7/28/2019 TPO Magazine 2013 - WebRTC: A Reality Check

1/5Summer 2013 1

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PLUS:VISUAL COLLABORATION FOR AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND SCRUM WEBRTC REALITY CHE

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7/28/2019 TPO Magazine 2013 - WebRTC: A Reality Check

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WebRTCA REALITY CHECK

BY TIM KRIDEL

WebRTC today is like

LeBron James in 2004:

Saddled with unrealistic

expectations about

becoming the next big thing

overnight, James took years

to mature into a champion.

Now WebRTC is struggling

to overcome the premature

hype and prove that it can

be a videoconerencing

game-changer.

7/28/2019 TPO Magazine 2013 - WebRTC: A Reality Check

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Shortorreal-timecommunications,WebRCenablesbrowserstosupportvideoconerenceswithouttheneedoraplug-in.Userssimplyclickonalinksuchasina

OutlookinvitationoronaWebpagetolaunchavideocallor

tojoinavideoconerence.TatdesignisaparticularlygoodtorB2Capplicationsbecausetherstpartothecalldoesnthavetobewastedoninstallationandtroubleshooting.

WhatsexcitingaboutWebRCisthatithasthepromisetosolvetheinstallationissue,saidOerShapiro,CEOoVidyo,whichplanstoaddWebRCtoitsproductline-up.

WebRCsclick-to-conerenceabilityhasenormousimplicationspositiveandnegativeorthevideoconerencingvendorsandintegrators.Forexample,WebRCisawayorenterprisestoextendvideoconerencingtomoreemployeesbyleveraging

thedesktopPCs,laptopsandmobiledevicesthattheyalreadyowninsteadoshellingoutseveralhundreddollarsapieceordedicatedendpoints.Asaresult,WebRCcouldcannibalizesalesodesktopvideoconerencinghardware,aswellasthosethatusesowareclientsonPCs.

ButWebRCalsocouldspursalesoroom-basedandexecutive-desktopsystemsbygivingthoseproductsmorepeopletoconnectto.

raditionalvideoconerencinghasbeenkindolikeaancycountryclub,saidAlexDoyle,Vidtelvicepresidentomarketing. Ithasremarkablecapability,butonlyaveryselectewhavebeenabletoenjoyitsbenets.Tecostsoentryequipment,installation,andmaintenancehavecrowdedoutmostothepotentialmarket.

AndastheinstalledbaseoconsumerswithWebRCgrows,itcouldencouragecontactcenterstoinvestheavilyinvideosolutionsthatrequireatleastsomeproessionalservicesandenterprise-gradeinrastructure.Toseareallexamplesohowbrowser-basedvideohasar-reachingimplications.

Tatsjusttheveryteeniest,tiniesttipothishuge,giganticiceberg,whichisaboutvideobecomingpervasiveandbecomingintegratednativelyandseamlesslyintoeveryapplication,saidKarlDahlin,Avervicepresidentobusinessdevelopment.

Tablets

Smartphones

PCs

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0

M

illion

Q412

Q113

Q2

13

Q3

13

Q413

Q114

Q2

14

Q3

14

Q414

Q115

Q2

15

Q3

15

Q415

Q116

Q2

16

Q3

16

Q416

FIG 1: WebRTC support will grow quickly, led by PCs initially

7/28/2019 TPO Magazine 2013 - WebRTC: A Reality Check

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Itchangessomanythings.Itcouldbethecatalystthatbringsvideoconerencingandcollaborationtothemainstream.

A NICHE PLAY FOR NOW

ChromeandFireoxaretheonlymajorbrowsersthatcurrentlysupportWebRC.UntilInternetExplorer,Saariorbothaddit,WebRCisntaviableoptionormass-scaleB2BandB2Ccommunications.

WebRChasbeendrivenbythebrowservendors,saidKenDavison,MagorCommunicationsCMO.Imotheopinionthatitwillbeubiquitousacrossallbrowsersinthenextyear.

Ithatturnsouttobethecase,WebRCstillacesaewotherchallenges.Forexample,itdoesntaddressqualityoservice

andsomesecurityissues,whichareactorsthatCIOsandImanagersconsiderwithanyvideocommunicationsservice.

WebRCwouldsolveoneothereasonswhypeoplecantgetintoacall:theycantinstall,Shapirosaid.Butyoustillmayhavenetwork,rewallsandtranscodingissues.ItsolvesachunkotheproblemsbutnotallothemonitsownTewaytothinkaboutWebRCislikehttpapowerulwaytoaccesscloudbasedservices.

ForenterprisesthatwantvideoconerencesthatincludeamixoWebRCdevicesandtraditionalvideoconerencingendpoints,anotherpotentialhurdleisthecostobridgingthosetwoworlds.

NothinginWebRCnativelyprovidesinteroperabilitywiththeseexistingsystems,sopeoplethinkingthatWebRCwillmagicallyreplaceexistingsystemsareincorrect,Doylesaid.

