Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu Steps Back from Social Media to Focus on Coding and “Practising What He Preaches”
Zoho creator Sridhar Vembu says he is "do not preach what you do not practice" and is taking a break from X and any "external engagements" to concentrate on code delivery.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) October 16: Sridhar Vembu is the CEO and cofounder of Zoho. He is taking a break from social media and all other "external engagements". This is in order to concentrate on delivering the code that he promised to provide. Vembu has been active on sites like X. He declared on Tuesday that he will no longer be participating in online activities.
Taking a Break from Social Media
Vembu claimed that he had fallen behind on his coding and now wanted to "have to ship some code I had committed to ship."
Vembu is known for his technical expertise and hands-on leadership. He explained that his choice is based on his personal belief that one should not teach what one does not practice.
He posted, "I have to ship some code I had committed to ship and I have fallen behind. I will take a break from external engagements after this week. I cannot do both deep tech work (which I am preaching constantly about in my external engagements) and then only do the preaching and not practising it myself” on social media platform X.
From CEO to Chief Scientist at Zoho
Vembu made the statement as he has been concentrating more on his work as Zoho's Chief Scientist. This is a role he took earlier this year after resigning as CEO in January. Vembu stated in an interview with Moneycontrol that he currently writes and reviews code for about 70% of his time. He hopes to raise that percentage even more.
His decision to withdraw from social media comes with his increased online activity in recent weeks. He has expressed his opinions on a variety of subjects. They range from privacy-focused communication platforms to India's own technological sector.
Focus on Privacy, Encryption, and Core Values
Vembu gained attention earlier this month for his comments regarding Zoho's in-house messaging software, Arattai. He emphasized that the software provides users with total privacy and end-to-end encryption.
The timing of his leave is especially noteworthy because Zoho is currently receiving major government contracts. This includes the right to power the Indian government's National Informatics Centre (NIC) email system. Vembu's brief absence from public appearances seems to be a deliberate decision to return to the fundamental technical work. It defines Zoho's culture and concentrates on "deep technological execution."
Vembu also emphasized end-to-end encryption. This adds a technical layer to Zoho's commitment to not accessing or using customer data for product sales. It is the foundation of the company's whole SaaS business.
