Notion vs Zoho Projects

2024. Notion acquires privacy-focused productivity platform Skiff



Notion has acquired Skiff, a platform established in 2020 by Andrew Milich and Jason Ginsberg, which specializes in providing end-to-end encrypted file storage, document management, calendar functionalities, and email services. Skiff initially garnered $14.2 million in funding and positioned itself as a secure alternative to Google Docs, expanding its offerings to include productivity solutions like calendars and emails. Skiff announced its integration with Notion on its website, along with the decision to discontinue its services after a transition period of six months. The company assured users that their Skiff accounts would not be automatically converted into Notion accounts but emphasized the ease of exporting or migrating data to other platforms.


2024. Notion launches a stand-alone calendar app



Notion, a widely used platform for note-taking and project management, has introduced a dedicated calendar service, drawing from its acquisition of the well-designed Cron calendar app in 2022. Positioned as a free next-generation iteration of Cron, Notion Calendar incorporates a built-in scheduling tool reminiscent of Calendly and offers optional deep integration with Notion. Accessible on Mac, Windows, iOS, and the web (with an Android app in development), the calendar seamlessly merges work and personal calendars, providing users with a unified view for effective day management. Although Notion has previously featured a calendar view within workspaces, it now integrates with external calendars, starting with Google Calendar. Emphasizing its standalone nature, users can opt for Notion Calendar as a standalone smart calendaring service, but for Notion users integrating it into their workflow, there's the added benefit of attaching Notion docs to calendar events, fostering better preparation and alignment within teams.


2021. Notion acquires India’s Automate.io in push to accelerate product expansion



Workplace productivity startup Notion has recently acquired Automate.io, an Indian startup renowned for developing connectivity and integrations with more than 200 services. This acquisition serves as a strategic move for Notion to expedite its product expansion and enhance its appeal to the growing number of individuals and businesses transitioning to digital collaborative tools. With the addition of Automate.io, Notion gains valuable insights into the 200 integrations the Indian startup has built. This knowledge will enable Notion to empower users and enterprises by incorporating their workflows seamlessly into the Notion platform.


2020. Online workspace startup Notion raises $50M



Online workspace startup Notion has secured $50 million in fresh funding, valuing the company at $2 billion. Established in 2016, Notion offers a comprehensive workspace solution encompassing note-taking, task management, wikis, and databases. Its unique proposition lies in consolidating various work applications into a single platform, making it ideal for efficient task and project management. Notably, amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, Notion's remote work support played a significant role in attracting investors. The company experienced a surge in new customer sign-ups, setting new records, as remote working became the norm due to the pandemic. The exponential growth of remote work in 2020, spurred by COVID-19, has significantly bolstered the user base of remote work tool providers across different industries.


2020. Zoho Projects gets improved Gantt chart



Zoho has enhanced and revamped the Gantt chart feature within Zoho Projects to offer enhanced capabilities, streamlining the workflow process. Notably, in the updated user interface, unscheduled tasks are conveniently organized under the "unscheduled" tag, preceding the actual timeline. By simply dragging and dropping an unscheduled task onto the timeline, it will be automatically scheduled. Additionally, the new "Full Screen" view enables users to concentrate on crucial yet seemingly minor details by maximizing the utilization of screen space. Moreover, it is now possible to customize the displayed data within the Gantt chart's taskbars, including information such as start/end dates, task owners, overdue status, and task names.


2019. Zoho brings Zia AI assistant to its project management app



Zoho's AI-based chatbot, Zia, has now been integrated into Zoho Projects, enabling streamlined activities within the platform. With its conversational interface, Zia provides immediate responses to inquiries regarding tasks, issues, and events modules in Zoho Projects. Additionally, Zia can offer suggestions and recommendations based on your project-related activities. For instance, if you're pressed for time and need to quickly access your upcoming events, you can simply chat with Zia and request, "Zia, list my upcoming events." In response, Zia will promptly provide a list of all your upcoming events. Furthermore, you can ask Zia for task and issue details, such as information on active tasks, task status, task due dates, unassigned tasks, overdue tasks, user details, tasks within a task list, and similar issue-related information. Zia aims to enhance user productivity and efficiency within Zoho Projects by delivering instant and relevant assistance.


2018. Zoho Projects gets enhanced Gantt chart


Zoho has introduced several enhancements to its project management application, Zoho Projects. These upgrades include an advanced Gantt chart that supports all four types of task dependencies, the ability to create custom views for tasks, and much more. The integration with Zoho People allows for the seamless incorporation of vacation or time-off details of team members into Projects, ensuring that tasks or bugs are not delayed when they are unavailable. Additionally, task and bug timers can now be paused and resumed, eliminating the need to restart from the beginning. The integration with Zoho Meeting enables users to conveniently initiate online team meetings by simply clicking "Meet Now" on the Task Details page, facilitating effective communication for clarification, problem-solving, or decision-making. It's worth noting that Zoho had previously launched another project management tool, Zoho Sprints, in October of the previous year.


2017. Zoho Projects 6 brings new customization opportinities


Zoho has introduced an updated version of its project management tool, Zoho Projects 6, designed to provide greater flexibility in meeting various project needs. This release incorporates several new features, including the ability to create custom fields and custom statuses for tasks, the availability of layouts as project templates, options to set custom logos and domain names, advanced task reporting capabilities, a revamped task details page, a consistent design across all modules, an improved and searchable setup page, reports based on custom fields, a Kanban view organized by task status, and enhanced task filtering functionality. These updates enable users to tailor Zoho Projects 6 to their specific project requirements while improving the overall project management experience.


2016. Zoho Projects adds staff-based billing



Project management service Zoho Projects has offered billing based on project hours since its inception, and it has now expanded its capabilities to include billing based on staff hours as well. You now have the ability to assign a specific rate to each of your employees, and this rate will be reflected in your invoices. For instance, in a project like organizing a concert where multiple users with different skill levels are involved in various tasks, it is essential to bill the client based on the staff hours. You can set different rates for each employee based on their skills and the nature of their work, ensuring that you accurately bill your clients for the services provided.


2016. Zoho Projects adds gamification layer



Zoho is introducing Gamescope, a gamification layer integrated across various products, starting with Zoho Projects. This exciting addition aims to transform mundane tasks into an engaging game for users. By completing tasks, closing tickets and deals, and resolving bugs, users can earn points, which are tracked in a scorecard. Similar to a basketball game, each game has a specific time frame. At the end of the game, individuals who accumulate the highest points are awarded trophies. Additionally, users can earn badges by achieving specific targets. The winners have the opportunity to proudly showcase their badges and trophies on their scorecard or individual profile pages, enabling them to share their accomplishments with others.