Eyeing tech sovereignty in the data hardware space and in a step to build the full enterprise technology stack, Zoho has launched its indigenously designed server Nathu La.
Zoho says with Nathu La it has achieved equivalent performance, with 12-18 per cent lower power consumption and 20-30 per cent lower total cost of ownership (TCO).
The Nathu La server motherboard and chassis platform is the result of over five years of R&D across hardware, firmware, and systems management.
We plan to hit about 2000 servers by end of this year, and these will be across multiple configurations to suit various processes such as Zoho Mail, Zoho Meeting, etc, Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, Director of AI, Zoho Corporation, told businessline.
Mangesh Sadafale, Head of Hardware Development, Zoho Corp, explained that the majority of key elements in the Nathu La server platform - the hardware, the electronics and the firmware - have been made in-house by Zoho.
Eyeing tech sovereignty in the data hardware space and in a step to build the full enterprise technology stack, Zoho has launched its indigenously designed server Nathu La.
Zoho says with Nathu La it has achieved equivalent performance, with 12-18 per cent lower power consumption and 20-30 per cent lower total cost of ownership (TCO). In Zoho’s marquee style, the R&D work for the server platform was entirely done out of Nagpur by local talent recruited and trained by the company. The centre was set up in 2020 with an eye to play the long game in enterprise hardware.
The Nathu La server motherboard and chassis platform is the result of over five years of R&D across hardware, firmware, and systems management. Based on Intel® Xeon® 6 Processors, the server is designed to optimise performance for virtualisation (VM), High Performance Computing (HPC), AI inference, and storage applications.
The launch makes Zoho one of the few technology companies to have designed a homegrown server platform with all the intellectual property owned in India. It also comes at a time when electronic imports, especially servers, have been rising in recent years, with more digital and AI workloads.
We plan to hit about 2000 servers by end of this year, and these will be across multiple configurations to suit various processes such as Zoho Mail, Zoho Meeting, etc, Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, Director of AI, Zoho Corporation, told businessline. The company does not intend to commercialise the server platform at this stage, he added. Zoho did not disclose the investment behind the product.
Zoho Corp. owns and operates 20 data centers across the globe, and has already made 1000 units of Nathu La operational currently as part of its India DCs. “We have identified specific workloads where we have a clear edge over global OEMs; so the first task will be to deploy this in those specific areas. Nathu La is also AI ready,” Ramamoorthy said.
Mangesh Sadafale, Head of Hardware Development, Zoho Corp, explained that the majority of key elements in the Nathu La server platform - the hardware, the electronics and the firmware - have been made in-house by Zoho. “The metal sheet was manufactured in Pune, the metal bending and other processes were done in Nagpur, assembly of the chassis was done in Nagpur, we imported the PCB, but the PCB assembly was done in Chennai, and testing in Bangalore, and testing and the hand holding was also done by Intel India,” We have localised everything that India currently possesses the capabilities for, he said, adding that 90 per cent of his Nagpur team comprises freshers.
Ramamoorthy also acknowledged the AI-led frenzy around hardware and told businessline that server costs for various use cases of Zoho such as Mail and Meeting have all shot up by 4X in the last six months. With our goal to be a predictable company to do business with, we have always wanted to find a way to bear such shocks, he said, adding that for the first time in in two years, the whole ‘ROI on AI’ conversation is getting louder.
“Through focused investments in R&D and skill development, this foray into hardware enables us not only to build and own the technology, but also to cultivate the expertise and talent behind it,” Shailesh Davey, CEO, Zoho Corp, said.
Currently, global OEMs assemble their servers in India but in terms of IP and in-house design, Zoho is among very few Indian companies that design and manufacture server platforms (software and hardware).
Published on June 10, 2026
