As this year comes to a close, it feels like the perfect time to pause and look back at how much the modern workplace has been transformed. Work has become more flexible. Communication has become more open. Connection feels more intentional. And through every shift, our focus at Zoho Connect remained steady, making work easier, bringing people together, and building experiences that feel natural to everyone.
Every update released this year carried that purpose. Whether it was a major AI-powered capability or a small design improvement, each change was made to help people feel supported, included, and confident in what they do every day.
Let’s walk through the updates that shaped the work experience throughout the year.
Smarter search that understands what you mean
One of the biggest changes this year arrived with NLP-powered Search, which made finding information feel effortless. Instead of typing specific keywords or remembering exact file names, you can now search the way you naturally think. If you’re preparing for a meeting and want to revisit last week’s responsibilities, typing “tasks assigned to me last week” instantly brings up everything you need. When you want to quickly find resources shared during onboarding, simply search “documents shared during induction.”
The experience becomes even more seamless with Enterprise Search, which now includes Gmail, Evernote, and Asana. If you’ve saved notes in Evernote or received important details over email, you can find them directly in Connect without switching tools. Everything comes together in one clean, unified space, helping you stay focused and organized.
Leadership communication that feels open and personal
Communication from leadership took a meaningful step forward this year with the introduction of Video Town Halls. Instead of reading announcements from afar, employees now experience conversations where leaders speak directly, share updates with context, and respond to questions in real time. It brings a human tone to organizational communication and makes employees—whether they’re remote, hybrid, or on the move feel included in the larger direction of the company.
For moments that need clarity or reassurance, this format makes a noticeable difference. Leaders can walk everyone through a policy update, explain the thinking behind a new initiative, or address questions immediately. Employees see expressions, hear tone, and feel connected to the decision-making process in a way written updates cannot replicate.
Everyday communication that stays organized and easy to follow
We also spent time strengthening the small interactions that shape everyday communication. Profiles now include activity filters so you can easily explore someone’s posts, forum replies, or Town Hall contributions all in one place. This makes catching up on someone’s work or revisiting important discussions much easier.
Conversations themselves became clearer with quote replies, which help you respond directly to a specific line in a thread instead of replying to the entire message. It’s especially useful during long discussions where multiple ideas overlap. And if a quick post suddenly grows into a broader topic like process improvements or suggestions on internal culture; you can instantly convert it into a Forum post, giving it structure and visibility.
Questions across the Group and Company Wall are easier to track too, thanks to filters that highlight unanswered questions. This ensures that important queries are not missed and helps everyone respond more efficiently.
Task management built for clarity and accountability
Work often moves across multiple people, and clarity is essential for things to run smoothly. That’s why we introduced mandatory statuses to help maintain structure in workflows that can’t skip steps. Whether a process requires review, approval, or quality checks, these statuses ensure that everything moves in the right order.
The new Task History timeline brings transparency into everyday work by showing every change made; what was updated, who changed it, and when. When you’re tracking progress or trying to understand how a task evolved, the timeline offers a complete picture without needing to ask around.
To prevent confusion, status update permissions let you define who can move tasks through stages. This is particularly helpful when certain steps like approvals must remain with specific roles. Boards also became more flexible with section-level sharing, allowing you to collaborate on just one part of a board without exposing the rest. It’s perfect for cross-departmental work or collaborations where only a portion of the workflow needs to be shared.
Governance that feels safer, clearer, and more controlled
Administrators gained more reliable tools this year to help them manage information responsibly. With file upload and download controls, admins can now define what types of files can be shared, who can download them, and how attachments are handled. Whether your organization deals with sensitive data or simply needs extra protection, these controls help maintain a safe and structured environment.
We also introduced the ability to reset badges and points whenever you start a new quarter or launch a fresh engagement campaign. And for those moments when a survey gets deleted by mistake, Survey Trash makes it easy to restore it without losing valuable data.
A refreshed Organization Chart that brings clarity to your structure
The redesigned Organization Chart made understanding your company’s structure much easier. With cleaner visuals and clearer reporting lines, employees can quickly see how teams are arranged and who handles specific roles. Whether you’re onboarding, collaborating with someone new, or simply trying to find the right contact, the new chart provides a quick, simple map of the organization.
A mobile experience ready for real work
The mobile app received one of its biggest upgrades ever this year. What was once an on-the-go companion is now a complete workspace. You can check dashboards, contribute ideas, participate in discussions, manage drafts, and stay updated wherever you are. Whether you’re commuting, traveling, or away from your laptop, mobile now supports real work; not just quick checks.
Onboarding that feels guided and intuitive
To make it easier for new users to understand Connect, we introduced sample data that includes pre-filled groups, tasks, events, manuals, and Town Halls. Instead of starting with a blank screen, new users can explore ready-made examples that make everything simple and familiar from the very beginning. This reduces the learning curve and helps organizations onboard people more effectively.
A workplace shaped by clarity, trust, and belonging
Beyond major features, this year was guided by a deeper purpose: building workplaces where people feel supported, heard, and connected. Organizations everywhere are looking for tools that create transparency, encourage contribution, and welcome diverse working styles. Many of the year’s updates were shaped by these expectations, helping employees feel included in decisions, confident in their workflows, and connected to each other no matter where they work from.
Looking ahead with intention
As we move into a new year, our direction remains clear:
Bring more intelligence, more personalization, and more thoughtful design into every corner of the workplace.
We’re investing in deeper AI experiences, a more powerful mobile ecosystem, richer customization, and tools that help every employee work with clarity and confidence.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Here’s to another year of meaningful work, supportive collaboration, and workplaces where people feel truly connected with Zoho Connect bringing everything together.
Comments