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Fast Company
07-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
How small businesses can harness AI to win big
These days, running a small business feels a bit like standing in the eye of a digital hurricane. The world is changing fast. Competition is tougher. Customers are savvier. And expectations are sky high. But here's the good news: Artificial intelligence (AI) has finally matured to the point where it's not just for Silicon Valley giants anymore—it's accessible, affordable, and downright essential for small businesses like yours and mine. I've spent the past year diving headfirst into AI, testing tools, automating tasks, and learning how to make smarter decisions with less effort. Let me tell you: the game has changed. If you're not using AI in your small business yet, you're leaving time, money, and opportunity on the table. So, let's talk about the most beneficial AI technologies for small businesses and how you can start using them today. Let's start with the obvious one: customer support. Back in the day, I'd spend hours answering emails, DMs, and support tickets. Now? My AI chatbot handles 80% of it. Tools like Zendesk AI, Intercom, and ChatGPT-powered bots can answer FAQs, process refunds, route requests, book appointments, and even upsell products or services. The best part? Customers get instant responses—24/7—and I get my time back. You no longer need a huge support team to deliver a world-class customer experience. You just need the right AI assistant. Tip: Train your chatbot using your actual FAQs, product descriptions, and tone of voice. The more context you give it, the better it performs. 2. AI FOR CONTENT CREATION AND MARKETING If marketing feels like a full-time job (on top of the one you already have), AI can seriously lighten the load. Tools like Jasper, and ChatGPT can write social media posts, blog articles, email newsletters, product descriptions, and ad copy. I've used AI to brainstorm campaigns, rewrite emails, and even script videos. It doesn't replace your voice—it enhances it. What used to take me hours now takes minutes. Tip: Use AI to generate a first draft, then add your personal touch. It saves time and keeps your content authentic. 3. AI-POWERED ANALYTICS AND FORECASTING Small businesses often operate on gut instinct, but now we have better tools. Platforms like Zoho Analytics, Tableau with AI plugins, and Microsoft Power BI now include predictive analytics powered by machine learning. You can forecast sales, spot trends, and even identify customer churn risks without needing a data science degree. I recently used predictive AI to forecast which products would perform best in Q2 based on seasonal trends and customer behavior. That insight helped me adjust inventory ahead of time and avoid overstocking slow movers. Tip: Start by consistently tracking your data—sales, customer behavior, engagement, etc. Remember: AI is only as smart as the data you give it. 4. AI FOR HIRING AND HR Hiring is tough, especially for small businesses competing with big employers. AI recruiting platforms like Breezy HR, HireVue, and Recruitee can scan resumes for qualifications, rank candidates, automate interview scheduling, and even assess soft skills through video AI. Personally, these tools have saved me weeks of manual review and even helped me find team members who were a better fit long term. Tip: Use AI to screen and streamline, but never fully replace the human touch in hiring. Culture still matters more than keywords. 5. AI-DRIVEN INVENTORY AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT If your business relies on physical products, AI can help you run leaner and smarter. Tools like NetSuite, ShipBob AI, or TradeGecko (now QuickBooks Commerce) can help predict demand, optimize restocking, automate purchase orders, and spot supply chain issues before they become disasters. For my small product line, this has meant better margins, fewer stockouts, and happier customers. Tip: Sync your AI tools with your sales platform (like Shopify or Square) so you can make decisions based on real-time data. 6. AI PERSONALIZATION TOOLS Customers now expect a personalized experience. AI lets you deliver it without hiring a full-time marketing team. Tools like Klaviyo, HubSpot, and Salesforce AI analyze customer behavior and send smart product recommendations, personalized offers, and dynamic email content. This kind of personalization used to be a luxury—now, it's standard. Tip: Set up customer segments and let the AI learn from how people interact with your emails, website, or store. AI ISN'T REPLACING US—IT'S EMPOWERING US I know some people worry that AI is going to take jobs or replace business owners. But here's what I've learned: AI doesn't replace people—it replaces inefficiency. It gives small business owners like us more time to focus on growth, strategy, and service—the things only humans can truly master. If you've been on the fence, now's the time to experiment. Pick one area of your business where you're spending too much time or money. Find an AI tool. Try it. Tweak it. Learn from it. The earlier you adopt, the further ahead you'll be.
TECHx
18-03-2025
- Business
- TECHx
Zoho Unveils Projects Plus to Elevate Project Management in MENA - TECHx Media Zoho Unveils Projects Plus to Elevate Project Management in MENA
Zoho Unveils Projects Plus to Elevate Project Management in MENA Zoho Corp. has introduced Projects Plus, a collaborative project management platform designed to enhance efficiency for mid-sized and large businesses across the MENA region. With seamless integration of Zoho Projects, WorkDrive, Analytics, and Sprints, Projects Plus simplifies workflows, improves file management, enables real-time business intelligence, and supports both Agile and Waterfall project management methodologies. Building on the success of Zoho Projects, which experienced 55% of new users migrating from Microsoft Project and JIRA in 2024, Projects Plus is designed to tackle operational complexities faced by businesses in the MENA region. Zoho Projects remains one of the company's best-selling products in the UAE, achieving 33% annual revenue growth since 2023, with the Middle East and Africa (MEA) emerging as its fastest-growing market globally. The new Projects Plus platform expands Zoho's capabilities in data-driven decision-making, AI-powered automation, hybrid project management, and enhanced collaboration, enabling businesses to optimize performance and achieve better outcomes. Zoho Projects Plus integrates advanced AI and predictive analytics, helping businesses transition from intuition-based decision-making to data-driven project management. By leveraging insights from time tracking, budgeting, task completion, and team performance, the platform provides real-time risk assessment, timeline forecasting, and resource planning to enhance efficiency and minimize project delays. The AI-powered Zia assistant automates data analysis, identifies bottlenecks, improves resource allocation, and optimizes key project management functions, allowing enterprises to streamline operations and maximize productivity. 'Like many of our enterprise solutions, Zoho Projects Plus was developed to deliver supreme value and meet the needs our customers had been demonstrating within our software suite, particularly between Zoho Projects and Zoho Analytics,' says Hyther Nizam, President Middle East and Africa (MEA), Zoho. 'Projects Plus synthesises the latest AI-driven tools, data-first analytics, and privacy-focused protections into software that anticipates the evolving needs of international Enterprise organisations, expanding Zoho's global reach.' With real-time progress tracking, dynamic dashboards, and quality control analytics, Projects Plus replaces outdated project management tools with a comprehensive, AI-driven solution that ensures precision, scalability, and efficiency. The platform seamlessly integrates with Zoho's extensive software suite, as well as third-party tools like Microsoft Office 365, Google Workspace, and other popular collaboration and analytics applications, offering flexibility for businesses looking to enhance project management. Zoho Projects supports Arabic Right-to-Left (RTL) and a full Arabic user interface, making it an ideal solution for industries such as retail, e-commerce, construction, manufacturing, and automotive in the MENA region. By leveraging AI, automation, and data-first analytics, Zoho's Projects Plus is set to revolutionize project management, empowering businesses with smarter decision-making, enhanced collaboration, and optimized efficiency.
