Zoho's Arattai: India's Homegrown Messaging App Rises as a "Swadeshi Moment" in Technology

Zoho introduced Arattai in January 2021, following WhatsApp's announcement regarding changes to its privacy policy.

New Delhi:

Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu, whose Made-in-India Arattai app reached the top position in the Social Networking category on the App Store, described it as a "Swadeshi moment" in their technology journey. In a conversation with NDTV, Vembu acknowledged that while they had made a promising start, there remains a substantial journey ahead.

"It's truly a Swadeshi moment in our technology journey. We are recognizing that it involves not just the government but our citizens and everyone - including the private sector. It's a Swadeshi moment where we need to control our own destiny as a nation. I believe this is a widespread consensus, which explains the abundant love we've received. I'm delighted to see this recognition coming now, though this moment has been building for some time. Regarding criticism, there will always be some critical opinions, but I never let that concern me," Vembu stated.

Vembu emphasized that the country requires homegrown technology for everyday activities and manufacturing processes.

"We still have an extensive journey ahead. We've begun well, and we're grateful for that. We need this type of technology - not just Arratai or messaging, but all core technologies we rely on for daily living and manufacturing. The reason is that when we depend on other nations for these technologies, they can potentially be weaponized against us in adverse scenarios. The unfortunate reality of today's complex geopolitics makes it essential for us to master these technologies and establish a strong domestic ecosystem," he explained.

The Zoho co-founder further added, "While we cannot do everything, we need to trade on equal terms, which requires mastering complex technologies."

Distinguishing Arratai from competitors like WhatsApp and Telegram, Vembu clarified, "Unlike WhatsApp, we are not an advertising company. We're a software company specializing in business-to-business software where businesses particularly value protection of their trade secrets and important internal information from any exposure. That's our significant advantage in our business. We're applying that same philosophy to Arattai."

"The Arattai app offers much more. Once a foundation of trust is established, it can serve as a basis for commerce, payments, and numerous ecosystems can develop on it. But to build this with confidence, we need a foundation of trust. Questions like 'Is my data safe?', 'How is it used?', and 'Who has access to it?' must be addressed," Vembu added.

The founder of the Arattai app firmly stated that they never intend to monetize the app through advertisements or third-party access to user data.

"Within 10 days, we'll release a comprehensive security white paper, and we're also rolling out end-to-end encryption in a week or two. We're currently testing it," he revealed.

At present, the app does not feature verifiable encryption.

"The app went viral before our planned launch. It was scheduled for a mid to late November release. We were in the preparation and testing phases when it suddenly went viral. Sometimes unexpected events occur. We're thankful for this development - we're not complaining about it. We had to quickly establish the infrastructure. We were setting up a large data center in Mumbai with servers being installed for a mid to late November launch. When this viral growth happened, the infrastructure wasn't fully ready, so we had to scramble. We managed it successfully. Now additional features are being rolled out," he explained.

Zoho launched Arattai in January 2021, following WhatsApp's announcement of changes to its privacy policy. The app is now promoted as India's own messaging solution. Arattai means "casual chat" in Tamil. Similar to WhatsApp, Arattai enables users to send text and voice messages, make video calls, capture photos and videos, share documents, stories, groups, and channels, offers multi-device support across smartphones, tablets, and desktops, and allows importing conversations from other chat platforms.

Several Union Ministers, including Amit Shah and Dharmendra Pradhan, have adopted Arattai and encouraged others to do the same.

Responding to this support, Vembu expressed that he is "truly grateful".

However, Vembu noted that 90 percent of their revenue comes from global markets, with only two to three percent generated from the Indian government.

"We've established a business that is global in both scale and scope," he concluded.