Web Real-Time Communication—better known as WebRTC—turns five this year. The communications technology provides browsers and mobile applications with real-time communication, such as voice calling, video conferencing, and P2P file sharing, without the need to download special software or browser plugins.
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Despite getting off to a rocky start, WebRTC has caught the attention of developers and enterprises alike. The project has no close competition in the web industry, and it is ripe for strong growth over the next five years. The market was worth $575 million in 2015 and is expected become a billion-dollar industry in 2017, eventually reaching a value of $2.68 billion in 2020.
Technavio analysts have identified the top three trends that are expected to support this growth through the forecast period.
WebRTC mobile apps
WebRTC is keeping pace with the rest of the internet and going mobile. In line with this, Google is improving its WebRTC codebase for Android and iOS. Similarly, Ericsson plans to launch its own open WebRTC project targeting mobile users. Gruveo, Wire, Talko, Be My Eyes, and Switch.co have already switched to WebRTC mobile apps.
WebRTC uses an open-source media engine backed by Google, which performs much better with added features than commercial media engines. WebRTC offers high-quality media transfers and is a solid option for companies developing mobile apps.
WebRTC PaaS
WebRTC technology does not require any plugins to share voice, video, and data. But what it lacks in complexity on the user side, it makes up for on the development side—the technology requires a fair bit of coding and even dedicated servers in some cases.
WebRTC PaaS simplifies the whole process and employs third-party providers to install and maintain complex servers for WebRTC. These services are typically on a pay-per-use model, but some providers offer fixed monthly fee schemes.
The PaaS model enables developers to build webRTC applications quickly and at low costs, which is encouraging its adoption among enterprises.
Rise in mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions have marked the WebRTC landscape over the past few years, and the trend of showing no signs of slowing down.
Some of the notable transactions of the past two years include:
- In November 2015, Atos acquired Unify from Gores Group and Siemens to offer a unique integrated solution for unified communications with real-time capabilities
- In July 2015, Dropbox acquired Clementine, an enterprise communication service
- In June 2015, Jive Communications acquired Speek, a provider of WebRTC-enabled conferencing solutions for SMEs
- In June 2015, Comverse entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Acision, a privately-held provider of secure mobile messaging and engagement services
- In June 2015, Broadsoft acquired mPortal, an outsourcing vendor focusing on mobile communication apps, to cater to large enterprises and telecom companies
- In May 2015, Cisco, by acquiring Tropo, entered into the WebRTC PaaS space
- In May 2015, Fuze acquired LiveMinutes; Fuze uses WebRTC as an access point for video conferencing services, and LiveMinutes is focused on using WebRTC for video chat
- In September 2014, Blackboard, an education software services company, acquired WebRTC start-up, Requestec
- In May 2014, Snapchat bought WebRTC start-up, AddLive, for $30 million