Times of Oman
18-03-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
Zoho launches projects plus a smart, AI-Powered project management solution for enterprises in MENA
Muscat: Zoho Corp., a leading global technology company, has launched Projects Plus, a new, collaborative platform designed to simplify and enhance project management for mid-sized and large businesses across the MENA region. With native integration tools like Zoho Projects, WorkDrive, Analytics, and Sprints, Projects Plus streamlines project workflows, file management, real-time business intelligence, and flexible collaboration, supporting both flexible 'Agile' and structured 'Waterfall' project management methodologies. Building on the success of Zoho Projects, which saw rapid growth in 2024 with 55% of new users migrating from tools like Microsoft Project and JIRA, Projects Plus addresses the operational complexities faced by organisations in the MENA region. Zoho Projects is one of the company's top-selling products in Oman with an annual revenue increase of 125% since 2023 and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is the product's fastest-growing market globally. Projects Plus, now a platform, expands across four key areas: data democratisation, AI, hybrid project management, and collaborative work management. "Like many of our enterprise solutions, Zoho Projects Plus was developed to deliver supreme value and meet the needs our customers had been demonstrating within our software suite, particularly between Zoho Projects and Zoho Analytics," says Hyther Nizam, President Middle East and Africa (MEA), Zoho. "Projects Plus synthesises the latest AI-driven tools, data-first analytics, and privacy-focused protections into software that anticipates the evolving needs of international Enterprise organisations, expanding Zoho's global reach." Zoho's Projects Plus platform takes project management to the next level by embracing data-driven project management, shifting away from intuition-based decision-making to a data and analytics-driven approach. By leveraging data from various aspects like time tracking, budgeting, task completion, and team performance, Projects Plus transforms this information into actionable insights. Key features include predictive analysis to forecast risks, estimate timelines, and plan resources more efficiently. This proactive approach allows businesses to manage project outcomes and mitigate risks before they arise. Additionally, Projects Plus offers real-time progress tracking and bottleneck analysis, replacing traditional static tools with dynamic dashboards that provide up-to-the-minute project status updates. With features like quality control analytics, it ensures that deliverables meet predefined standards throughout the project lifecycle, further enhancing efficiency. The platform's integration with Zoho's AI engine, Zia, adds advanced AI and machine learning capabilities to automate complex data analysis. Zia helps project managers make smarter decisions by offering predictive insights and optimising key aspects of project management. This includes improved efficiency and productivity by identifying bottlenecks, smarter resource allocation by matching skills to tasks, and more accurate forecasting and planning to avoid delays and cost overruns. Projects Plus also seamlessly integrates with Zoho's extensive software suite as well as third-party tools like Microsoft Office 365, Google Workspace, and popular collaboration, analytics, and customer service applications, making it a versatile solution for businesses looking to streamline project management and drive better outcomes. Zoho Projects supports Arabic Right-to-Left (RTL) and offers an Arabic user interface. Projects Plus is designed to meet the needs of industries like retail, e-commerce, construction, manufacturing, and automotive, offering a flexible solution for businesses across various sectors in the MENA region.
Channel Post MEA
17-03-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
Zoho Launches AI-Powered Data-Centric Platform Projects Plus In MENA
Zoho Corp has launched Projects Plus, a new, collaborative platform designed to simplify and enhance project management for mid-sized and large businesses across the MENA region. With native integration tools like Zoho Projects, WorkDrive, Analytics, and Sprints, Projects Plus streamlines project workflows, file management, real-time business intelligence, and flexible collaboration, supporting both flexible 'Agile' and structured 'Waterfall' project management methodologies. Building on the success of Zoho Projects, which saw rapid growth in 2024 with 55% of new users migrating from tools like Microsoft Project and JIRA, Projects Plus addresses the operational complexities faced by organisations in the MENA region. Zoho Projects is one of the company's top-selling products in UAE with an annual revenue increase of 33% since 2023 and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is the product's fastest-growing market globally. Projects Plus, now a platform, expands across four key areas: data democratisation, AI, hybrid project management, and collaborative work management. 'Like many of our enterprise solutions, Zoho Projects Plus was developed to deliver supreme value and meet the needs our customers had been demonstrating within our software suite, particularly between Zoho Projects and Zoho Analytics,' says Hyther Nizam, President Middle East and Africa (MEA), Zoho. 