Telegram: a good alternative to WhatsApp, certainly for business!

Who doesn’t know WhatsApp? The messaging service has become impossible to imagine away from our communication today. WhatsApp is being used and deployed more and more in business as well. Having a quick word with a business contact or colleague is something you do over WhatsApp these days. Besides the mobile app, this has also been possible for a while through a desktop application on the PC. During office hours, then, an ideal tool. Is Telegram a good alternative?

Drawbacks of WhatsApp

There are, however, some drawbacks to WhatsApp, particularly for proper business use. It lacks a good centrally controllable connection, such as APIs and integration options. On top of that, there has been a lot of discussion lately about WhatsApp’s privacy, which is being tied more and more to parent company Facebook.
Within Webba we have been using the messaging service Telegram for more than 2.5 years. Growing in number of users and with the same possibilities as WhatsApp (a well-working app on the phone, a perfect desktop application and a web environment).

Telegram, a good alternative

Telegram does offer business integration, through connection options (APIs) and the ability to build your own ‘bots’. These bots can be deployed for business use, allowing a virtual colleague to be created. Within Webba, for instance, we have the WebbaBot, which on command checks which staff are free that day, how many (project) hours have been logged, and keeps an eye on how many tickets still have to be handled.
Soon this virtual colleague will be made even more intelligent, so that orders get placed (lunch, coffee supplies), the planning of our projects is monitored, and possible faults are detected and communicated to everyone involved.

Conclusion

We are very happy with the messaging service Telegram, particularly its integration options and its security. Would you like to know more about the possibilities of Telegram within your company? I would be glad to tell you more in a personal conversation. Feel free to get in touch without obligation.