The name of the game online today is real-time – users expect and demand access to information, communication and applications right when they want it. GoInstant, a salesforce.com company, understands this demand, and provides real-time APIs to help developers build real-time, multi-user, co-browser applications for the Web and mobile. GoInstant also recently integrated its platform with WebRTC to make audio and video easy in the browser.
Ironically enough, GoInstant is the first company I’ve talked to about WebRTC on an actual WebRTC solution. I got the chance to speak with Dave Kim, co-founder of GoInstant, and Ben Yoskovitz, VP product at GoInstant, to see GoInstant in action and talk about the company’s role in the WebRTC market.
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Its demo is available for anyone interested in seeing three main components in action: Rooms, keys and channels. The Rooms API (presence) is where all the users in a conference exist and where data gets stored. Keys (signaling) is the interface for accessing and manipulating data, so being able to send chat messages would fall in this category. The third, Channels (signaling), is data passing between users but not stored, such as muting. The conference can technically hold an unlimited amount of people – with GoInstant it definitely is unlimited – but adding in WebRTC brings in some lag around 10 or so users. Since WebRTC is still relatively new, updating factors like this is a development process of trial and error.
GoInstant started experimenting with WeBRTC at a hackathon, when developers brought up this “cool new technology” that was also about real-time. Yoskovitz explained that setting up WebRTC is not the easiest thing to do, so GoInstant sets out to eliminate those technical barriers – the server, configuration and backend technology – to make getting WebRTC up and running as easy and seamless as possible.
There’s a lot more you can do with GoInstant besides just join a conference room with audio and video capabilities. The company includes a list of examples on its website, which include live chat and collaborative applications like drawing, gaming and presentations.
“You’ll get to video and audio at some point with real-time on the Web,” Yoskovitz explained. But the potential goes beyond that – using the data channel for functions like file sharing and screen sharing will definitely be a popular use of the technology, particularly for support services.
The top questions Kim and Yoskovitz get asked about WebRTC involve browser compatibility and mobile. People want to know what platforms, operating systems and devices can integrate with these applications, and they are definitely interested in WebRTC, they said. Many people start by looking at GoInstant’s demo and then questioning if they can integrate video and audio in their own applications or services. That will probably be a common trend as WebRTC develops – once people see it in action, they’ll think of new use cases and ways the technology can be used as an added value to their existing products and improve their online presence.
If you’re interested in learning more about WebRTC, next week’s Enterprise WebRTC Pavilion collocated with ITEXPO in Miami will cover topics like standards, development tools and techniques on implementing WebRTC. If next week doesn’t work for you, there’s also the WebRTC Conference & Expo happening in Atlanta from June 17-19, which includes keynote presentations, an exhibit hall, conference sessions and product demonstrations. Hope to see you there!
Edited by
Ryan Sartor
