Why South African Businesses are Replacing Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace with Zoho Workplace - A DSL Telecom Webinar Recap

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 15:50:37 +0200

South African businesses are no longer accepting rising licence costs as “just part of doing business.” With Microsoft 365 prices climbing again in 2026 and Google Workspace costs steadily increasing, many organisations are actively looking for a smarter, more cost-effective workplace solution.

Microsoft has announced further pricing adjustments taking effect in 2026, adding to multiple increases over the past few years. For many organisations, this means:

Higher per-user monthly costs
Additional charges for premium security and compliance features
Paying separately for tools that were previously bundled

Zoho Workplace offers a fully integrated workplace app suite at a predictable, transparent cost, without the layered pricing model that continues to drive Microsoft licensing higher year after year.

In our recent webinar, Adriaan Dijkstra and Gideo Beukes unpacked why more businesses are moving away from Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, and how Zoho Workplace is emerging as a powerful, cost-effective alternative.

About Zoho Workplace

Zoho Workplace is a fully integrated workplace productivity suite built to replace the complexity of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Instead of stacking multiple apps, licences, and add-ons, businesses get one connected platform for email, file storage, document collaboration, meetings, and team chat. (Zoho Mail, Zoho WorkDrive, Zoho Writer, Zoho Meeting, Zoho Cliq)

Many businesses don’t realise how much they’re overspending on workplace apps. Between Microsoft 365 licences, Teams add-ons, security upgrades, and third-party integrations, monthly costs quietly escalate.

Over the past four years, Microsoft 365 E3 pricing (combined with Teams and security features) has increased by approximately 26%, and 2026 will introduce additional pricing adjustments.

That means higher recurring costs, with no significant increase in functionality for most SMEs.

Zoho Workplace addresses this by:

Consolidating essential workplace apps into one licence
Removing the need for costly add-ons
Providing enterprise-grade features without enterprise-level pricing

Enterprise-Grade Email and Security

When businesses think of email, they often think “inbox.” But in reality, professional email is far more than sending and receiving messages. It supports your organisation’s identity, protects sensitive data, enables secure collaboration, and ensures communication remains available at all times.

Whether you’re a growing SME or a large organisation, email remains one of your most critical business systems, and it needs to be secure, reliable, scalable, and privacy-focused. Unlike ad-driven platforms, Zoho Mail operates on a privacy-first model, meaning your business data is never monetised.

Zoho Mail for business, as a fully integrated component of Workplace, works seamlessly alongside documents, storage, chat, and meetings within one connected ecosystem.

Zoho Workplace offers:

Predictable, lower licensing costs

Integrated workplace apps
Local migration and support from your Zoho Workplace partner in South Africa - DSL Telecom
Enterprise-grade email and collaboration

With Microsoft 365 prices increasing again in 2026 and Google Workspace costs continuing to rise, now is the time to reassess your productivity stack. Zoho Workplace offers predictable, lower licensing costs, fully integrated workplace apps, secure business email, and collaboration tools - plus local migration and support from DSL Telecom.

Q&A Highlights

The live Q&A session sparked valuable discussion, with attendees raising important questions about migration, security, and scalability. Here are some of the highlights:

Question 1: Can we migrate from Google Workspace to Zoho Workplace easily?

DSL Telecom Team: Yes, definitely. We’ve helped a number of customers migrate from Google Workspace to Zoho Workplace. The process usually starts with a discussion to understand your setup: how many users you have, the number of mailboxes, etc. From there, our team plans the migration carefully to ensure minimal disruption to your business.

Question 2: How does Zoho Workplace compare to SharePoint on permissions and external access sharing?

DSL Telecom Team: That’s a great question. You’ve got plenty of flexibility when it comes to sharing files externally. You can create secure links for specific documents or folders, share them with clients, and set permissions to control access.

For example, you can password-protect links or set them to expire after a certain time. If needed, clients can also be added as users in Zoho WorkDrive - Zoho’s equivalent of SharePoint or OneDrive, giving you even more control over how files are accessed and managed.

Question 3: Can I try out Zoho Mail with only a few of my team members?

DSL Telecom Team: Yes, with Zoho Mail, hybrid setups are definitely possible. A hybrid solution means you don’t have to move everyone over at once, allowing you to integrate Zoho Mail into your existing email environment. This can be helpful if you want to test the platform first, move departments in phases, or keep certain teams on a different system temporarily.

Question 3: What backup measures are in place during migration, and how can data be restored if required?

DSL Telecom Team: Once your data is migrated to Zoho, it’s safely backed up as part of their regular processes. We can also set up extra backups if needed, so your data can be restored anytime.

Key Takeaways

Webinar attendees got a clear look at how Zoho Workplace helps South African businesses work smarter, stay secure, and cut software costs. The session covered its all-in-one apps, and showed how moving from Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace can be smooth and hassle-free.

If you missed the webinar or want to revisit the insights, you can watch the full recording or reach out to our team for personalised guidance on getting started with Zoho Workplace.

If you’d like a cost comparison between Microsoft 365, Google Workplace, or a Zoho Workplace migration assessment, speak to our team today, or start exploring Zoho Workplace yourself with a free trial by clicking here .

DSL Telecom - Blog #Zoho Workplace migration

Why South African Businesses are Replacing Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace with Zoho Workplace - A DSL Telecom Webinar Recap