In recent months, the WebRTC Conference & Expo has shown itself as a perfect way to not only see what's being developed in the field of Web-based real time communications (WebRTC), but also as a way to connect with those who develop for the field. Finding out not only what's coming out soon, but what may be coming out later is an exciting prospect, so there are likely plenty of visitors set to hit WebRTC Conference & Expo III when it arrives at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif., running Nov. 19-21.
One person looking to make the trip is Galeal Zino, the director of UC&C engineering with Tata Communications. Zino recently took a few moments to sit with us and offer up some commentary on not only what Tata Communications is doing with WebRTC, but also his impressions of what's going on in the wider industry, and what he's looking to get out of his attendance at the upcoming WebRTC Conference & Expo III event. Here's what he had to say to us.
TMC (News - Alert): Are you using WebRTC in a production application today?
Galeal Zino: Yes, WebRTC voice and video clients can join our Jamvee services today (when the interworking is done by our partner or customer). We are also testing solutions in the lab that enable native WebRTC support, and are working with developers via our Future of Collaboration Hackathons on all types of WebRTC-enabled services and apps.
TMC: Tell us about the impact of WebRTC on your product line. (Do you see a new market opportunity as a result of WebRTC?)
Zino: WebRTC opens the doors for developers to easily and effectively integrate RTC into applications and services in ways that are yet to be imagined. In that respect, WebRTC helps accelerate communications from telecom speed to software/web speed, and helps enable more open, API-driven, diverse architectures and products than were viable in traditional telecom. We are starting to see this in our hackathons and lab sandboxes and that’s exciting!
TMC: How does WebRTC impact the BYOD market? Do you expect you are going to see Google gain more of a presence in the device world?
Zino: The BYOD market is already doing quite well but WebRTC increases the use of BYOD devices in traditional enterprise communications. WebRTC via BYOD devices also enables different user experience options, for example using a BYOD device for content or audio, while using a separate device for video. Android’s head start with WebRTC should be an advantage although we expect to see WebRTC or WebRTC compatible apps on each major platform.
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TMC: Does the lack of Apple and Microsoft commitment to deliver WebRTC in their products have a major impact on your WebRTC plans? Why or why not?
Zino: Apple and Microsoft commitments, and their technical, sales and marketing strengths, would be helpful in increasing awareness, usage and the overall pace of innovation.
TMC: Will every device and browser eventually support WebRTC in the future?
Zino: Communications will become increasingly diversified as communications becomes a ubiquitous “feature” built into many services, applications, operating systems, devices and browsers. We believe the ultimate landscape will be very heterogeneous but that developers will have the opportunity to enable the end users to participate in WebRTC sessions via client side wrapper and gateways on any major browser or OS.
TMC: Does WebRTC represent a specific implementation strategy in the enterprise (e.g., remote workers, call centers and other opportunities in the enterprise)?
Zino: Contact center ecosystem development will be fascinating. WebRTC is their best opportunity to date to get to native VoIP to VoIP sessions, with integrated data sharing, collaboration, and video, and that means a path to contextual communications, HD voice and CEBP. That said, there are other parts of the equation to be addressed in order to enable such a replacement, including the PC/tablet/mobile devices that host the clients, the PBX, integration with surrounding OSS/BSS, and the LAN/WAN setup.
TMC: How important is VP9 to your mobile strategy?
Zino: An inflection point is when VP9 is natively supported by a majority of the mobile chipsets with hardware acceleration. This helps with quality, consistency and battery life.
TMC: How will data channel capabilities expand the multimedia experience of your solution?
Zino: Data channel will enable use cases and features that we aren’t even thinking of today – it can be very disruptive. A fairly simple but powerful initial use case from the videoconferencing world is replacing BFCP and H.239 based content sharing with data channel based sharing. It is also interesting to consider cases in which Unified Communications is not the goal…cases in which we would prefer to use different devices and applications for different modalities, even within the same collaboration or communications session.
TMC: In theory, HTML5 and WebRTC can eliminate native apps. Do you have plans for native mobile application with WebRTC or the Google Media Engine?
Zino: Our partners have plans for both HTML5 and native apps and some using Google Media Engine. More broadly, we expect real-time communications (voice, video and data) to be a “feature” in a wide variety of services and apps, meaning there will be a mix of web and apps.
TMC: Where do we stand on the adoption curve of WebRTC? (Are we in the bowling alley? Still in the hype phase?)
Zino: In telecom, we used to say that standards don’t ship. That’s still mainly true in telecom but WebRTC communications has turned the tables – in a good way – how many WebRTC Chrome and Firefox browsers are out there enabling WebRTC based apps as we speak (despite the standards not yet being ratified)? So we are still in the hype phase but it is not the normal telecom hype phase. It is closer to the web or software version. Meaning, products and services will ship during the hype phase and the hype phase will merge with active deployments before we know it.
TMC: How often do you have to explain what WebRTC is to your potential customers?
Zino: Our Jamvee customers and resellers are increasingly asking WebRTC questions, but it is still relatively early and the questions relatively light. However, WebRTC has started to grow exponentially in engineering and software development conversations.
TMC: How do events like the WebRTC Conference & Expo help drive the WebRTC community?
Zino: WebRTC Conference & Expo does a terrific job in driving awareness, fostering relationships, encouraging dialogues and helping the community to continue to grow and develop. It was eye opening to see the number of engaged software developers in Atlanta, and Tata has built some relationships in the WebRTC ecosystem due to discussions in Atlanta.
TMC: What will you be doing at the WebRTC Conference & Expo in Santa Clara? (Exhibitor, sponsor, speaker, etc. – what will you be exhibiting? What will you be speaking about?)
Zino: Traditional telecom services are great but they were and are restricted by technology. With WebRTC, we can now work with our partners to provide end users with richer, more contextual, fit for purpose communications solutions. Service providers need to enable end users to take advantage by extending existing service functionality, increasing access to existing services, and developing new services and features that leverage WebRTC.
TMC: Why did you decide to attend the WebRTC Conference & Expo?
Zino: I was very impressed by the Atlanta Expo. I learned a lot and talked with engaged developers, visionary product folks and traditional vendors with credible strategies. A real community is forming and I look forward to continuing to participate in it in Santa Clara.
TMC: What do you hope attendees will learn about you at the event? (Why should they come see you?)
Zino: Attendees will learn about how WebRTC can help improve communications and collaboration. The journey will be interesting, disruptive and profitable, so all attendees should be considering how they can help the WebRTC ecosystem develop. Attendees will learn how they can engage with Tata Communications to offer compelling WebRTC services to the market.
That's what Tata Communications' Galeal Zino looks to get out of the WebRTC Conference & Expo III, and though everyone else will likely look to get something different out of the affair—including a look at what Tata Communications will be doing in the field—there's certain to be something for just about everybody to check out at this event. There's only a couple weeks left before the show, so for those looking to show up, be sure and get in on all the action now to ensure a space is available!
Edited by
Alisen Downey
