Written by Jeff Owen | Sep 9, 2014 4:00:00 AM
LONDON,
Sept. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportbuyer.com has added a new market research report:
WebRTC and CloudRTC Platforms: Communications as a Feature
https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/2014042/WebRTC-and-CloudRTC-Platforms-Communications-as-a-Feature.html Disruption in the communications ecosystem is creating a market opportunity for Cloud Real-Time Communications (RTC) platforms. We expect this market to represent a
$4.5 billion opportunity by 2018. Cloud RTC Platforms are cloud services that enable mobile and web developers to integrate communications into their applications with just a few lines of code. Via REST APIs and SDKs Cloud RTC Platforms enable developers to easily integrate voice, messaging and video calling into mobile and web applications supporting more contextual conversations. These tools have the potential to change in how we interact with each other in the future.In the past experienced telecommunications developer were the only ones with the skills to build applications that included communications features. With technology such as WebRTC and Cloud RTC platforms, communications infrastructure is being exposed and communication interfaces much more flexible. Innovators will combine traditional forms of communications to create new more collaborative and interactive experiences.The increasing ease in implementing in-app communications is disrupting the traditional value chain in delivering communications services. Application developers are gaining more control of the communications market. Many are building communications stacks on top of operator networks, bypassing their service offerings eating at revenues and limiting their ability to add value. Operators are desperately looking for new strategies to play a bigger role in the application ecosystem; embracing WebRTC and engaging with Cloud RTC Platforms is an increasingly viable option. By providing standardized cross platform APIs and developer relations, Cloud RTC Platforms are providing an opportunity for operators to participate in the ongoing market innovation.Competition in this market will be fierce and we expect technology and software vendors throughout the web and telecom ecosystem to bring solutions to market. Competitive differentiators will revolve around vendors' ability to provide premium quality of service or superior developer and customer service. Our user survey found that the weighted average premium developers were willing to pay for better quality of service and reliability was 14% for voice, 18% for messaging, and 20% for integrated video and voice. Vendors with background in telecommunications will be better positioned to provide superior quality of service while companies with roots in the web will be better able to interface with developers. Hence, we expect a fair amount of coopetition between gateway vendors, bringing to market WebRTC gateways exposing IMS features, and web focused RTC platforms players, that bring developer relations and flexible business models.While Cloud RTC Platforms are growing fast, 2014 will be an important year in more mainstream adoption of in-app communications. With Cloud RTC platforms just beginning to make communications much more accessible, the business case for the technology or killer app has yet to clearly emerge. Increasing awareness and outreach is needed to ensure that innovative developers find new ways to wrap context around communications.Demand for in-app messaging presents the greatest shorter term opportunity, with many apps already providing OTT messaging services. We also expect significant demand for voice in the short term with demand for video expected to overtake voice in the coming years. Developing regions are also representing a significant share of the market with the
Asia Pacific region making up a disproportional share of the market. Contents Executive summary 2 Table of Figures 6 Table of Tables 8 Market Definition 9 WebRTC 9 Importance of WebRTC and Communications Platforms 9 Market Structure 10 Start-up Cloud RTC Platforms 10 Carrier Developer Programs 13 Gateway Vendors 14 Market Drivers and Barriers 15 Market Drivers 15 Ability to Integrate Context with Communications Supports New Experiences 15 Changing Communications Value Chain 15 Need to Bring Together Web and Telecom Developers within the Innovation Layer 19 Rouge IT 19 Emergence of WebRTC 19 Virtual PBX Driving Demand 20 Market Barriers 20 Challenges Working With Operators 20 Limited Innovation 21 Lack of Universal WebRTC Support . 