The tech world is getting excited about WebRTC, or Web “Real Time Communications.” It’s for a good reason: the standard is likely to revolutionize how people communicate on the Internet, and even change how people interact with companies.
WebRTC is the standard behind a free, open project designed to allow high-quality, real-time communication applications to be developed in the browser via simple Java APIs and HTML5. What it essentially means is that you can easily engage in video or audio communications with people all over the world as easily as clicking on a link.
While it’s likely to make heavy waves in places like social media, it takes a little more focus to see how it will change business as usual. The first area likely to see major changes once WebRTC reaches critical penetration is the contact center. Customers using WebRTC will essentially blur the line between voice and Web communications. WebRTC will usher in new users of technologies such as Web chat combined with voice, click-to-chat and even video calling. The typical customer today browses a company Web site and – if he or she wishes to speak with an agent about a product or service – must dial in to a toll-free number. He or she must then direct the agent who answers to the Web page in question so both parties are looking at the same page. But WebRTC will entirely change the game because it will essentially sync the voice or video call and the customer’s browsing session.
Many consumers are already using browsers capable of WebRTC. The latest versions of both Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox have some WebRTC capabilities, and Microsoft is working on its own initiative. (Apple is the holdout, having remained somewhat ambiguous about its approach to the standard.)
It’s incumbent on customer-facing companies, therefore, to begin building their WebRTC strategies now so they are not behind the game when it begins in earnest. Not only do developers need to understand the standard fully, they need to also know how to apply it within landscapes like Google Chrome and Asterisk.
Many of the players with a stake in WebRTC are already offering educational sessions to teach developers all they need to know about the standard and its applications. The WebRTC standard bearers at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) are teaming up with Google, Digium, Priologic (architects of the RTC enterprise platform-as-a-service), TMC and many other WebRTC stakeholders to present an educational event designed to allow attendees to get hands-on with WebRTC. The event, which will be held June 25 to 27 in Atlanta, Georgia, will help attendees understand how WebRTC integrates with current services and products and how it can be used to further business goals and meet customer expectations.
Since WebRTC crosses a number of communications media, it’s not something that can be “bolted on” once the standard reaches a critical mass of acceptance. For this reason, companies that plan to remain at the pinnacle of communications and customer service need to begin planning their WebRTC strategies today, otherwise the coming storm is likely to sink them, and new business opportunities will be lost.
Edited by
Alisen Downey
