Zoho Catalyst
Serverless + microservices for extending Zoho and building custom apps.
About Zoho Catalyst
Zoho Catalyst is Zoho's serverless platform — functions, data stores, cron jobs, authentication and file storage — designed to extend Zoho apps and host custom business logic without standing up your own infrastructure.
We use Catalyst when standard Zoho extension points (Deluge, Creator) are too limited or when a client wants a serverless backend that is natively integrated with their Zoho tenant but runs custom NodeJS or Java code with full dependency support.
Our Zoho Catalyst services
Serverless functions
NodeJS, Java and Python Catalyst functions for business logic that is too complex or too dependency-heavy for Deluge.
Data stores & caching
Catalyst Data Store, File Store and Cache for structured and unstructured data behind custom logic — no external DB to operate.
Scheduled jobs & cron
Cron-based functions for nightly reconciliations, periodic exports, data syncs and scheduled notifications.
Zoho extension development
Custom extensions that appear inside Zoho CRM, Desk or Books — buttons, widgets, blueprints, custom buttons — all powered by Catalyst backend.
Microservices & APIs
Exposed REST APIs built on Catalyst for consumption by web and mobile front-ends, with built-in authentication and rate limiting.
AuthN / AuthZ
Catalyst Auth and Zoho Identity for user and machine authentication, token handling and role-based access.
Use cases & industries
Zoho extensions & marketplace
Published extensions that sit inside a customer's Zoho CRM or Desk with custom logic running on Catalyst.
Fintech and insurtech backends
Policy engines, rating engines, claim decisioning — serverless, auditable, Zoho-identity native.
Workflow automation
Cross-app orchestration that is too complex for Zoho Flow or needs fine-grained error handling and retry logic.
Custom customer / partner portals
Catalyst-hosted Node / React front-ends with Catalyst Auth, pulling from Zoho CRM, Books or Desk via the SDK.
Capabilities our engineering ships
Multi-runtime functions
NodeJS, Java and Python runtimes, with full npm / Maven / pip dependency management.
Catalyst CLI & CI/CD
Local development, versioned deploys, environment separation (dev / stage / prod) and CI/CD integration.
SDK for Zoho apps
Native SDK to call Zoho CRM, Books, Desk, Creator APIs with authentication handled by the platform.
Webhooks & event triggers
Trigger Catalyst functions on Zoho events (lead created, invoice paid, ticket closed) without standing up middleware.
Zoho Catalyst FAQ
How does Catalyst compare to AWS Lambda?+
Catalyst is narrower in scope but deeply integrated with Zoho — SDKs for Zoho APIs, shared identity with Zoho Directory, event triggers from Zoho apps. For logic that is Zoho-centric, Catalyst wins on integration and operational simplicity. For broad cloud workloads, AWS / Azure / GCP are better choices.
What languages does Catalyst support?+
NodeJS, Java and Python are first-class. Full dependency management (npm, Maven, pip) is supported.
When should we use Catalyst instead of Deluge?+
When you need full programming language features (complex libraries, proper testing frameworks, async concurrency), when Deluge limits are being hit, or when you want to expose a REST API consumable outside Zoho.
Can Catalyst host a React or Node web app?+
Yes. Catalyst Web Client Hosting serves static sites; Catalyst Functions serve the backend. Combined with Catalyst Auth, you can ship a full SaaS backend on the platform.
What does Catalyst cost?+
Priced on consumption — function invocations, data store reads/writes, cache usage and storage. Free tier available for development. Production workloads typically run at a fraction of a comparable Lambda + RDS + Cognito stack when the business logic is Zoho-adjacent.
Can we migrate off Catalyst later?+
Function code is standard NodeJS / Java / Python and portable. Catalyst-specific services (Data Store, Auth) have standard-API equivalents (DynamoDB, Cognito). Migration is possible with planned effort — nothing is locked.
Ready to ship Zoho Catalyst?
Nine years delivering Zoho across India, Kenya, UAE, UK and USA. A 30-minute consultation gets you a scoped plan with named consultants, phased costs and a start date.