Other tools allow users to write documents (Writer) and use a spreadsheet (Sheet), which reminds me of Google’s product suite. With so much to choose from, I decided to use the search bar to find what I was interested in. With that, I found Show, which allows you to create, edit, and share presentation slides. I liked the fact that there were add-ons, and the one I liked the most was Pexels images and video. While I could add that art, I chose to import images from another site called Napkin. I was also able to add video from VEED. Although there was that content available for me to include from Pexels, I wanted to test how Show could work with content developed on other sites for inclusion in a presentation.

Zoho Creator

I liked using the Zoho Creator tool in the past and was glad it was still available. It “combines the power of low-code application development and AI that helps you design, develop, and run any business software you need.” I wanted to develop a contract management system and was expecting to work quite hard on it. I decided to take more of a look around Zoho’s site, and I came across Zoho Creator Launchpad, which is an AI-based way to describe your app idea and watch it come to life. I thought it would be nice to provide contract negotiators who are responsible for negotiating content for their library with an on-the-go way to access important information quickly and easily, but I wanted to see what Launchpad could do. This was my prompt:

Develop a contract management system for librarian negotiators who are responsible for vendor contracts. This should be an on-the-go solution that provides easy access to contracts. Alerts for evergreen clauses in them and need a response to prevent auto-renewal. The tool should also list team negotiators along with emails. Electronic resource life cycle should be documented. For example, is it in review or renewal stage? Budget and renewal increase permission should also be available. 

I was impressed with what was presented in the preview of the hypothetical app. It generated the following sections:

• Contract Team—everyone involved in the negotiations and what contract they’re working on
• Contract Negotiator—team members’ contact information (email and phone number)
• Contract—current contracts with their identification number, name, description, type, and start and end dates
• Contract LifeCycle—each contract’s stage (active, in review, etc.) and start and end dates
• Evergreen Clause—any clauses added to contracts with the clause identification number, contract it belongs to, whether an alert about it was sent, and whether a response is required

Zoho Contracts

While continuing to explore Zoho, I found that it already offered a contracts solution, Zoho Contracts, that I hadn’t yet seen. Its description states, “Streamline contract lifecycle, improve compliance, mitigate risks, and promote cross-functional collaboration with AI-driven intelligence.” I was impressed by this offering and figured that it might be better to focus on the already-built solution instead of trying to make one on my own.

Zoho Writer

Already used to the Docs option in Google Docs, I decided to check out Writer. I really love the AI in Google Docs and wanted to see if Zoho Writer might offer something similar. By typing / in the document, I could access formats and text styles; change the case of what was typed; adjust the paragraph; insert images/objects, a signature, and references/comments, and more. If I typed //, I could access AI prompts. This could include the generation of a social post, creating a story, or writing an essay. I could access the AI commands by clicking on the wand found on the screen.

One particular option I found unique in Writer was the ability to turn on a typewriter sound while I type. There was also a plagiarism check available that had to be enabled within settings before I could use it.

Conclusion

I appreciated the credits promotion I was provided with so that I could take another look at Zoho. It gave me a good opportunity to get a better understanding of the solutions that Zoho offers its users.