WebRTC as a standard to boost business communication by video

More and more video solutions are using this real-time browser-based system to hold videoconferences easily and quickly, as Andrew Hug explains in this article, Vice President, Systems Engineering, Polycom EMEA, providing real applications in corporate environments.

While WebRTC or Web Real Time Communications has been known for a long time, the standards and recommendations that are applied are mature enough to support the active development of their applications and interoperability, and they still have to get to a point where it starts to offer a real difference in the way people use video to communicate with each other and with the companies they interact with..

The standard enables real-time browser-based video communications and improves the ability to videoconferenc, making them as simple as a phone call. Video meetings are possible with a WebRTC-compatible browser, that does not require users to download any software plug-ins or plug-ins.

There are already video solutions that use WebRTC such as Google Hangouts, and the main browsers on the market support it, as Opera, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Microsoft, which now supports the standard with ORTC (Object real time communications).

Enterprise Solution

No doubt, the videoconferencing system independent of the Internet browser and plugins is the way to go, since it facilitates its integration into other solutions, is more secure and creates new opportunities in the area of B2C communications. Even though WebRTC audio and video streams are encoded, users have to trust Unified Communications solutions (CU) that companies provide to connect and have continuous cross-sectional security.

Another sector that will witness a high adoption of this method of video communication is e-commerce. An example of this is an Italian car rental office where each counter was equipped with videoconferencing equipment to be able to interact with staff located elsewhere to rent a car., along with a scanner and printer for documents.

The same, in healthcare there are obvious opportunities to improve video consultations and make it easier for patients to make consultations from their own homes. A preliminary visual review of the condition or severity of an injury is essential to provide advice on possible treatments. In addition, the video is already used internally between hospitals so that experts can help in cases of emergency where the professionals cannot be physically present.

Also in the financial sector there are great advantages associated with the possibility of connecting via video. For example, people with large estates or HNW (high net worth) they often sign up for the Premium banking service, allowing them to connect directly with an employee of the banking team.

WebRTC will have a significant impact on how companies will integrate video conferencing into their workflows. Not only will it improve the speed and quality of decision-making processes, it will also change the way we work in the future. All relevant enterprise videoconferencing solution providers see a positive future in WebRTC and most have already adapted their portfolio to work seamlessly with it.

For example, Polycom's RealPresence Web Suite solution uses WebRTC to connect users who might be located in different places and use different types of devices. In the coming years, the use of webrtc will be based primarily on pilot projects and development plans released to create professional applications based on this standard, so that companies will have the opportunity to identify and test the professional applications that are developed.

Andrew Hug

Vice President of Systems Engineering at Polycom EMEA

 

 

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