Zoho Announces Cliq - Unified Chat Software

Today Zoho unveiled Cliq, chat software that blends instant messaging with video, audio, and group conferencing to create a unified communications system for organizations of any size. Available immediately in native, web and mobile versions, Cliq integrates with Zoho and third-party applications to bring relevant data from those applications into the Cliq window, providing chat participants contextual information about the topic being discussed.

“More companies around the world are turning to chat for real-time, internal collaboration,” said Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho Corp. “But sometimes text isn’t enough, and chat software must also be able to handle voice and video communications as well as the documents, images, and other data related to the work at hand. Cliq supports this kind of dynamic, company-wide collaboration. And it provides a degree of future-proofing thanks to its unprecedented extensibility and strong developer community.”

Inside Cliq

Through Cliq, Zoho provides users with real-time messaging between team members and different departments to foster rapid decision making. Files of any format can be shared via the chat window in seconds. Separate channels can be created for individual teams, specific projects, company-wide discussions, and other collaboration. Channels can reduce the need for time-consuming meetings, while still keeping everyone in the loop.

In addition to its messaging capabilities, Cliq raises the bar for enterprise chat with a wealth of built-in features, including:

Group video calls – Cliq’s unique group video calling feature, PrimeTime, removes the chaos of a normal group video call and lets people take turns speaking to the other video callers. Before they can speak to the group, participants must click the “Request to speak” button, and during the video conference.

Audio and video calls – In addition to PrimeTime, Cliq also supports standard, one-on-one and group calls — both audio and video — which users can start right from their chat window. During the call, users can send texts or share files whether they are using the Cliq native or web application as well as one of the mobile apps.

AI-driven communications administration – Cliq delegates administrative tasks to Zoho’s Intelligent Assistant, Zia. Users can create event and meeting reminders in Cliq, and participants receive reminders before their meeting. Additionally, Zia creates the group chat before the meeting, adds all the participants, reminds them of the meeting, asks them to share files, takes notes, shares minutes of the meeting, and archives the group chat for future reference.

Zoho and third-party integrations – Cliq works with most Zoho apps, fetches information from the other Zoho apps and lets users view it in their chat window. Additionally, Cliq is available as a chat tool inside other Zoho apps. Cliq also works with popular third-party apps including YouTube, Google Drive, Eventbrite, Crashlytics, and 20 more.

Animated emojis – As part of the Cliq launch, Zoho is rolling out nearly 100 new, animated emojis – Zomojis – that have been created exclusively for Cliq. The Zomojis take animated emojis to a new level with their vibrant color and rich detail.

Cliq for the Developer

Beyond its rich, out-of-the-box functionality, Cliq can easily be extended to support the unique collaboration demands of any organization. It offers a platform built with Zoho's own scripting language, Deluge, which allows users to create chat bots in Cliq and use them to automate internal processes.

Similarly, developers can create integrations for Cliq and publish them in the Zoho Marketplace and charge customers to use them. There will be no server requirements, and therefore no maintenance costs. Zoho does not collect any commission for promoting these integrations to customers.

The company is also open sourcing its library of Zomojis under the GPL v3 license, so the animated emojis can be freely integrated with third-party apps. Zomoji keyboards for iOS and Android will also be open sourced and published on Github.

“Developers can use the Cliq platform and integrate Cliq with any software that has an open API,” said Vembu. “It takes no more than 15 minutes to integrate. Once it’s integrated, Cliq bots and commands fetch information for users when needed. For example, users can check traffic in their area with a traffic bot and Cliq gets you all the info you need.”

Pricing and Availability

Cliq is available immediately as a web application; a native application for Mac, Windows and Linux; and mobile apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone. In addition to the Free plan, Cliq is available in an Unlimited plan, which starts at $3 per user per month and goes down by volume. Cliq is also included as part of Zoho One. Additionally, it will also be a part of Zoho's Workplace, an integrated suite of productivity and collaboration apps.

For more information on Cliq, please visit https://www.zoho.com/cliq. To learn more about Zoho, visit https://www.zoho.com. For Zoho news, follow the company on Twitter at @zoho and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/zoho. The latest news about Zoho products is available on the company blog, http://blogs.zoho.com.