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November 07, 2013

OpenClove Stays Ahead of the WebRTC Game with Cross-platform Application Support


When it comes to WebRTC development, the message from OpenClove is clear: You take care of enhancing the user experience, and we’ll take care of the technology.

OpenClove is the only WebRTC cloud platform to support embedded group video conversations across platforms, including Web, iOS and Android. It has a strong portfolio of in-house and customer applications and a vibrant developer community building innovative apps, which has helped improve its tools and widgets to simplify adoption of WebRTC.

The company has launched three WebRTC applications across Web, iOS and Android platforms.

  • LiveBoard Lite – a mobile WebRTC browser with built-in capability for group video chat while co-browsing any content
  • HRLive – a video interview service for digital recruitment and talent engagement
  • Vidioly – an e-commerce app

“WebRTC is fundamental to our company strategy,” said Shubh Agarwal, vice president of marketing at OpenClove, in a recent interview. “The technology eliminates a major barrier for delivery of embedded communications into any Web application. Our customer base, both independent app developers to large enterprises, is excited about bringing video engagement into their applications. That is our market opportunity.”

 So far the big names in WebRTC in terms of browser support have been Google, Mozilla and Opera. Agarwal doesn’t think we’ll see any response from Apple and Microsoft until application developers and enterprises adopt WebRTC in the mobile OS market, which is fine by him. OpenClove has solved the lack of support from Apple and Microsoft by providing a WebRTC browser (LiveBoard Lite) for Apple iOS devices. Any app developer using our OVX Cloud can support their application across all platforms with a single JavaScript code. Microsoft IE browsers support WebRTC via the use of Google Chrome Frame, a solution acceptable by a significant share of its customers.

But while Apple and Microsoft have yet to jump in the WebRTC game, Agarwal believes the day will come when every browser and device will support WebRTC in the future.

“We see content providers, app developers, portals, e-commerce and literally every vertical demanding video engagement,” he said. “Devices and browsers are dependent on this global application community, and will have to provide a capability or simply allow others to provide this capability on their platforms.”

When it comes to mobile, OpenClove is prepared. It’s the first company to offer both iOS and Android WebRTC SDKs for native application development, which is a critical differentiator for OVX Cloud, as it enables mature Web and mobile apps to adopt WebRTC today.

It’s also keeping up with the codec discussion; Google is a supporter of VP8 and Cisco recently announced plans to open source H.264.

“Like any other technology, WebRTC is going to evolve with better codecs or capabilities,” Agarwal said. “OpenClove’s OVX Cloud supports multiple audio and video codecs today, like H.264, and will adopt any new codecs as they are defined or incorporated into WebRTC, like VP9.”

As the capabilities and codecs evolve, awareness for WebRTC will continue to grow. There is a wide range of supporters of the technology, from WebRTC devotees to those who aren’t even aware it exists. For OpenClove, however, it’s dealing with a pretty knowledgeable customer base.

“Our customers are approaching us directly looking for WebRTC platforms. Many of them with existing apps are painfully aware of developing, distributing and supporting plug-ins and see WebRTC as a solution. Others without existing applications are looking for simple deployment and user experience which can be provided with the right WebRTC platform,” he said.

OpenClove is a silver sponsor of the upcoming WebRTC Conference & Expo, happening Nov. 19-21 in Santa Clara, Calif. The company is exhibiting in booth #500 and speaking in two sessions: “Is Your Business Ready for WebRTC?” and “Delivering Mobile WebRTC.”

“Awareness and education are the primary value of this conference,” Agarwal said. “However, a critical element often not valued is to drive each other and encourage the pioneer community on the whole – including competing vendors, media, enterprises, innovative developers or business decision makers – and to build an ecosystem together.”

“We will be sharing our experiences to deliver WebRTC on the mobile and the business readiness requirements for adoption of WebRTC in the enterprises,” he continued. “I have worked with TMC for a long time and trust them to provide quality events on focused topics. We are always able to generate leads, increase visibility and be a contributing part of the developing WebRTC ecosystem.”

Want to learn more about the latest in WebRTC? Be sure to attend WebRTC Conference & Expo, Nov. 19-21 in Santa Clara, Calif. Stay in touch with everything happening at WebRTC Conference & Expo. Follow us on Twitter.




Edited by Alisen Downey
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