Detailed WebRTC Research Report Out

Well, it was inevitable - a detailed and possibly first WebRTC research report is out with full analysis of the WebRTC marketplace & value chain. I've been blogging on VoIP since 2004 and writing about VoIP since 1996, when I wrote what I believe was the first VoIP product review (Vocaltec). But I've never been as excited about a new VoIP technology as I am WebRTC. dancing

WebRTC is going to be huge, which is why TMC launched a show WebRTC Conference & Expo focused exclusively on WebRTC.

So I'm interested to check out this research report which measures 160 pages in length, including detailed commentary, analysis, forecasts and over 50 tables and charts with over 70 WebRTC companies discussed. Here's a sample chart:

Key takeaways

WebRTC adds easy, flexible voice & video into websites and apps
Applicable across sectors: telecoms, consumer web, enterprise etc
One of most disruptive web/telecoms innovations for years
Extremely fast pace of evolution: weeks and months, not years
Microsoft & Apple slow, but unlikely to cause major roadblocks
3bn capable devices & 1bn individual users by end-2016
-0% penetration of PCs by end of 2013
Smartphone & tablet WebRTC will ramp from 2H 2014 on
PCs adopt WebRTC through browser; phones/tablets more complex
Early use-cases for web calling, conferencing, e-learning & verticals
Strong interest for UC, contact centres & IMS, but will take time...
.... so telcos must start work now, to work through the issues
Magnifies “OTT” threat for telcos, but also helps Telco-OTT
- Numerous “gateway” sub-types for vendors to target
Peer-to-peer use of WebRTC to drive unexpected new web innovations
Monetisation of WebRTC will be heavily use-case dependent
Still early pre-standard implementation. Caution/patience needed
But for once, the hype is justified

Disruptive Analysis writes, "Imaginative prototypes, demos and early commercial offers are appearing, even before the standards are finalised. Problems are being resolved in weeks or months, not years. Unlike most telecom-only solutions, developer interest seems to be accelerating, fed by Google's evangelism and WebRTC's appearance on the list of cool new additions to HTML5." And then adds this teaser, "This report is an attempt to bring together an analysis of the key strategic issues, make some bold predictions about major milestones, and put some first-cut numbers on this nascent industry."

Here's an excerpted breakdown of the report. For the full report summary & to order, head over here.

Title Index:

Executive Summary

- Strategic issues
- Use cases
- Impact on key stakeholders
- Market forecasts
- WebRTC industry timeline
- Companies

Introduction & Strategic Issues
- Structure of this report
- What is WebRTC & why is it important?
- The web always embraces new capabilities
- The analogy with Flash
- We already have 2-way in-browser comms: IM chat
- Voice is more than just telephony
- And there's more....
- WebRTC, RTCWeb, HTML5, WebSocket etc: Acronym Central!
- WebRTC APIs
- History of WebRTC
- Industry dynamics: competition, standards & politics
- Which companies are involved in WebRTC & why?
- Codec wars
- WebRTC vs. Flash / Plug-ins
- Microsoft and WebRTC
- Apple and WebRTC
- Fit with mobile broadband, LTE & WiFi
- Regulatory considerations
- Developers
WebRTC use-cases - Voice or video?
- Gaining scale & avoiding the n-squared trap
- Use-case evaluation criteria
- Web-based "calling"
- Enterprise contact centres
- Unified communications and collaboration
- Conferencing & hypervoice
- IMS extension / exposure via WebRTC
- Telco-OTT via WebRTC
- Consumer social comms / entertainment / education apps
- Other use cases

Stakeholders: impacts & recommendations
- Overview
- Telecom operators
- Key background trends for telcos
- Current service provider involvement with WebRTC
- Overview of WebRTC options for telcos: Not just IMS
- Fit with PSTN / IMS / RCS / VoLTE strategies
- Fit with enterprise comms businesses
- WebRTC + Telco-OTT initiatives
- WebRTC + telco developer / API initiatives
- Reselling third-party WebRTC services
- Internal uses for WebRTC at telcos
- Summary, and organisational & executional issues
- Network equipment vendors
- Gateways at the forefront
- Implementation complexities
- New product categories
- Threats to network vendors
- Impact on Enterprise UC/conferencing/contact-centre vendors
- Impact on Internet players / developers
- Will WebRTC advantage existing web companies or new startups?
- Impact on social networking & VoIP "OTT" services
- Impact on device vendors

WebRTC market sizing & forecasts to 2016
- Methodology & definitions
- PC/Mac support of WebRTC
- PCs remain in the vanguard of WebRTC uptake
- Post-PC era?
- PC browser share and dynamics
- PC browser adoption of WebRTC
- Non-browser support
- Mobile & device support of WebRTC
- Installed base of smartphones and tablets
- "Native" WebRTC capability in mobile browser or OS
- 3rd-party WebRTC support in aftermarket browsers or app SDKs
- Overall WebRTC device installed base
- WebRTC active device/user base
- Scenarios, accelerants & inhibitors

WebRTC company snapshots
- Acme Packet / Oracle
- AddLive
- Alcatel-Lucent
- Apple
- Asterisk / Digium
- AT&T
- Avaya
- Bistri
- Cisco
- frisB
- Google
- Hookflash
- Microsoft
- Mozilla
- NetDev / Drum
- Opera
- Plantronics
- Plivo
- Priologic / easyRTC
- PubNub
- Siemens
- Telefonica / TokBox
- TeleStax
- TenHands
- Thrupoint
- Twelephone
- VidTel
- Voxeo & Voxeo Labs
- Zingaya
- 40+ Other WebRTC players