Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) is an open-source solution that allows peer-to-peer communication in web browsers and mobile applications through APIs, which also includes audio, video, and data transfers.
What is WebRTC?
WebRTC bridges the communication gaps by leveraging plugin-free APIs. The best part is that it is good to go with desktop and mobile browsers and it is supported by almost all major browsers. This is also a primary reason why WebRTC video call has witnessed a steady growth in preference and usage.
There were an estimated 2 billion WebRTC-enabled browsers by 2016 with logging time over a billion minutes and 500 terabytes of data transmission per week. WebRTC also supports the microphone or camera on both mobile and laptop, which makes it ideal to capture screens and displays recorded remotely.
WebRTC video chat is compatible with varied types of data and is not limited to voice and video, which again makes it ideal for real-time communications. Moreover, it is an open-source project, which means it is free for commercial and private use across multiple browsers. Its portable source code makes it ideal to use with mobile apps as well. Thus WebRTC has given forth to new use cases and business models.
How does WebRTC work?
Building something for voice or video calling in the past would have been done using C/C++. This must have been a long development cycle with high development costs. WebRTC changes all that by replacing C/C++ with a Javascript API.
WebRTC communication utilizes 3 main Javascript APIs:
- Media Stream: It receives audio and video through your device’s camera and microphone.
- Peer Connection: It facilitates peer-to-peer audio and video communication, including establishing the initial connection, monitoring, and closing the connection.
- Data Channel: It enables bidirectional data transfers between two peers.
How WebRTC enhances SIP capabilities
WebRTC is an evolution of VoIP. So you can have VoIP without WebRTC, but you cannot have WebRTC without VoIP. VoIP has been in the telecom arena as a formidable communication replacement. Many businesses rely on VoIP due to its cloud power that enables business communications.
The addition of WebRTC boosts VoIP to a whole another level. It makes VoIP robust, user-friendly, and flexible. Today VoIP is coming directly onto websites and in mobile apps, allowing simpler, more powerful, and more accessible unified communication platforms.
WebRTC is an extension of VoIP that optimizes phone and video calls, chats, and Peer 2 Peer file transfers directly to the web browser or mobile app. WebRTC increases the adoption of VoIP, acting as an extension for VoIP into new platforms.
Is WebRTC Secure?
After knowing what, how, and why a WebRTC is, the next prominent question is if it can offer secured communication. All components are encrypted, and all JavaScript APIs need secure origins via HTTPS or localhost.
WebRTC requires permission from the user before it can allow the use of microphones and cameras. And it ensures end-to-end encryption, always and provides security for both voice and video as it uses the Secure RTP (SRTP) protocol for encryption and authentication. It requires no software plugins and this eliminates downloading software platforms like Flash.
WebRTC enables an organization’s employees to work from a single communications device that allows you to get all the benefits of a web browser. As WebRTC is supported by the security benefits of TLS (Transport Layer Security), it makes use of BYOD safe from the point of security.
Benefits of WebRTC
- Low latency delivery and networking: At sub-500-millisecond latency, WebRTC is the fastest way to transport videos. A video call API with a WebRTC integration allows users to share data directly to a device or application without getting into servers.
- Platform and device independence: It is supported by all major browsers and can be easily integrated into apps. Any WebRTC-enabled browser that uses any operating system and web services application is suitable to create a voice or video connection with another device or media server.
- It’s an open-source technology: Worked on by thousands of software developers working on it to standardize conferencing protocols, and to make interoperability less of a concern.
- Adapts to any network condition: Allows secure publishing over poor network conditions as it supports ‘simulcasting’. With this, a user can generate multiple streams at varying bitrates and quality.
- Screen sharing: WebRTC video chat applications enable remote screen sharing with another device or user with appropriate access.
- Seamless multi-user video conferencing: it makes real-time and smooth multi-party video and voice calls easy. WebRTC video and voice calls require a minimal media stream to connect users in multi-party video calls.
- Easy collaboration: The old process of signing up and signing in for an account, downloading the platform, and installing several platforms to connect with another user is all gone. WebRTC text chat makes it convenient and simple to connect.
- Real-time services for live communication: It can integrate with any application for a live conversation across sectors. The WebRTC infrastructure and video chat SDK make live conversation possible and provide real-time communication services.
- Interoperability with VoIP and video: Provides interoperability with existing voice and video systems.
- Secure voice and video calls: provides voice and video encryption using the Secure RTP protocol (SRTP) for encryption and authentication, for both voice calls and video. Therefore it is highly beneficial over WiFi networks as it prevents data breaches.
How WebRTC can benefit businesses
- WebRTC’s advantages and advanced features such as easy collaboration, low latency, and secured multi-user voice and video calls make it a preferred option for businesses.
- It can be easily integrated into a website, enabling connectivity across departments and businesses directly, promptly, and productively.
- Embedded in a company’s website, mobile apps or digital marketing banners. This creates more conversions easily.
- It enables the sharing of relevant data whenever there is a customer query. This allows organizations to know more about their end users. As a user surfs through a company website, their browsing information can be passed to the agents, which saves time.
- Simplifies collaboration as there is no additional software needed. A company’s staff can attend online key meetings, which again saves money.
- Enables inviting guests to web conferences without the need to install any plugin or application, with or without authenticating the person’s identity. This reduces resistance and increases the productivity of the meetings.
- WebRTC’s increased security makes it suitable for information transfer.
Conclusion
WebRTC has emerged as a breakthrough solution that is also an innovative communication solution. It steers the growth of business and unified communication. As this free, open-source, high-quality technology, that seamlessly enables P2P connections, grows, WebRTC-driven communication will rule voice and video chat app for efficient data transfers.
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