Zoho is widening the scope of Zoho messenger for Business by launching Arattai Business, it says that the new app competes directly with WhatsApp Business. The service has been listed as “coming soon” on the Google Play Store which means that an Indian software company is going to be moving an Arattai from casual personal conversations to business communications with Arattai users only. The app has been mostly designed for business usage as it gives a place for employees, customers and the management to keep the communication in work mode secure, clean and confidential.
From the product page, we understand that the main selling points of Arattai Business will be secure business communication through employees and customers. Still, keeping data privacy as their priority and also, organisational control the way Arattai Business will be the only one to keep data in Indian servers. Zoho states that with Arattai Business they are developing a communication platform that maintains confidentiality, gives more power to companies, keeps their information secure and is not dependent on any global tech company.
Based on them, the app is developed in India and will target local businesses. This idea is one of the main ways by which the startup will differentiate itself through Arattai Business. As for WhatsApp Business, it is a tool that has become the backbone of commerce in India where it does not only support customer service and offers order updates but is very handy in making catalogs as well and for sending automated messages. Through the advantage of having data stored on Indian servers, advertising-free philosophy of consumer Arattai app, and the potential for deeper integration into Zoho software ecosystem, the launch of Arattai Business will compete head-on with WhatsApp mostly.
Arattai which was launched in 2021 is a privacy-first messaging alternative to mainstream messaging tools. The Tamil word “Arattai” stands for casual conversation or chit chat. Arattai app got huge popularity in particular on a government-endorsement-based marketing campaign and surge in downloads which were caused mainly by such features as built-in meetings, personal “Pocket” storage, a secure multi-device support, and a data-free experience with the data stored locally in India. Besides the consumer version of Arattai, Zoho is bringing the same level of privacy with Arattai Business into the professional workspace. No private or personal data will be sold, private chatting won\u2019t be used for commercial promotions, and AI models won\u2019t be trained on private conversations. That\u2019s the commitment of Zoho in regard to Arattai Business.
It will be a tough task for Arattai Business because currently, a lot of the Indian businesses, including internal teams and customers alike, are getting along well and have even come to rely on a major extent on WhatsApp. There are mature products like WhatsApp Business which brings among other features product catalogues, quick reply, labels, and also a Business API that allows for large-scale automation and CRM integration. If Arattai Business is going to be the main competitor of WhatsApp, it will have to either offer similar or better features and at the same time leverage the strength of its Zoho ecosystem overall. As for the price, there\u2019s no announcement about that yet.
Arattai Business may prove to be a promising option for small and medium-sized Indian enterprises that are data-sovereignty oriented, and want to see local development and have a tighter hold over their communications. Those large firms with huge WhatsApp user populations and sophisticated automation requirements will continue to rely on Meta’s mature platform for its reach and reliability. As the official launch draws close, a detailed release of feature, administrative controls, front-end tools and pricing should throw light on how a new offering from Zoho will stand up against WhatsApp Business in India’s highly competitive messaging market.
