Bharti Airtel is likely to launch a video-conferencing tool for businesses: Report

Telecom major Bharti Airtel is expected to soon launch a unified video conferencing app for businesses. The launch comes at a time when there is a huge demand for such platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic.According to a report by Economic Times, the video conferencing tool will be launched for startups and enterprises. It is expected to compete with other video-conferencing tools such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams and JioMeet.[caption id="attachment_6579841" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

Airtel’s video-conferencing tool comes days after Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd launched its video conferencing service JioMeet on 1 July[/caption]The report quoted a person aware of the matter as saying, “Airtel is close to launching several enterprise-grade products including a unified videoconferencing tool very shortly.”The initial plan is to launch the product for enterprises but Airtel may offer it to regular customers after seeing the demand.The person also said that Airtel is focusing on high levels of security as the USP of its video-conferencing tool. All the data will be stored locally by the telecom operator.The video-conferencing service will be available on mobile and desktop. It will contain the latest AES 256 encryption and multiple layers of authentication, the report mentioned the source as saying.Airtel’s video-conferencing tool comes days after Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd launched its video conferencing service JioMeet on 1 July, Live Mint reported.Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that JioMeet is "better than Zoom". He also praised the platform for being safe.“Tried JioMeet video-conferencing. It’s easy & simple! Better than Zoom. Meetings are encrypted & password protected. Unlimited high definition calls. All data in India. Emerges as a major technological disruptor from India. Will go places in these challenging times,” Kant wrote on Twitter.

The Live Mint report mentions that if launched, Airtel’s video conferencing service will give a fillip to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to create and develop domestic technology with the help of local startups and companies, and minimise dependency on foreign apps.Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd which publishes Firstpost