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by Guillaume Seynhaeve, Director of Marketing, 3CLogic - July 15, 2015

WebRTC on the Horizon

By Guillaume Seynhaeve – 3CLogic, Director of Marketing

The contact center industry has undergone significant changes in recent decades as both consumers and businesses continue to adopt the latest channels. And while the telephone remains the preferred method of communication, the recent adoption of alternative platforms (email, chat, text, social media, video, etc.) has increasingly eroded its dominance. But as many businesses continue to grapple with the demands and complexities of today’s multichannel world, further disruption may already be on the horizon with the introduction of Web Real-time Communications (WebRTC). The obvious question – how disruptive?

The State of Affairs

While the traditional phone may still own the majority of the market in comparison to other available channels, there is very little “traditional” left in it. In fact, one has but to consider the aggressive adoption of smartphones to realize current trends are suggesting the market is increasingly becoming browser-based as it moves away from pure telephony. Case in point, 87% of consumers prefer to browse and buy from websites via PCs or laptops and 14% will shop via mobile websites. And the numbers are growing.

So what is the impact and what role will WebRTC play?

What is WebRTC?

As a completely browser-based and platform independent technology, WebRTC allows for any browser to natively support real-time, interactive, and peer-to-peer communications. Stated otherwise, it has the ability to convert any web-enabled device into an instant and live communication gateway without the need for plugins, software downloads, installs, or carrier infrastructure. Instead, it runs natively in any WebRTC supported browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) That means:

- No dependence on carriers or third-party service providers.

- For contact centers, the ability to deploy a complete solution without the need for IT resources.

- Easy Internet-based calling to facilitate any communication channel preference, including video.

- Low cost and extremely efficient communication from any device.

And as consumers increasingly defer to browser-based devices (i.e.: smartphones, tablets, etc.) to satisfy there communication preference, the potential for WebRTC and its capabilities will only increase while inevitably putting pressure on contact centers and businesses to keep up. Not convinced? A recent study by Disruptive Analysis (below) would advice otherwise.

Who Will WebRTC Impact?

The expected adoption of WebRTC technology over the coming years has the potential to impact enterprise businesses, end-users, telecom providers, and service providers. And while the extent and the impact on each still remains a topic for discussion the following offers some insight into just how WebRTC could affect each:

Enterprise Businesses: Today’s average consumer uses 3 or more communication channels (phone, email, text, chat, social media, video, etc.) to communicate with any single business entity. Most importantly, however, 70-80% of all consumer interactions with an organization or its respective contact center are preceded by a web site visit. As such, enterprise businesses are likely to witness an increasing convergence between contact center and sales/marketing teams as consumers begin to demand the unification of both by virtue of their increasing preference and reliance on browser-based platforms. With WebRTC, the ability to meet those expectations becomes feasible thanks to its ability to provide instant communication via any browser-based device while actively providing web information to the receiving organization to facilitate a seamless customer experience. As a result, while WebRTC may not be the driving force behind how consumers wish to interact with businesses, it does provide a solution which in all likelihood will establish a new standard for how consumers and businesses interact in the future. Think Internet-based calling as opposed to traditional telephony. Faster. More efficient. More convenient.

Consumers (end-users): Browser enabled devices, driven by the massive adoption of smartphones and tablets, are becoming the new communication gateway with WebRTC both accelerating and facilitating the transition. Able to convert asynchronous channels (i.e.: Twitter, etc.) into synchronous ones, it offers the option to unify the different channel experiences while increasing the potential for speed-of-service. In essence, WebRTC has the ability to enhance the customer experience by increasing the flexibility and number of touch points made available to an end-user with which to communicate with. A simple example would be the ability to instantly initiate a live call directly from a social media feed (i.e.: Twitter), much like Skype, without the need for any additional action on the part of the consumer. The resulting impact? Happier customers.

Service Providers: Today’s enterprise communication landscape is changing while becoming increasingly more complex. Unfortunately, consumer expectations have not – if anything they have increased as customers demand a seamless and unified experience despite the use of multiple communication channels to communicate. For service providers, the introduction of WebRTC simply adds to the list of channels they must support in order to remain relevant in the near future. In the case of contact centers specifically, the simple adoption of cloud contact center services will likely prove insufficient without the added ability to address the expected benefits WebRTC will eventually bring to market. However, while WebRTC has the potential to disrupt the current infrastructure, the need to preserve what already exists will still be important. While WebRTC could be a game-changer, the game is not likely to change overnight either.

Telecom Providers (carriers): Perhaps the greatest debate regarding WebRTC is its future impact on current telecom providers. Some will argue the increase in browser-enabled devices and adoption of WebRTC could disrupt traditional telecom providers by enabling Over-the-Top (OTT) services similar to Skype’s free Voice Over IP (VOIP) solution. And yet, others maintain the introduction of WebRTC into the marketplace could provide new rich services by combining new network technologies to extend beyond current subscribers. Whatever the outcome, few debate the risk browser-based devices pose to current telecom providers when one considers the gradual drop in landline phones as smartphone adoption continues to rise.

Conclusion

The potential possibilities and enhancements WebRTC already brings to market suggest it is here to stay despite being in its infancy as it relates to actual adoption. And while many still debate the extent of its role as it relates to communication, and for that matter its expected impact, the growing preference for browser-based devices and platforms suggest it will have a significant role to play in the coming years as the communication industry goes through yet another evolution of change. Or at the very least, if not it, something very similar.