WebRTC protocols are taking the Internet by storm as an alternative for video communication, due largely to the fact that they are both cheaper and easier to use, and share as well. WebRTC is browser-based instead of software-based, which means that two users do not necessarily need to share the same program on their respective computers or even the same Web browser, as long as it is WebRTC compatible. WebRTC is already supported by several groups that are working to make it more popular and powerful, and it appears that their work is starting to pay off.
According to a recent report released by the Industry analyst and consulting firm Disruptive Analysis, between 2 and 2.5 billion people are expected to become active users of WebRTC around the world in the next five years. In addition to simply using the video chat function for a better way to connect friends and family, the study also predicts that WebRTC embedded communications will expand to enterprise and even Internet of Things applications.
“WebRTC is the most important new communications technology of the decade,” announced the report's author and Disruptive Analysis director, Dean Bubley. “It is already enabling developers to create a broad array of communications-enabled consumer and business applications. More than six billion devices will be WebRTC-capable within five years.”
While more than two billion people will be actively using WebRTC by the end of the decade, more than half of them are expected to use it on a day-to-day basis. Already companies are noting the improved rates of productivity and collaboration afforded by having real-time video communications, and the fact that they can be conducted over a compatible browser means that these communications will become even simpler in the coming years. Especially as developers find new uses for WebRTC in innovative platforms and applications, the world of easy real-time communications appears to be coming to fruition.
Edited by
Rory J. Thompson