'Projects Plus synthesises the latest AI-driven tools, data-first analytics, and privacy-focused protections into software that anticipates the evolving needs of international Enterprise organisations, expanding Zoho's global reach.' Zoho's Projects Plus platform takes project management to the next level by embracing data-driven project management, shifting away from intuition-based decision-making to a data and analytics-driven approach. By leveraging data from various aspects like time tracking, budgeting, task completion, and team performance, Projects Plus transforms this information into actionable insights. Key features include predictive analysis to forecast risks, estimate timelines, and plan resources more efficiently. This proactive approach allows businesses to manage project outcomes and mitigate risks before they arise. Additionally, Projects Plus offers real-time progress tracking and bottleneck analysis, replacing traditional static tools with dynamic dashboards that provide up-to-the-minute project status updates. With features like quality control analytics, it ensures that deliverables meet predefined standards throughout the project lifecycle, further enhancing efficiency. The platform's integration with Zoho's AI engine, Zia, adds advanced AI and machine learning capabilities to automate complex data analysis. Zia helps project managers make smarter decisions by offering predictive insights and optimising key aspects of project management. This includes improved efficiency and productivity by identifying bottlenecks, smarter resource allocation by matching skills to tasks, and more accurate forecasting and planning to avoid delays and cost overruns. Projects Plus also seamlessly integrates with Zoho's extensive software suite as well as third-party tools like Microsoft Office 365, Google Workspace, and popular collaboration, analytics, and customer service applications, making it a versatile solution for businesses looking to streamline project management and drive better outcomes. Zoho Projects supports Arabic Right-to-Left (RTL) and offers an Arabic user interface. Projects Plus is designed to meet the needs of industries like retail, e-commerce, construction, manufacturing, and automotive, offering a flexible solution for businesses across various sectors in the MENA region. 0 0
Web Release
17-03-2025
- Business
- Web Release
Zoho Launches Projects Plus a Smart, AI-Powered Project Management Solution for Enterprises in MENA
By Editor_wr On Mar 17, 2025 Zoho Corp., a leading global technology company, has launched Projects Plus, a new, collaborative platform designed to simplify and enhance project management for mid-sized and large businesses across the MENA region. With native integration tools like Zoho Projects, WorkDrive, Analytics, and Sprints, Projects Plus streamlines project workflows, file management, real-time business intelligence, and flexible collaboration, supporting both flexible 'Agile' and structured 'Waterfall' project management methodologies. Building on the success of Zoho Projects, which saw rapid growth in 2024 with 55% of new users migrating from tools like Microsoft Project and JIRA, Projects Plus addresses the operational complexities faced by organisations in the MENA region. Zoho Projects is one of the company's top-selling products in UAE with an annual revenue increase of 33% since 2023 and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is the product's fastest-growing market globally. Projects Plus, now a platform, expands across four key areas: data democratisation, AI, hybrid project management, and collaborative work management. 'Like many of our enterprise solutions, Zoho Projects Plus was developed to deliver supreme value and meet the needs our customers had been demonstrating within our software suite, particularly between Zoho Projects and Zoho Analytics,' says Hyther Nizam, President Middle East and Africa (MEA), Zoho. 'Projects Plus synthesises the latest AI-driven tools, data-first analytics, and privacy-focused protections into software that anticipates the evolving needs of international Enterprise organisations, expanding Zoho's global reach.' Zoho's Projects Plus platform takes project management to the next level by embracing data-driven project management, shifting away from intuition-based decision-making to a data and analytics-driven approach. By leveraging data from various aspects like time tracking, budgeting, task completion, and team performance, Projects Plus transforms this information into actionable insights. Key features include predictive analysis to forecast risks, estimate timelines, and plan resources more efficiently. This proactive approach allows businesses to manage project outcomes and mitigate risks before they arise. Additionally, Projects Plus offers real-time progress tracking and bottleneck analysis, replacing traditional static tools with dynamic dashboards that provide up-to-the-minute project status updates. With features like quality control analytics, it ensures that deliverables meet predefined standards throughout the project lifecycle, further enhancing efficiency. The platform's integration with Zoho's AI engine, Zia, adds advanced AI and machine learning capabilities to automate complex data analysis. Zia helps project managers make smarter decisions by offering predictive insights and optimising key aspects of project management. This includes improved efficiency and productivity by identifying bottlenecks, smarter resource allocation by matching skills to tasks, and more accurate forecasting and planning to avoid delays and cost overruns. Projects Plus also seamlessly integrates with Zoho's extensive software suite as well as third-party tools like Microsoft Office 365, Google Workspace, and popular collaboration, analytics, and customer service applications, making it a versatile solution for businesses looking to streamline project management and drive better outcomes. Zoho Projects supports Arabic Right-to-Left (RTL) and offers an Arabic user interface. Projects Plus is designed to meet the needs of industries like retail, e-commerce, construction, manufacturing, and automotive, offering a flexible solution for businesses across various sectors in the MENA region. For more information, visit: Comments are closed.
