The launch of Arattai, Zoho’s "Made in India" messaging application, has generated significant social media buzz, where it is being heralded as the indigenous alternative to WhatsApp.
The app's growth has been staggering. Zoho's Chief Scientist, Sridhar Vembu, reported that Arattai's new sign-ups have seen a 100-fold increase over three days, leaping from approximately 3,000 new daily users to 350,000. Vembu noted that the company is rapidly upgrading its infrastructure to accommodate this sudden, exponential growth and prepare for further increases.
Meaning of 'Arattai'
The name "Arattai" is derived from Tamil and means "general conversation" or "gossip".
Arattai has also gained high-profile political endorsement. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took to X to support the application, stating, "The Arattai instant messaging app developed by ZOHO is free, easy to use, secure and 'Made in India.' Guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to adopt Swadeshi, I appeal to everyone to adopt apps made in India to stay connected with friends and family".
A Focus on open standards
Signaling a key difference from its major global competitors, Arattai is prioritizing interoperability, aiming to allow its users to communicate with individuals on other platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. Vembu confirmed that the company has begun working with iSpirt, the group instrumental in developing the UPI protocol, to standardize and publish the messaging protocols. He clarified their objective, stating, "These systems need to be interoperable like UPI and email and not closed like WhatsApp today. We do not want to be a monopoly ever". This commitment underscores Arattai's goal to foster an open digital ecosystem.
Local data storage
Sridhar Vembu recently revealed that the company hosts Indian customers' data within India and is committed to hosting each country's data in its own jurisdiction. Furthermore, its services run entirely on proprietary hardware and software.
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