The adoption of real-time communications has led to incredible developments in the market today. One of those developments is WebRTC, which helps to drive seamless communications regardless of platform or software implementation. By removing the barriers to seamless connections, this open source innovation is bringing disparate users and technology together.
In preparation for the upcoming WebRTC Conference and Expo, Webrtcworld talked with Chris Matthieu, founder & CEO of Twelephone to get his insight on WebRTC and how it’s impacting his company today. In fact, according to Matthieu, Twelephone would not be possible without WebRTC, as it is a secure browser-based alternative to Skype.
Twelephone
Twelephone is an interesting application as it allows users to place and receive calls – known as twelephone calls – with friends on Twitter. The calls are established via a peer-to-peer connection and the sessions are encrypted between users. With WebRTC, the video twelephone calls rely on HTML5 for high definition communications. Therefore, Matthieu sees WebRTC as a revolutionary technology.
“In addition to WebRTC-to-WebRTC calling, Twelephone supports WebRTC-to-SIP and vice versa for interfacing with VoIP softphones and traditional contact center technologies,” said Matthieu. “We also support WebRTC-to-PSTN for making outbound free toll free calls. In the near future, we will support in/outbound PSTN to regular telephone numbers.”
Twelephone has certainly identified the opportunity that exists with Twitter and the importance of real-time communications within the global industry. What appears to be a potential competitor with what Google is trying to accomplish with its “Circles,” this latest innovation allows a user’s social network username to serve as a twelephone number. This information can be easily shared, as it can be tweeted, included in an email, or added to a webpage as an embedded CallMe button in a widget.
Real-Time Communications
The rapid adoption of smartphone and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies throughout the marketplace is also driving demand for access to real-time communications. With direct syncing between social media applications and smartphone technology, users can do just about anything on the go. Matthieu sees a large opportunity in the market and his company is focused on the development of apps to sync directly with iOS and Android.
Because Safari doesn’t support WebRTC, it creates demand for developers to launch applications to bridge that gap. Plus, if a twelephone call is coming in, there must be a way to wake up the mobile device. And, while Google is launching services that could compete with Twelephone, Matthieu is excited that the search giant it supporting WebRTC, as it helps to create more users in this space.
For Twelephone, 80 percent of its traffic is coming via Firefox and Chrome web browsers, but the company looks forward to the time when every device and browser will readily support WebRTC. While not all companies are ready to embrace the open source development of this platform, the demand for real-time communications from global users may quickly change the focus. As Apple and Microsoft are planning to implement WebRTC in the next year or two, the technology can’t help but take off in a big way.
This is especially true in the enterprise setting. There is nothing more frustrating for the mobile professional than to lack the right application or operating system to support audio or video conference calls. Access to WebRTC eliminates this barrier, and Twelephone takes it one step further.
Data Channels
The development of data channel capabilities also play a role in the usefulness of WebRTC applications. Providers in this space aim to deliver optimal multimedia experiences while eliminating barriers to use. Twelephone is aiming to be on the forefront in this way, focusing on the developments that meet current user needs.
“We are currently using data channels as a P2P transport of real-time chats,” said Matthieu. “Future uses of data channels will include screen sharing and file transfers. We are also experimenting with running user presence over data channels rather than using web sockets as implemented today.”
Native Apps
The use of native apps has delivered on two perspectives for the mobile user. While on the one hand they can ensure the delivery of a seamless experience, perfectly synched with user expectation, they can also be challenging to optimize across other platforms. It’s fine if the user stays only in one environment, but that isn’t generally the case in the market today.
Matthieu shared, “We would prefer to stay 100 percent browser based but it’s not possible for us. We are being asked to extend Twelephone to iOS and Android devices in such a way where users can receive Twelephone calls when offline. This requires a native app to receive a push notification to launch the Twelephone app or browser page on accepting a call. If iOS supported WebRTC, this native app could be a very light-weight app to simply handle push notifications and launch the browser.”
Education and Adoption
The adoption of WebRTC is significant in developer communities and technology companies, yet the average consumer is still confused as to why this platform exists or the value it delivers. Developers like Matthieu and Twelephone will have to continue to educate the target market on the value these platforms deliver and why consumers will want them. As it stands, consumers coming to Twelephone now already seek WebRTC, as they understand its worth.
This is where events like the WebRTC Conference & Expo lend considerable value toward the education of the consumer regarding the virtues of WebRTC and how to adopt it in various environments. Matthieu will be speaking at this event, sharing his insight on WebRTC business models. He will also be participating in a discussion panel. He hopes that by sharing his own experiences and lessons learned, he will provide others with revenue ideas so they can develop their own WebRTC-powered devices.
Edited by
Blaise McNamee
