Welcome back to The Zoho Report! In this week's episode, we're covering four important updates across the Zoho ecosystem, including an exciting AI-powered feature that's going to save you plenty of frustration, plus a critical security update that requires your attention.
Let's dive in.
1. Business Day Logic Update
What's changed?
Previously, there were some cases where business day calculations could produce unexpected results, particularly when workflows were triggered on weekends. The new logic provides more predictable and accurate scheduling across all scenarios.
Do you need to take action?
No. This update doesn't break any existing workflows - it simply makes them more predictable and accurate. You don't need to modify anything unless you were specifically relying on the old behaviour (which would be unusual).
2. Email Composer Enhancements
Zoho has introduced three significant enhancements to the email composer that give you greater control over email branding and reply management.
Custom Font Types
You can now add up to five custom fonts to match your brand identity and make emails more visually distinctive. This is particularly useful for businesses with specific brand guidelines or those wanting to stand out in crowded inboxes.
Important limitation: Custom fonts are device-specific. If you add a font on your desktop but later compose emails on mobile or another device that doesn't have that font installed, you'll see an error. This is something to consider for teams working across multiple devices - you'll want to ensure consistency in which fonts are installed across your organisation's devices.
Custom Font Sizes
You now have expanded formatting control with the ability to define up to five custom font sizes with precise values between 9 and 99 points, with accuracy up to two decimal places. This gives you fine-grained control over your email typography to match your brand standards exactly.Default Reply-To Address
This is perhaps the most practically useful of the three enhancements. The default reply-to address feature solves a common problem when sending emails from organisational addresses that aren't integrated with CRM, or from addresses that don't have monitored inboxes.
How it helps: By setting a default reply-to address, you ensure customer responses always reach the right inbox and stay tracked within your CRM workflows. For example, you might send emails from info@yourcompany.com for branding purposes, but set replies to go to sales@yourcompany.com where they're actively monitored.
Looking Ahead
While these additional customisation features are not yet available in Email Templates without implementing custom HTML templates, this appears to be a stepping stone to Zoho adding more granular functionality in the not-too-distant future. We're hopeful that template customisation will catch up soon.
3. Zia Formula Expression Assistant
Zoho has introduced an AI-powered feature that solves one of the biggest pain points in creating formula fields - the syntax.
How it works
The Zia Formula Expression Assistant lets you describe what you want in plain language, and it converts it into proper Zoho formula syntax. No more wrestling with brackets, field references, and function names.
Troubleshooting existing formulas
Beyond creating new formulas, Zia can also help troubleshoot existing formulas if you're encountering errors in complex expressions. This is incredibly useful when you inherit a CRM setup from someone else or when debugging your own work.
How to access it
You can open the Formula Expression Assistant directly from within the Formula fields interface. From there, you can ask it to create formulas, make updates, and troubleshoot errors.
Availability
This feature is currently available in Zoho CRM Enterprise and Ultimate editions and is being rolled out in phases. It's currently available in the US and EU data centres, with more regions coming online soon.
If you're on a lower-tier plan and find yourself regularly creating formula fields, this AI assistant might be worth the upgrade cost just for the time savings alone.
4. SMS Multi-Factor Authentication Deprecation
This is the update that requires your attention. Back in May 2024, Zoho announced the deprecation of SMS-based multi-factor authentication, starting with new users, due to security vulnerabilities. They're now ramping up migration efforts for existing users.
Why is this happening?
SMS-based authentication has known security vulnerabilities, including SIM-swapping attacks and SMS interception. Zoho is moving users to more secure authentication methods to better protect accounts.
What you'll see
Organisation admins are now seeing prompts to update their organisation's MFA method when logging into their accounts. If you're an admin, don't ignore these prompts.
Your four secure alternatives
Zoho offers four secure alternatives to replace SMS authentication:
- Zoho OneAuth (Recommended) Zoho's own MFA app that enables passwordless sign-on using your device's biometrics, stores OTP codes, and integrates with Zoho Vault for password management. This is the most seamless option if you're fully invested in the Zoho ecosystem.
- Time-Based OTP Codes Standard one-time passwords that work with any authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator. This is the most universal option if you already use these apps for other services.
- Physical Security Keys Small hardware devices that plug into your computer via USB for highly secure authentication. Best for users handling particularly sensitive data or those in high-security environments.
- Passkeys Cryptographic credentials stored on your device that use biometric authentication without transmitting secrets over the internet. This is the newest and most secure option, though device compatibility should be verified first.
How to update your MFA method
- Log into your Zoho account
- Navigate to the Security section
- Select your preferred MFA method from the options above
- Follow the setup instructions
Timeline
While there's no official cutoff date for SMS MFA announced yet, being proactive will reduce the number of issues caused by a rushed transition when that date does finally come. We recommend updating sooner rather than later, especially for organisation admins.
Stay Updated
That's it for Episode 2 of The Zoho Report! We hope these updates help you work smarter with your Zoho applications.
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