Where does Zoho keep Indian users' data? Sridhar Vembu responds
What's the story
Sridhar Vembu, the founder and Chief Scientist of Zoho Corporation, has clarified that all Indian customer data is stored within India. His statement comes amid a surge in downloads of Arattai, Zoho's homegrown messaging app. The app has climbed to the top of Apple's App Store and is fast approaching the top 100 on Google Play Store after previously being outside the top 500.
App endorsement
Arattai's rise bolstered by government endorsements
The rise of Arattai has been further boosted by endorsements from Indian government officials. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently endorsed the app on social media, while IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw promoted Zoho's suite of productivity products. These endorsements have contributed to the renewed consumer interest in Arattai, a WhatsApp competitor launched by Zoho in 2021.
Data security
Addressing concerns about product development and data hosting
Vembu has also addressed concerns over Zoho's product development and customer data hosting. He clarified that all products are developed in India, with the company's global headquarters located in Chennai. "We pay taxes in India on our global income," he said, countering what he called "a lot of false information we want to correct."
Infrastructure ownership
Data centers in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and upcoming Odisha center
Vembu emphasized that all Indian user data is hosted in India, at facilities in Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai. He also revealed a new data center is coming up in Odisha. Globally, Zoho operates 18 data centers, each handling information within its respective jurisdiction. "We are committed to hosting each country data in their own jurisdiction," Vembu said on X.
Service operation
Clarification on cloud hosting and public cloud platforms
Vembu also clarified that Zoho's services, including Arattai, are powered by hardware owned by the company and software frameworks it has developed on top of open-source systems such as Linux and PostgreSQL. He stressed that Zoho does not host its services on public cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud. However, some of these platforms are used for regional traffic switching to improve speed without storing any customer data.
User surge
Infrastructure scaling to accommodate exponential growth
Arattai's daily sign-ups have skyrocketed from 3,000 to 350,000 in just three days—a staggering 100-fold increase. Vembu revealed that teams are working round the clock to scale infrastructure and fix technical issues triggered by this sudden spike. "We are adding infrastructure on an emergency basis for another potential 100x peak surge. That is how exponentials work," he wrote on X.