7Million apps
Launched in 2006, Zoho Creator is one of the earliest offerings from Zoho Corporation. While Zoho is popularly known for its wide range of software products that cater to different aspects of business, Zoho Creator is the unique one in the pack, because it enables business users to build customized solutions to tackle everyday business problems. Let's briefly explore the history and evolution of Zoho Creator—a platform that changed the landscape of application development for everyone.
Zoho Creator: Built with a purpose
Zoho Creator has changed and evolved so much since its early days, it’s almost hard to believe how far we’ve come. From a simple web app builder to a feature-rich low-code application development platform (LCAP) that meets the needs of businesses large and small.
However, our vision still remains the same—to provide a platform that simplifies application development and empowers employees at all levels in an organization to easily create powerful applications without the need for extensive training.
It's pretty simple—with Zoho Creator in place, whatever the business need, you can create an app for it
It can be a simple app or an organization-wide solution.
It can open new avenues to transform your business.
It can be something you never knew an app could be: the engine for your business.
15
YearsOur story
As Zoho Creator recently reached its 15-year milestone, we’d like to share our story, our ups and downs, and, of course, a few achievements that we're particularly proud of.
Beginning the journey
Around 2005, we observed the need for simple data-driven applications internally at Zoho, like a room-booking app or an event feedback app. We'd often rely on our developer friends to build these form-based apps. But that got us thinking; regardless of the business you own, you need apps to manage data and everyday processes. That's how Zoho Creator was born—to empower everyone in our organization to create the apps they need with less effort!
Taking the lead
Around that time, software as a service (SaaS) was gaining popularity, and a few new players jumped on the database app-builder bandwagon. However, that didn't stop us from moving forward. Soon, we released Creator 2.0, with a revamped UI and script-based workflow engine powered by Deluge—one of the world's first FaaS offerings. With the intuitive workflow builder in place, we were able to make it even easier for our users to convert complex business logic to functional workflows.
Building momentum
In the coming years, we added several new features to the platform to support our growing, diverse customer base—from multi-billion-dollar conglomerates to small businesses ventures. The latest version of Creator (6.0) gives businesses the opportunity to take their vision one step further, with rebranded native mobile apps. Any app they build on the Creator platform is automatically available on all devices, without investing extra time or money. They can access data, get notifications, and stay up to speed from wherever they are.
Creating a shared vision
As time goes on, products that were once best of breed gradually fade away. But not us. Our secret? The open and transparent environment that Zoho offers, where employees have the freedom to speak their mind, contribute unique ideas, and grow along the way. Building and running a comprehensive platform like Zoho Creator demands relentless effort. However, the commitment of our engineering and product management teams, and all our customer-facing teams, working hand-in-hand, constantly sharing product updates, feedback, and learning has made this possible. This unique work culture has helped create a sense of belonging—where everyone shares the same purpose, values, and goals.
Revolutionizing app development
While businesses are constantly adopting new ways to operate and succeed, we're continually striving to simplify app development and add new capabilities to the platform: features that enable enterprises to innovate faster, improve productivity, and deliver seamless experiences to customers and employees. We recently introduced native AI capabilities as well as a few other low-code functionalities to the platform, to enable businesses to gain deeper insights about their processes and help make proactive decisions based on real-time data.
Accolades and recognition
Despite the remarkably difficult events of the past couple of years, we're happy to share that we've been able to achieve highly coveted recognition in the tech industry.
Strong Performer
Strong Performer in Forrester Wave™: Low-Code Development Platforms For Business Developers, Q4 2021
Leader
Leader in the LCAP Technology Value Matrix 2021, by Nucleus Research
Technology Leader
Technology Leader in SPARK Matrix: Low-Code Application Development platforms 2021, by Quadrant Knowledge solutions
Our community
5,500+
Certified Developers
180+
Countries
280+
Certified Creator Partners
14,000+
Customers
7 million and counting
No of Apps
0.3 Million
2008
0.7 Million
2010
1.5 Million
2013
4 Million
2017
7 Million
2021
Our 2022 release is here
The latest version of Zoho Creator—Creator 6—is ready for launch. It combines the robust power of agile development, business intelligence & analytics, smart integrations, and process automation into one single platform, enabling businesses to deliver end-to-end business solutions efficiently.