Zoho’s Arattai eyes enterprise use cases, looks at integrating businesses on platform

Arattai, Tamil for “chat”, was launched in 2021 as a privacy-first Indian messaging platform.

Zoho is positioning its messaging platform Arattai to serve enterprise communication needs, as it seeks to establish a distinct identity in India’s highly competitive messaging market.

“There is going to be a platform where businesses integrate within Arattai,” Zoho CEO Mani Vembu told Moneycontrol in a recent interview. “That’s part of the plan, and we are looking at how we can differentiate from what exists today. It’s already in the pipeline.”

Vembu’s comments come as Arattai looks to define its "right to win" in a space dominated by WhatsApp, which has more than 500 million users in India and has become embedded in both personal and business communication -from airline check-ins to banking alerts and ticket bookings.

While Arattai has so far focused on consumer adoption, Zoho is now exploring how the platform can evolve into a broader business communication tool. The move aligns with Zoho’s broader product strategy, which includes a suite of enterprise software offerings built in-house and tailored for Indian and global markets.

By extending Arattai’s functionality into enterprise scenarios, Zoho aims to leverage its existing customer base and software ecosystem to offer a more integrated, secure alternative to global incumbents.

Competing apps like Signal and Telegram cater to more privacy-conscious or niche audiences, but Arattai’s strategy, Vembu said, will hinge on product depth, integration, and contextual innovation.

“Every app stands on its own merit,” he said. “For us, the validation so far is in the number of meetings and calls happening on Arattai. That shows stickiness because the product meets customer expectations. If we keep improving and the word of mouth continues to spread, we’ll have our own space in the market.”

Arattai, Tamil for “chat”, was launched in 2021 as a privacy-first Indian messaging platform.

Its adoption surged recently after senior Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw, Dharmendra Pradhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, and Piyush Goyal publicly endorsed Arattai, along with Zoho’s office suite as indigenous alternatives to Big Tech offerings.

Vembu said the company is focused on building differentiators that enhance usability and local relevance.

“We’ve already integrated messaging with meetings and introduced an Android TV app,” he noted. “We’re planning even more contextual features for Indian consumers.”

While enterprise integration could open up new monetisation avenues for Arattai, Vembu made it clear that Zoho’s approach remains product-first.

“Nobody can predict how Arattai’s usage will evolve a year from now and we don’t want to,” he said. “We just want to keep improving the app and delighting users.”