Emerging RTC use-cases Innovative and Vertical-Market Use Cases of Voice/Video Real-Time Communications A Disruptive Analysis thought-leadership paper June 2018 Author: Dean Bubley Contact: [email protected] © Disruptive Analysis Ltd. RTC use-cases, June 2018: CALLSTATS I/O Oy 1 Executive Summary This white paper examines the ongoing proliferation of voice and video communications, beyond familiar uses like “calling” and “conferencing”. A new breed of interactive experiences is starting to emerge, spanning consumer and enterprise domains, mobile and new devices, private applications and public services. These solutions span both “verticals” (meaning specific industries, such as automotive, healthcare or finance), and new generic “horizontal” functions like AI, chatbots, security and emotion-detection. While the vanguard of this trend is already visible, Disruptive Analysis believes this is only just the tip of the iceberg. Since starting to write about “the future of voice” in 2009, and covering WebRTC technology as an enabler for new forms of video in 2011, much has already occurred. Most owners of smartphones have 5, 10, 20 or more applications with some form of communications capability, either as primary or secondary functions. Social apps are especially good examples, with Instagram recently adding a video calling feature. In the last two years, we have also started seeing interactive voice-assistant speakers like Google Home or Amazon Echo, as well as other new initiatives like real-time video- streaming, camera-equipped consumer drones, and mainstream “video doctor” services advertised and adopted broadly. New business processes are being developed around app-embedded voice or video, such as voice biometric identification, or “know your customer” compliance tools for online banking. There are three main themes to consider: ● Embedded communications: It is becoming increasingly easy to embed real- time voice and video capabilities into existing applications and devices. Vehicles, consumer electronics, e-commerce apps, smart buildings and advertising can all exploit cheap displays, cameras or microphones to enable better human interactions. ● Process enhancement: The addition of real-time communications (RTC) can often improve productivity, convenience or customer satisfaction for a given process or application – for example consultations with a “video stylist” when buying clothes online, or intelligent dictation and transcription software for doctors speaking to patients. ● Enabling innovation: Entirely new business models, workflows or process structures may be enabled by RTC. They may also enable compliance with regulatory instruments, such as know-your-customer rules for finance, that become problematic with online-only services without physical locations for identity checks. RTC is becoming increasingly advantageous – even critical - for many sectors. Yet it is still lacking in recognition in some quarters; there are many more applications that could benefit from it. This document highlights a selection of new use-cases and vertical- markets, to illustrate what is possible, and what can be achieved with some imagination. A secondary theme highlights the importance of performance and control, especially where new business-models and processes are being enabled. © Disruptive Analysis Ltd. RTC use-cases, June 2018: CALLSTATS I/O Oy 2 The document has been prepared by independent research firm Disruptive Analysis, and commissioned by CALLSTATS I/O, for distribution to customers, partners and a wider audience. It is based on Disruptive Analysis’ research covering networks, IoT, AI, WebRTC, telco and enterprise communications, and the “future of voice & video”. It should be read by CIOs, strategy executives, CTOs, CMOs, enterprise architects & planning/operational staff at major enterprises, communications service providers, information providers, software vendors, IoT firms, cable operators, ISPs, integrators, developers, XaaS providers and similar organisations. Mentions of companies and products in this document are intended as illustrations of market evolution and are not intended as endorsements or product/service recommendations. For more details, please contact [email protected] Introduction When most people think about evolution of real-time communications (RTC), they tend to focus on three very specific trends seen over the last decade: ● The use of mobile phones as the preferred device for calling (rather than fixed-line phones at home and work) ● The emergence of new VoIP-based calling, with services such as Skype, WhatsApp Voice, or enterprise IP-PBXs and cloud-based alternatives. ● The growing use of video calling and conferencing – whether that’s on mobile devices (like Apple faceTime), or business video conferencing room systems or desktop applications. Yet underneath these obvious changes are a set of broader and more far-reaching evolution paths for RTC. Enabled by various shifts in underlying technologies and platforms, such as better cameras, or WebRTC standards, there are actually four separate, orthogonal, trends that are happening simultaneously: ● More contexts for RTC ● More format for RTC ● More processing for RTC ● More platforms for RTC So for example, in the past we have seen voice calls evolve to embrace: ● A new context: Call centre ● A new format: Conferencing ● New processes: Storage & sending of voice-messages / voicemail (plus also IVR [Interactive Voice Response] systems and others) ● New platforms: Voice calling (and messaging) APIs These three trends (mobile, VoIP and video) are all now accelerating, especially with the introduction of video, cloud-based services, and widespread availability of open-source tools and “communications platform-as-a-service” (cPaaS) providers. Shifts in behaviour © Disruptive Analysis Ltd. RTC use-cases, June 2018: CALLSTATS I/O Oy 3 by both consumers and business employees mean that “communications everywhere” is widely accepted, going well beyond traditional “call and conferencing” forms. As the rest of this paper will explore, we are now seeing the early stages of a likely “Cambrian Explosion” of RTC. ● More contexts: Communications is being embedded in-app, in-device and in- process, for everything from banks know-your-customer interactions, to telemedicine interactions with remote doctors, or interactive video inside games. ● More formats: we are seeing one-way, three-way and hybrid voice/video combinations, always-on RTC, live-streaming, “whisper mode” asymmetric communications, augmented- and mixed-reality communications, non-voice applications for audio, and many more. ● More processing: this is a huge domain which intersects with AI, as well as more conventional techniques and analytics. It includes new areas such as voice assistants, emotion-detection, real-time translation, facial recognition and much more. ● More platforms: we see a continued proliferation of cPaaS providers, with some specialising in certain domains or techniques described above. Others combine RTC functions with other tools for developers. Some are telcos or UC providers extending their existing businesses, while others are “pure-play” RTC platforms. Underlying drivers and enablers Various technical, commercial and social trends are driving this massive expansion of RTC. Some of these are general to the whole technology sector (for instance, adoption of smartphones and cloud platforms) and a closer examination here is not necessary. Others are specifically important for RTC and bear consideration, as they point towards likely further evolution. Among these are: ● Availability of screens and cameras ● RTC-capable connectivity ● User behavioural changes ● AI ● Ecosystem of RTC platforms and specialists All of these elements – and others – are critical for pushing RTC beyond is traditional bastions of calling and conferencing, into new contexts and formats. Screens and cameras A key driver for new types of video communications is the availability and falling price of suitable displays, especially smaller touch-screens. High-quality touchscreen display modules of 5-7 inch size can now cost less than $30 for equipment manufacturers, as prices have fallen and qualities have improved, with the volumes needed for smartphones and small tablets. Similarly, good-quality camera modules are also much cheaper than in © Disruptive Analysis Ltd. RTC use-cases, June 2018: CALLSTATS I/O Oy 4 the past. As a comparison, consider that the first non-touchscreen 1080p 7” display was launched in 2005 by Sanyo-Epson, costing over $100 and only aimed at ultra-portable PCs. Together, the addition of 2-way video communications to a high-end IoT product is unlikely to add more than perhaps $50 to a typical bill-of-materials, unless it needs to be ruggedised. (for comparison, this is around the price of a low-end Android smartphone, which obviously has video capabilities as well). This trend has enabled numerous innovations, such as Amazon’s Echo Show which offers “visual Alexa” capabilities. for one-way, or lower-quality, video, for example where just a camera (but no screen) is used in a “smart doorbell” or CCTV camera, the costs can be much lower than this. While these numbers are still substantial – and obviously not relevant for a $3 sensor – they start to enable new functions and capabilities in both existing and new product categories. This means that many consumer appliances, vehicles, industrial equipment and many other products can support the inclusion