The Indian Army launched a new messaging application called ASIGMA for internal communications on Thursday. ASIGMA, which stands for Army Secure IndiGeneous Messaging Application, was developed entirely in-house by a team of officers from the Corps of Signals, an official statement said.

“The new application will be deployed on the Army’s internal network to replace the Army Wide Area Network (AWAN) messaging application that has been in service for 15 years,” the Army said.

ASIGMA was deployed on army-owned hardware and lends itself to lifelong support with future upgrades, it said.

The bespoke messaging application meets all futuristic user needs and offers an enhanced user experience, according to the aforementioned statement.

ASIGMA has a host of contemporary features including multilevel security, message prioritization and tracking, a dynamic global address book, and various options to meet the needs of the armed forces.

“This future-proof messaging application will meet the real-time data transmission and messaging needs of the army, especially given the current geopolitical security environment, and is in line with India’s Make in India initiative,” the statement said.

The Indian Army has prepared heavily for automation, especially after the COVID-19 outbreak, and is taking significant steps towards paperless work, it said.

“ASIGMA will continue to intensify these efforts, adding to the myriad of other applications already used by the Army through its in-house army network,” she added.