Instead,customerswillneedaservicethatcangraceullyworkwithexistingsolutionsandextendthemtosupportWebRC.

Overthepastewmonths,severalvendorshavelaunchedcloud-basedservicesthatenableinteroperabilitybetweenWebRCandendpointsthatuseSIPorH.323.MagorandVidtelaretwoexamples.

Ibelievethattodate,weretheonlyvendorinthemarkettosupportnativelytheVP8codecusedbyWebRCbrowsers,Davisonsaid.Tisenablesustododirectconnectionbetweenanenterprise-gradeenvironmentMagorsAeruswiththeconsumer,browser-basedendpoint.

Besidescloud-basedservices,anotherpotentialoptionisgateways.Eitherway,itsimportanttoidentiythosecostsbecauseitseasytogetcaughtupinthehypethatWebRChasminimalorzerouprontcosts.

IusingWebRCrequirestranscodinggatewaystotalktolegacy,howmuchdotheycost?Shapirosaid.Peopleshouldthink

aboutthecompleteprice.

Whetheritswithcloud-basedservicesorinrastructure,itsasaebetthatmorevendorswilltargetWebRC.

AsbillionsousersareenabledviaWebRC,traditionalsystemswillneedtoaccommodateandbuildthecapabilityorWebRCthemselves,saidJackBlaeser,enHandsCCOandounder.

Buttonotchbillions,WebRCwillhavetogetintoInternetExplorer.MicrosooriginallyadvocatedacompetingtechnologybutnowappearswillingtoimplementWebRC.Whenthat

WebRTC is available in

Fireoxs Nightly version

WebRTC is available in

Chromes stable version

FIG 2: Chrome and reox can now talk.

FIG 3: Magor and Vidtel are among the providers

o cloud-based services that enable inter-operability

between WebRTC and videoconerencing endpoints

that use SIP or H.323

FIG 4: At Enterprise Connect, Ten Hands (www.ten-

hands.net) highlighted the fexibility o WebRTC by dem-

onstrating a working Facebook videoconerencing app,

powered by WebRTC, which they created in under a day

http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/2013/03/magor_brings_visual_conversati/http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/2013/01/vidtel_announces_public_availa/http://www.tenhands.net/http://www.tenhands.net/http://www.tenhands.net/http://www.tenhands.net/http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/2013/01/vidtel_announces_public_availa/http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/2013/03/magor_brings_visual_conversati/

7/28/2019 TPO Magazine 2013 - WebRTC: A Reality Check

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TIM KRIDEL has been covering the pro

AV industry since 2003 or publications

such asAV Technology, InAVate, Pro

AV, Sound & Video Contractorand

Telepresence Options, as well as

InoComms Special Reports series.

Since 1998, he also has been covering

the telecom industry or a variety o

publications and analyst frms. For more

inormation, visit www.timkridel.com.

At Enterpise Connect, Twilio demoed

an innovative WebRTC application. A

web application was associated with a

local phone number. Audience mem-

bers called the local number with their

cell phones, and were added to a callqueue, and another slice was added to

the pie wheel. When the wheel stopped

spinning, the winner was bridged into

the browser using WebRTC and heard

on the auditoriums loudspeakers.

happens,itcouldtriggerafoodWebRCadoption,butthequestionstillremainsiMicroso(andApple)willagreetouse

thesamecodecthatGoogleisadvocating-VP8-orcontinuetopushoranH.264basedsolution,urthercomplicatingtheinteroperabilitychallengebetweenWebRCsolutions.

AnditsnotjustbecauseoInternetExplorersmarketshare.ItsalsobecauseInternetExplorerispreinstalledonWindowsmachinesandaknownentitytoenterpriseIdepartments.Bycomparison,ChromeandFireoxaredownloads,somethingthatmanyenterprisesorbidorsecurityreasons.

WhileIamseeingalotobuzzandpromisingapplicationsrom

theventureandUCvendorcommunities,inmyopinionthereal-worldimplementationoapplicationsthatcanleverageWebRCisstilltocome,saidCaryBran,Plantronicsseniordirectorosowareandinnovation. TereasoningbehindthisistheneedorubiquitousorattheveryleastFireoxandChromeandeitherSaariorInternetExplorertohaveinteroperableWebRCimplementations.

Butorallitshurdlesanduncertainties,WebRChasamassedavendorollowingthatmeansitslikelytobecomemorethanjustafashinthepan.

Itshardorpeopletounderstandhowbigtheopportunityreallyis,Dahlinsaid.WebRCcouldbethecatalystthatchangesthe

videolandscapeorever.TPO

VS

FIG 5: Browser usage

FIG 6: WebRTC could spur sales o traditional videocon-

erencing appliances by connecting these products to

more people.

Global Browser

Usage

Workplace Browser

Usage

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