Why your communications system needs this pivotal web technology
The effectiveness of any unified communications and collaboration solution depends on the working parts inside it. As your organization’s main data channel to customers and colleagues, your VoIP system must have smart technological components to function safely and efficiently.
But, how do you determine something so important, especially if you don’t have much detailed technical knowledge? One of the easiest ways is to check if the solution uses WebRTC, a highly effective component for VoIP technology.
For the biggest reasons why, this post will take you on a deep dive into WebRTC and how it works.
What Is WebRTC?
Short for “Web Real-Time Communications,” WebRTC is an internet technology that was created in 2011. The technology itself is a collection of Javascript APIs, or functions and commands created from existing code in web browsers. Its purpose is to collect data input by users, then transfer that information directly to a contacted second party.
Notably, WebRTC is open source, meaning anyone can add to it, develop it or use it entirely for free. All this is great news for developers because WebRTC is immensely helpful for creating a wide variety of web communication tools.
The primary reason why is its usability. As previously said, WebRTC allows for instant data collection and transfers, making it a highly effective way to establish online communications. While it’s primarily known for voice and video streaming, it can also exchange other data such as text or files.
However, what’s especially groundbreaking about WebRTC is that it works entirely as its own web component. Regardless of whether you’re sending or receiving information, this technology will always handle the operation itself, without additional plugins. This means that when an application uses WebRTC, it will never need additional installs to perform real-time communications.
Another significant advantage is that WebRTC handles data transfers through peer-to-peer connections. Rather than going to a server, the information streams directly from one user to the other. This further increases its ease in development and usability by simplifying the communications process as a whole.
WebRTC for Browser Applications
Unsurprisingly, then, one of the biggest advantages of WebRTC is enabling VoIP solutions or even video calling applications to run directly in the browser.
Put another way, a significant number of UCC and VoIP services have to be downloaded and installed to operate. However, this can often create a less intuitive user experience. If you only use UCC for the occasional video meeting, it can be annoying to launch an additional app every day. Alternatively, if you work within your browser, switching from it to a separate program wastes time and decreases focus.
But with WebRTC, users don’t have to bother with these tedious processes. The nature of this technology means that all your communications happen right in the browser, all as soon as you log in.
Because WebRTC works through fundamental web coding, this convenience extends to all major browsers as well. Google Chrome readily accepts all WebRTC content, as do Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Microsoft Edge. The same goes for mobile browsers, meaning you don’t need a separate mobile app to use these tools on the go.
WebRTC and security
Considering how frequently cyberattacks target UCC systems, it’s especially convenient that WebRTC features plenty of built-in security measures.
Notably, WebRTC establishes its communications through direct peer-to-peer connections. This means that instead of sending you to a third-party server, you are patched directly to the other user. As a result, your communications are accessed by exactly two entities: yourself, and the person you’re talking to. At no point in the process is your data accessed by an additional piece of hardware or technicians.
This is vitally important for security because it minimizes the stages during which your data can be illicitly accessed. If your communications are routed to an external server, hackers may be able to breach it and intercept your data there. If your connection is accessed by techs or data is offloaded, it can be picked up by hackers there as well. By eliminating these vulnerable points, WebRTC limits how hackers can access your data and keeps your communications far more secure.
However, even without servers, data can still theoretically be hacked during its peer-to-peer transfer between applications. Fortunately, WebRTC includes built-in measures to prevent this.
WebRTC also features data encryption, or protocols that encode your data to prevent illicit access. Two measures — Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) and Secure Real-Time Protocol (SRTP) — work in tandem for this process.
As a result, your data is encrypted with codes that are:
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- Highly complex
- Unique to this one communications session
- Verified at the beginning of the session as unique and complex
- Never decrypted before reaching the users’ application
These factors all ensure that there is a minimal chance of hackers gaining access to your data. Even if they intercept it, they will have virtually no ability to decode and consequently use it.
WebRTC also provides built-in protections against intrusions by being hosted entirely within your browser. Since WebRTC doesn’t need any installations to run, it doesn’t actually exist on any files in your computer. This means that even if hackers remotely access your device, they will have no way to access your actual communications system.
Finally, because WebRTC runs directly in the browser, it is automatically updated every time your browser gets an update. This means getting the latest version of the tool just takes re-launching your browser, further streamlining overall usability.
WebRTC and Wildix
All these reasons are why Wildix is built primarily on WebRTC, and how Wildix gains tremendous security and ease of use.
Thanks to WebRTC, Wildix can launch a full suite of communications tools right in your browser. With no additional downloads, you’ll have access to chat, voice calls, video conferences and even full-on webinars.
As for security, Wildix gains additional inherent protection thanks to its foundation on WebRTC technology. With direct peer-to-peer connections and innate encryption for all your data, Wildix achieves total data security without sacrificing usability.
With highly effective, enterprise-grade capabilities across the board, Wildix makes the most of WebRTC for a truly effective UCC solution. As far as modern communications systems go, it easily leads in the market by utilizing and even expanding on this key Open Source technology.
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