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Zoho’s Arattai
Arattai, the homegrown chat and call app of Zoho, has seen unprecedented adoption and growth with daily sign-ups jumping from 3,000 to 350,000 in just three days. The explosive growth, Zoho Chief Scientist Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) says, has left the company on an "all-hands-on-deck" mission.
“We have faced a 100x increase in Arattai traffic in 3 days (new sign-ups went vertical from 3K/day to 350K/day). We are adding infrastructure on an emergency basis for another potential 100x peak surge. That is how exponentials work,” Sridhar Vembu wrote on X.
He also added that the Zoho team had a big release planned in November that would have facilitated a “huge capacity addition, new features and a marketing push” but this sudden jump in numbers and sign-ups has not only changed their plans but is now forcing them to accelerate everything.
“As we add a lot more infrastructure, we are also fine-tuning and updating the code to fix issues as they arise. We have all-hands-on-deck working flat out,” Vembu said on X, urging users to be patient as the app scales.
Arattai has also surpassed WhatsApp and surged to the top of India's app stores. The app's success highlights growing user demand for local digital platforms amid global scrutiny of the tech industry.
The massive growth came soon after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan endorsed the platform.
“Arattai instant messaging app developed by @Zoho is free, easy-to-use, secure, safe and ‘Made in India’. Guided by Honourable PM Shri @narendramodi ji's call to adopt Swadeshi, I appeal to everyone to switch to India-made apps to stay connected with friends and family,” Mr Pradhan said on X.
Arattai consists of features that aim to simplify communication, secure it, and make it fun. One can communicate smoothly with one-to-one and group chats, along with end-to-end encrypted voice and video calls.
The platform facilitates file and media sharing with ease, keeping conversations active and productive. Similar to trends on global platforms, Arattai also provides stories and broadcast channels to enable individuals to share updates widely. Aside from private use, the app also has business-oriented features for audience engagement, and therefore, it is a suitable option for individuals and organizations alike.
How It Differs from WhatsApp?
As per a report filed by The Hindustan Times, while Arattai provides end-to-end encryption for video and voice calls, its messages are not entirely end-to-end encrypted: a critical difference from WhatsApp that might be troublesome for privacy-conscious users.
But Zoho frames Arattai as a secure, locally developed alternative with high local trust and growing capabilities.
As Vembu summed it up:“We have a lot more planned for Arattai, please give us some time. Thank you for your patience and support! Jai Hind 🙏.”