management and vendor coordination.

For Zoho, the alliance offers access to a consulting channel that works with larger enterprises on business process change, systems overhauls and operating model design. The company has built a broad software portfolio spanning finance, human resources, sales, collaboration and operations, and has increasingly targeted organisations looking to standardise systems across departments.

The alliance is intended to address changing business and technology requirements across industries and at different stages of growth. The planned collaboration spans advisory, implementation and support services, with a focus on helping enterprises modernise operations with governance and scalability in mind.