The long-promised May bulletin finally landed, and Zoho have packed a lot into the last fortnight. From a full user-interface overhaul to granular Cadence controls, here’s what’s new and how to roll it out with minimal disruption.
1. “CRM for Everyone” – a UI overhaul and cross-team workspace
- What changed?
- New left-hand primary navigation and cleaner typography.
- Team Modules – mini workspaces that any non-sales team (legal, onboarding, CS, etc.) can build without tinkering with core modules.
- Requester Profiles and Connected Workflows for inter-team task routing.
- Prompt-driven module creation plus an Image-to-Canvas shortcut for instant layout design.
- Why it matters: Sales, delivery and compliance teams now work in the same record rather than email/Slack silos, closing hand-off gaps.
- Quick win: Clone your production org to sandbox, enable the new UI, then pilot one Team Module (e.g. Contracts) with limited user profiles before a company-wide switchover.
2. WhatsApp integration – manual messages, threaded replies & audio previews
- What changed?
- Reps can kick-off chats manually (not just via workflows).
- Threaded replies keep context inside long conversations.
- Audio attachments play in-line—no download required.
- Why it matters: Less toggling to WhatsApp Web and far fewer “Which message are you replying to?” moments.
- Implementation tip: Add a “Send WhatsApp” custom button in Leads/Deals and update rep training docs to cover manual sending vs. automated templates.
3. Cadences – resume or restart follow-ups and set exit rules
- What changed?
- Re-enrol a record and choose Resume (continue from last unfinished step) or Restart (begin again).
- New criteria editor lets you auto-unenrol records when custom conditions are met (e.g. Status = “Lost Lead”, email bounced, etc.).
- Why it matters: Seasonal or long-tail nurture sequences no longer need duplicate Cadences; reps just pick up where they left off.
- Next step: Audit your active Cadences, add exit criteria to prevent stale records, and surface the Resume/Restart choice in your playbook.
4. Data Migration – continue uploading skipped attachments
- What changed?
- When an attachment import hits the size/volume limits, admins can now upload just the skipped files instead of restarting the whole job.
- Why it matters: Big-bang migrations finish hours faster and keep a single import-history entry for cleaner audit trails.
- Quick win: If you postponed migrating historic documents because of the pain involved, revisit the Import wizard—this fix removes the blocker.
5. Client Script support for Custom Buttons (EU DC live)
- What changed?
- Any custom button (record view, list view or related list) can now execute a Client Script on-click.
- Use cases:
- “Add Notes” fly-out that writes to the Notes module without leaving the list view.
- One-click import of a Zoho Sheet to populate a sub-form.
- Roll-out tip: Start with low-risk utility buttons in a sandbox, then expose to power-users only; mobile support is due Q3 2025, so warn field reps early.
Honourable mention:
Flex component for Canvas layouts
Technically announced in late April but missed by many admins, Flex brings responsive rows/columns, “wrap” behaviour and auto-gap controls to Canvas, making mobile-friendly record views far easier to build. If your team struggles with cramped layouts on tablets, it’s worth a look.
Action Plan for Zoho Users
| Priority | Task | Owner | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | Spin up sandbox with new UI; replicate one Team Module & Connected Workflow | CRM Admin | 31 May |
| High | Update WhatsApp SOPs; add manual send button | Marketing Ops | 7 June |
| Medium | Add exit criteria to all active Cadences | Sales Ops | 14 June |
| Medium | Test attachment-only migration on archive data | IT / Data | 21 June |
| Low | Build one Client-Script button (e.g. Bulk Add Notes) | CRM Dev | 28 June |
| Low | Convert at least one key Canvas view to Flex | BI Analyst | 30 June |
Need help implementing any of the above? Book a discovery call or tap our Zoho CRM Review Service to make sure the May wave boosts productivity rather than breaking workflows.
Updated 22 May 2025 – we’ll add further notes if Zoho slips in a late-month digest. Stay tuned!
