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November 15, 2013

Real-time Video, Mobile Apps and the Growth of WebRTC: Q&A with TokBox


We may not always have the time or ability for face-to-face interactions in real life, but the Internet is doing a great job at developing new solutions, applications and services to duplicate that experience as closely as possible. Part of the development in real-time communications over the Internet is WebRTC, which aims to deliver a solution so people can communicate over a browser as easily and seamlessly as possible.

TokBox, a Telefónica digital company, is one of the players enabling real-time video communication with its OpenTok platform, which allows users to add WebRTC to their website or mobile application. Offering firewall traversal, a low-latency signaling layer, bandwidth scalability, cross-platform capabilities, tech support and multi-party calling, TokBox’s technology helps organizations from all different industries take advantage of WebRTC’s potential.

Recently, we caught up with Scott Lomond, VP of marketing and business development at TokBox, to discuss how it is adopting WebRTC in its product strategy today, an overview of the WebRTC ecosystem and TokBox’s participation at next week’s WebRTC Conference & Expo.

Are you using WebRTC in a production application today?

Yes, our OpenTok platform delivers all the global infrastructure, scalability, and features developers and businesses need to add WebRTC live video to their website or mobile application. TokBox has been offering support for WebRTC on our OpenTok platform since August of 2012. We’ve seen the technology power everything from pre and post sale customer service to telepresence robots, virtual classrooms, brand-building campaigns, and live fan engagement.

Tell us about the impact of WebRTC on your product line. (Do you see a new market opportunity as a result of WebRTC?)

Yes.  Since WebRTC was launched, we’ve seen developers and customers attracted to its superior audio and video quality.  We’ve also discovered that partners need more than just a standard to build live video communications into their websites and mobile applications - they need signaling, multi-party video capabilities, mobile support, intelligent bandwidth adaptation, and the global infrastructure to power these capabilities. We continue to evolve our platform to keep pace with this demand for more features.

One example: a signaling protocol is not defined by WebRTC. In response to this we released our signaling API to OpenTok developers so that they can leverage on our globally distributed infrastructure. OpenTok Developers no longer need a third party library to build in text chat, send game moves, move a robot, coordinate participating fans, and much more. You can use the OpenTok Signaling API to broadcast to your entire session or to target a message at a specific connection.

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?

It stands to reason that WebRTC will have a big impact on the trend toward BYOD. As organizations react to the desire of employees to determine their own preferred productivity devices, it becomes less practical to dictate the communications solutions that must be used company wide. WebRTC’s unique potential to become ubiquitous, and to require no installable software, make it superbly aligned with the BYOD trend.

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?

For the WebRTC ecosystem overall, yes. The goal of WebRTC is to provide a web-based real-time communication standard that is supported in every browser.  The fact that Apple and Microsoft aren’t yet supporting WebRTC with their browsers is delaying progress toward this goal.

For TokBox, somewhat.  As a platform provider, our job to make live video easy for developers, no matter their use case, target device or the quality of last mile connection. Until Apple and Microsoft come aboard we have a bit of additional work on our plates to support plugin frameworks and other strategies to provide the best user experience possible.

Will every device and browser eventually support WebRTC in the future?

Maybe not every one, but the ones that matter most to developers and consumers will.

Does WebRTC represent a specific implementation strategy in the enterprise? (e.g., remote workers, call centers and other opportunities in the enterprise)

In the early days of WebRTC (not so long ago!) a lot of observers were looking at the technology as a new way to do voice and video conferencing, but with lower cost and greater convenience.  Those things are certainly possible, but we are seeing a wide variety of use cases and strategies in the enterprise. These include employee training and recruiting, pre-sale customer engagement and post sale customer service.  

How important is VP9 to your mobile strategy?

At the moment we’re focused on delivering the best possible video experience through VP8. We have heard some very interesting things about the possible capabilities of VP9, but at this point it is too early to comment.

How will data channel capabilities expand the multimedia experience of your solution?

At the moment, we aren’t leveraging data channel capabilities to deliver multimedia within our live video sessions. The challenge with multimedia and the data channel is the lack of support for rendering non-HTML content. We would argue that the power of the data channel is in opening the communication pipeline between two participants rather than displaying the files that are the basis of the collaboration session.

In theory, HTML5 and WebRTC can eliminate native apps. Do you have plans for native mobile application with WebRTC or the Google Media Engine?

What we have done at TokBox is create our own native mobile SDKs which include the Google Media Engine as the WebRTC core.

For example, TokBox released an iOS SDK for native applications 8 months ago, which is currently being used by hundreds of partners. In addition, exciting things are coming from TokBox by way of a native Android SDK.

Where do we stand on the adoption curve of WebRTC? (Are we in the bowling alley? Still in the hype phase?)

As of October 2013, the majority of browsers being used today are WebRTC enabled (Firefox, Chrome and soon to come - Opera). If you include Internet Explorer (through Google Chrome Frame), that number jumps to around 90 percent. The identification of the MTI video codec will play an important role in how quickly these issues are resolved or extended.  

How often do you have to explain what WebRTC is to your potential customers?

A large number of customers who come to TokBox do so after having explored WebRTC on their own. They quickly realize the need for platform capabilities and seek us out. These customers need no explanation about WebRTC. In other cases, customers find us with a need to add live video to their website, but they have no idea about WebRTC as a way of doing that. Overall, however, we’re finding that the percentage of potential customers who are aware of WebRTC is growing - a noticeable difference from just 6 months ago.

How do events like the WebRTC Conference & Expo help drive the WebRTC community?

WebRTC Conference & Expo is the premier event for the WebRTC community to gather and share insights and experiences. Attendees get a real sense for the how the ecosystem is evolving and growing. Everyone benefits when we can get together and share ideas, viewpoints and innovations.

What will you be doing at the WebRTC Conference & Expo in Santa Clara?

 TokBox is proud to be a Diamond Sponsor and will be exhibiting at booths 300 & 302. Stop by to see our new enhancements to the OpenTok platform (to be announced on 11/19/13).

You can learn about the OpenTok platform in the following sessions:

Tuesday, 11/19/13

  • 11:10am-12:30pm, The WebRTC Big Build Comparison, Jonathan Katzman, Chief Product Officer, Minerva Project
  • 1:05-1:35pm, TokBox Keynote Session, Ian Small, CEO, TokBox

Wednesday, 11/20/13

  • 11:20am-12:00pm, General Session Panel - Business Impact and Directions Roundtable, Ian Small, CEO, TokBox
  • 2:30pm-3:10pm, Panel Discussion: WebRTC & Social Solutions, Melih Onvural, Technical Product Manager, TokBox

Thursday, 11/21/13

  • 1:00-1:45pm, General Session Panel - Using the Data Channel for More than File Sharing, Badri Rajasekar, VP Engineering, TokBox
  • 4:35-5:00, Closing Panel, Ian Small, CEO, TokBox

Why did you decide to attend the WebRTC Conference & Expo?

We spoke at the first WebRTC Conference and Expo, and the Expo in Atlanta was a great event. It was an easy decision to become a diamond sponsor for the Santa Clara event as well.  The WebRTC Conference and Expo is the leading event for the rapidly growing WebRTC community.

What do you hope attendees will learn about you at the event?

WebRTC opens up many new and exciting possibilities for businesses to integrate WebRTC video into their websites and mobile applications. The OpenTok platform from TokBox makes doing so easy and fast by providing the global infrastructure, scalability, and features developers need to be successful with WebRTC.

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 Blaise McNamee
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