WebRTC: Build vs Buy

To build or to buy?…..that is the question. Lately we have witnessed an increase in the number of clients seeking solutions, built from scratch, for their Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) driven applications. We find that a laundry list of questions related to implementation are a necessary part of the process when determining how to develop the solutions. There is a lot to consider in terms of budgetary requirements and initial time to market. We work with our clients to clearly define their business goals and objectives in order to effectively determine the solution that best meets their needs.  This process involves deep dive discussions including, but not limited to, products, features and support teams.

Product & Features

It is imperative that we understand what is expected out of the application before determining the path forward. We partner with a wide array of vendors in the market resulting in numerous options of feature sets and pricing structures to choose from, which can be overwhelming. Since we have a unique understanding of the market and the strengths of the providers we partner with, we are able to either recommend vendors with products and services that work best with our clients’ solution or make the recommendation to build the service from scratch.

Dedicated Support Teams

We have observed steady improvement in the WebRTC industry which has both good and bad implications for clients looking to implement their own service. Why? WebRTC has not yet been fully standardized by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). However, we are on the verge of bringing interoperability across all major browsers. In a recent post by Tsahi Levent-Levi, he writes about building applications at “Web Speeds“. A new version of Chrome is released by Google every 4-6 weeks, which means that each new version needs to be tested against their service to ensure compatibility. While most changes are non-breaking, it is something that must be considered during your planning for resources and budget.

Internal vs External Team

After determining that building a solution is the best option for our client, the next question is whether or not to hire an outside team, such as Blacc Spot Media, or to develop the solution using internal resources. Both have their own merits and tradeoffs. Quite often we see a combination of the two. Blacc Spot Media builds the solutions and hands it off to our clients to utilize and maintain. Although hiring external resources to build the solution tends to be more costly than developing internally, we find that internal development is usually a slower process for our clients due to the learning curve associated with getting up and running. Clients are then faced with the decision to hire or learn. As we all know, hiring is not always a simple task especially in our industry with limited developers that have this specialized skill set. Learning also comes with its own set of drawbacks related to getting up to speed which includes, but is not limited to, wasted team productivity with longer durations for product development and time to market.

In Conclusion

If you are ready to deploy your own WebRTC solution, the thought process behind building internally or hiring an outside resource to develop the solution should not be taken lightly. Because of the effort and costs required, you should have a compelling reason pushing you towards building your own product. With the many options that are available, it will behoove you to understand all of them before making a determination on the solution. In need of consulting? Let us know if you need help navigating your approach to your new WebRTC solution. We provide a comprehensive analysis of your product roadmap and offerings to get you started on the right path that meets the specific needs of your business.

About Blacc Spot Media, Inc.

Blacc Spot Media focuses on Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) development across web, mobile, native desktop and telephony implementations. Our team works on strategic projects developing custom applications, enterprise platforms and mobile applications for a wide array of clients. If you are interested developing your own WebRTC product or service, let us know how we can help you.

Take a look at our website for more information (https://www.blaccspotmedia.com) or email us at hi@blaccspot.com.