Web-based real time communications (WebRTC) offered up another week of big news and major developments in a field that's rapidly growing. With a lot of developments coming around on a regular basis, it's a good idea to take a step back and summarize some of the major developments in a week. So with the arrival of a well-deserved weekend, let's settle in and run down the biggest events of the week with our Week in Review coverage!
First, we had a look at how contact center vendors, especially those dealing in cloud-based technologies, aren't yet ready for the full arrival of WebRTC. WebRTC represents a substantial potential for change throughout the entire industry, and that means it's likely to leave a lot of industries changed in its wake. Despite this massive potential for change, cloud-based contact centers are oddly slow to put the proper infrastructure necessary to support WebRTC contact capabilities in place, possibly because the industry itself is still comparatively new. But with the industry advancing almost daily, delay may not be an option for much longer.
Next we had something a little extra special in the form of an extended Q&A session with the CEO of Bistri, Arnaud Budkiewicz. Talking with Budkiewicz revealed not only quite a bit in the way of information about where Bistri was going with WebRTC, but also information about the broader issues of the market, where WebRTC itself was going and how the development of this industry was likely to impact regular users as well as the businesses getting involved as a vendor, as a user, or both.
Hookflash stepped in with the next bit of news in the field, as it made its Open Peer Software Development Kit (SDK) available in a beta version for BlackBerry 10. Bringing the SDK to BlackBerry 10 will better allow other developers out to build applications that involve messaging, voice and video communications to integrate these features into apps that may not just have these features in mind. This is, of course, much of the focus of WebRTC, and Hookflash's SDK will make it easier to integrate these features into other apps. Hookflash has quite the background in communications technology, having previously developed softphones, parts of Skype's audio technology, and even some of WebRTC's standards with the IETF and the W3C.
Finally, we examined the issues of WebRTC preparation, and how getting ready for WebRTC is mostly an issue of data. With a variety of companies of all sizes getting involved in the construction of WebRTC tools, and a variety of industries considering how best to put the technology to use when it's ready, it may come as a surprise to note that a lot of businesses simply aren't ready yet to take advantage of this new technology. While there's still time to consider the matter fully, plans need to begin to accommodate these new systems, and what makes the best plans is plenty of data. When companies consider just what it is WebRTC can do, the idea of bringing this new technology on board will likely prove a smart one.
That was the week that was in WebRTC. Our global online community was regularly bringing back fresh news in the field to consider, and as this technology is closer to wide release, there's likely to be much more to follow. So be sure to join us back here next week for all the latest in WebRTC, and naturally, every weekend for our Week in Review!
