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WebRTC Turns 5 Years Old! Reflections on #SMBlab [VIDEO]

by Joe DeBari

Angela Leavitt & Mike Oeth are joined by Randy Resnick & Michael Graves to reflect on WebRTC tech on its fifth birthday.

Published: July 25, 2016

Happy birthday to WebRTC! 'How old are you now?'...

Last month, WebRTC celebrated its 5th birthday. Angela Leavitt (@MojoMktg) and Mike Oeth (@VoIPCEO) devoted the last #SMBlab episode to this milestone event and were thrilled to welcome Randy Resnick (@voipusers) and Michael Graves (@mjgraves) of the VoIP Users Conference (VUC) to the chat.

Watch the video to get the group's reflections on and opinions of this disruptive technology, or read on below for our summary of their conversation.

 

Mentioned in the Blab:

'VoIP Users Are Everywhere'

The growth of VoIP in today's business marketplace is undeniable. A recent compilation of statistics lists some impressive facts:

  • The number of seats for hosted business VoIP will double between 2012 and 2016.
  • The global market for UC and VoIP services will reach $88 billion by 2018.

In fact, you've most likely used VoIP in some of your phone conversations from today!

This rapid adoption of VoIP into the workplace also spurred the development of related technologies, such as WebRTC. Groups and organizations (like the VUC) came about to explore the impact that these technologies are having on workers and their workplaces.

What is the VUC?

Randy created the VoIP Users Conference (formerly known as the Asterisk Users Conference) in 2007, and Michael is a co-producer of the show. Michael also works for ZipDX, an audio conferencing solution provider, and is a prolific blogger on SMB tools and technology.

Ever since the creation of the VUC, the hosts have diligently hosted live discussions every Friday at 12 Noon Eastern time since then. Recently celebrating their 600th show (congrats on the remarkable achievement!), participants discuss telecom-related news and topics from VoIP to SIP and WebRTC. As Michael puts it, "we've had everybody from Acme Packet to Zoltis on, so it's literally been an A to Z of the telecom space."

Randy also notes that it's a valuable forum for telecom and tech companies to get feedback from viewers and listeners, who are typically system administrators, network operators, Asterisk users, and other IT professionals. OnSIP is proud to be one of the sponsors of the VUC.

600th Episode of the VoIP Users Conference
Episode #600!

Reflections on WebRTC

Angela asks everybody about their thoughts on the post noting WebRTC's 5th birthday, and the group agrees on one main conclusion: the transformative nature of WebRTC. The technology behind WebRTC enables an Internet browser to transfer data, including voice and video. In Michael's words, this means "WebRTC is taking things that we normally associate with telecom and taking [those things] out of the telecom space." Mike agrees and elaborates on this point by talking about integrating phone systems with other business software products in new and profound ways:

"It's a shift in the way that you think about your phones and your telecommunications. [Your phone service] is not this separate service that you have to then pull into your CRM and pull into your sales process. Your phone can be part of your browser, which means it can be part of Salesforce...it can be part of Zendesk. It's now just a part of those programs."

Real World Applications of WebRTC

Throughout the SMBlab, Angela, Mike, and Michael relate a few remarkable examples of how WebRTC is being implemented in real world environments:

  • Remote Car Rental Representatives: Angela tells everyone about a recent experience of renting a car in Los Angeles. She had a choice of either standing in a line to speak with a live person, or using a kiosk to talk to a remote employee who was working from home, to get set up for her rental car.
  • Kiosk-Only Retail Support: Mike talks about LiveNinja, an OnSIP customer, who uses WebRTC and iPads to allow customers to talk to a salesperson in real-time via a kiosk. Retailers can place these video kiosks throughout their stores without having to hire on-site employees. This reduces staffing costs and allows fewer salespeople to service multiple stores.
  • Diversified Telemedicine Practice: Michael mentions a medical specialist who wanted to expand his reach beyond the urban center in which he lived. He hired a staff of nurse practicioners located in other cities across the country. The specialist then used WebRTC to make video calls and meet with the patients at these locations, expanding his ability to provide medical help to those who needed it.

Is WebRTC Secure?

With these examples of WebRTC being used in retail and healthcare environments, there are many security and privacy concerns that need to be addressed. Angela asks an important question: are WebRTC calls secure? Mike answers, saying that "By default, a WebRTC conversation is much more secure than a phone (cell or landline) call because WebRTC is encrypted end-to-end." Michael agrees, and says that, from a retail perspective, it's like doing business any other way.

Randy Resnick and Michael Graves on #SMBlab discussing WebRTC

VoIP & WebRTC Tech Usher in New Personal Communication Apps

Angela brings the group's attention to the second article, noting that WhatsApp is carrying 100 million voice calls per day. WhatsApp, a mobile messaging app, allows users "to transmit a voice conversation as ordinary internet traffic rather than as an ordinary voice call," as well as providing SMS and image sharing capabilities. Randy notes that WhatsApp is more popular outside the U.S., especially in countries where basic telephony infrastructure is lacking.

The group also discusses other social apps that have become popular recently, including Snapchat and Periscope (and even Blab itself). These apps use livestreaming video to enable people to connect with each other in more profound ways than a voice call alone. In most cases, they also bypass the traditional telephone network and use Internet data connections to stream their users' content. The ways in which we communicate have changed so drastically over the last decade that we are left to wonder what new apps will we be using in the next one!

Have you used new or noteworthy WebRTC applications in your daily interactions? We'd love to hear about it! Tweet us @OnSIP using the hashtag #SMBlab.

Enjoyed this SMBlab? Check out some past videos on WebRTC: