Arattai messenger, swadeshi WhatsApp alternative, to set up data centre in Odisha: Zoho founder Vembu

Arattai, Zoho’s indigenous messenger app that has recently seen a surge in popularity, will soon have a dedicated data centre in Odisha, founder and chief scientist Sridhar Vembu announced. 

The move comes amid a massive spike in new users, who are calling it a WhatsApp alternative, following Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s call to adopt Indian digital platforms under the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Surge In Demand Takes Arattai To Top Charts

Arattai, launched in 2021, had been preparing for a major relaunch in November with expanded features and infrastructure. But the app witnessed a dramatic turnaround after recent promotions on social media by central government leaders.

According to Vembu, daily sign-ups skyrocketed from 3,000 to 350,000 within three days, prompting Zoho to add infrastructure ‘on an emergency basis’ to handle exponential traffic growth.

“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,” Vembu wrote in a post on X on Monday, adding that his team was working round-the-clock to fine-tune code and expand capacity.

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Data Localisation Commitment

In a detailed clarification on Tuesday, Vembu addressed public concerns about data security and hosting.

“There are questions about where Zoho is developed and where the data is hosted, and who hosts it. There is a lot of false information we want to correct,” he posted on X.

He clarified that all Zoho products, including Arattai, are developed in India, with the company headquartered in Chennai and paying taxes in India on its global income.

Indian user data, he said, is hosted domestically across Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai, and soon, Odisha. Globally, Zoho operates more than 18 data centres, each hosting regional or country-specific data.

Vembu also stressed that Zoho runs its services on its own hardware and proprietary frameworks, built on open-source platforms like Linux and Postgres, and does not rely on cloud giants such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud for hosting.
Features and availability

Arattai, meaning “chat” in Tamil, offers a range of features similar to WhatsApp, including text and voice messaging, file sharing, audio and video calls, and story posts. It also supports scheduling and hosting of meetings. All communications are end-to-end encrypted.

The messenger is available across multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, iOS, and iPadOS, making it one of the most versatile Indian digital tools on the market.