22 Build Your Own Communications System 24 Limitations of Existing Infrastructure for True Interoperability 24 Applications, Opportunities, and Use Cases 25 mHealth 25 Automotive 25 Customer Engagement 25 Social Networking and P2P Community Marketplaces 26 Marketing Strategy and Business Models 27 Business Models 27 Penetration Strategies 28 Competitive Analysis 30 Competing Approaches to Rich Communications 30 APIs vs. Telecom Framework/Platform 30 Differentiators 31 Quality of Service (QoS) 31 SDK or No SDK 32 Leading Vendors Feature Comparison 32 Future Competition 32 Coopetition between Infrastructure and Cloud Platforms 35 Coopetition with SMS Gateways/ Wholesale Messaging 35 Forecasts 36 Revenue Forecast 36 Developer Forecast 38 Regional Forecast 39 Forecast Methodology 41 Developer Survey 42 Survey Demographics 42 Demand for In-App Communications 46 Communications Services Demand 50 Business Models 54 Competitive Analysis 57 Developer Challenges and Requirements 59 WebRTC 61 Future Outlook 63 Short Term 63 Falling Prices 63 Cloud Platforms and Infrastructure Vendors Partner and Finely Solve the Cross-Operator Problem64 Tropo and Nexmo Well Positioned 64 Significant Competition Between Cloud RTC Players With Limited Telecom Integration 64 Business Case Needs to be Fleshed Out 65 Long-term outlook 65 Developers Influence Will Grow at the Expense of Operators but Traffic Will Grow 65 WebRTC and Cloud RTC Platforms will Drive Disruption Across Closed Ecosystems 65 Key Take Aways 66 Profiles 67 AT&T 67 Company Overview 67 Product 67 Competitive Advantage 68 Competitive Challenges 68 Ericsson 70 Company Overview 70 Products 70 Competitive Advantage 70 Competitive Challenges 71 Genband 72 Company Overview 72 Products 72 Competitive Advantage 72 Competitive Challenges 73 Layer 74 Company Overview 74 Product 74 Competitive Advantages 74 Competitive Challenges 75 Nexmo 77 Company Overview 77 Product 77 Competitive Advantages 77 Competitive Challenges 78 Tropo 79 Company Overview 79 Product 79 Competitive Advantage 80 Competitive Challenge 80 Twilio 81 Company Overview 81 Product 81 Competitive Advantage 82 Competitive Challenges 82
Table of Figures Figure 1 – Cloud Telephony Applications Architecture 11 Figure 2 – Pre - Smartphone Value Chain 16 Figure 3 – Post - Smartphone Value Chain 16 Figure 4 – Post - OTT Value Chain 17 Figure 5 – Innovation Layer in Mobile Value Chain 18 Figure 6 – Biggest Challenges in Implementing RTC in Mobile Apps Identified by Mobile Developers 21 Figure 7 – Mobile Developers Opinion of WebRTC 24 Figure 8 – Preferred Cloud RTC Business Models by Developers 28 Figure 9 – Price Elasticity for Premium Quality of Service 31 Figure 10 – Future and Current Competitive Landscape 33 Figure 11 – Cloud RTC Platforms Market Forecast: 2013-2018 36 Figure 12 – Cloud RTC Platforms Market Forecast Segmented by Communications Service: 2013-2018 . 37 Figure 13 – Developers Integrating Communications into Their Apps Segmented by Communications Service: 2013 -2016 38 Figure 14 – Cloud RTC Platforms Market Forecast Segmented by Region: 2013-2018 39 Figure 15 – Cloud RTC Platforms Voice Service Revenues Forecast Segmented by Region: 2013-2018 . 40 Figure 16 - Cloud RTC Platforms Messaging Revenues Forecast Segmented by Region: 2013-2018 40 Figure 17 - Cloud RTC Platforms Video Revenues Forecast Segmented by Region: 2013-2018 41 Figure 18 – Survey Respondents Segmented by Region 42 Figure 19 – Survey Respondents Segmented by Income from Apps 43 Figure 20 – Survey Respondents Segmented by Development Skills 43 Figure 21 - Survey Respondents Segmented by Type of Organization Employing Developer 44 Figure 22 – Types of Applications Developed by Survey Respondents 45 Figure 23 – Developers Use and Interest in In-App Communications 46 Figure 24 – Developers Use and Interest in In-App Communications Segmented by Developer Type 47 Figure 25 - Developers Use and Interest in In-App Communications Segmented by App Type 48 Figure 26 - Developers Use and Interest in In-App Communications Segmented by Region 49 Figure 27 – Developer Use and Interest in In-App Voice 50 Figure 28 - Developer Use and Interest in In-App One Way Messaging 50 Figure 29 - Developer Use and Interest in In-App Two Way Real-Time Messaging 51 Figure 30- Developer Use and Interest in In-App Video Calling 51 Figure 31 - Developer Use and Interest in In-App Services Comparison 52 Figure 32 – Process Used to Integrate In-App Communications 53 Figure 33 - Process Used to Integrate In-App Communications Segmented by Development Expertise 53 Figure 34 – Preferred Business Model for Consuming In-App Communications 54 Figure 35 – Premium Willing to Pay for Improved Quality of Service for In-App Voice 55 Figure 36 –Premium Willing to Pay for Improved Quality of Service for In-App Messaging 55 Figure 37 - Premium Willing to Pay for Improved Quality of Service for In-App Video Calling 56 Figure 38 - Premium Willing to Pay for Improved Quality of Service; Comparison 56 Figure 39 – Survey Respondents Using Cloud RTC Solution 57 Figure 40 – Survey Respondents Expecting to Use Cloud RTC Solution in Next 12 Months 57 Figure 41 – Survey Respondents Familiar with Cloud RTC Solutions 58 Figure 42 – Survey Respondents Who Have "Never Heard" of Cloud RTC Vendors 58 Figure 43 – Challenges in Implementing In-App Communications 59 Figure 44 – Telephony Features Survey Respondents Have Integrated Into Their Apps 60 Figure 45 – Telephony Features Survey Respondents are Interested in Integrating into Their App. 61 Figure 46 – Survey Respondents Adoption of WebRTC 62 Figure 47 – Survey Respondents Opinion on Barriers to WebRTC Adoption 62 Figure 48 – Preferred Business Model Segmented by Demand for In-App Communications 63
Table of Tables Table 1 – Cloud RTC Platform Start-ups 13 Table 2 – Operator Cloud RTC Partners and Acquisitions 14 Table 3 – WebRTC Gateway Offerings 14 Table 4 – Browser WebRTC Support Matrix 22 Table 5 – Cloud RTC Platform Feature Comparison Matrix 32
Read the full report: WebRTC and CloudRTC Platforms: Communications as a Feature