BLOG
Great Video Experiences are Hard
Whether building out an entirely new live video streaming solution or modernizing a legacy platform, doing WebRTC well is hard. At Mersoft, we’ve invested years of time and millions of dollars building our video streaming platform. It takes care of the majority of heavy lifting for you. Awesome, right? However, “majority” does not mean “all.” So, even with using an industry leading platform like Mersoft to solve your WebRTC needs, there is still quite a bit of WebRTC professional services and system integration work to be done.
In a world of finite resources, most product engineering teams are not only challenged to staff adequate personnel to work on the core product. Teams also must support the underlying platform integrations. Then, there’s more challenge to find the right expertise to handle all the nuances of WebRTC. WebRTC is a relatively new technology and developing quickly. Many engineering teams have not yet built the knowledge in-house to feel 100% confident taking their web video solution from start to finish. The risk they run from bringing in external resources to address these gaps in the team may be overrun of project cost, late product delivery, and, in some extreme cases, a tarnished brand from faulty engineering (e.g., excessive bugs or latency in the video stream).
Getting the Right Help is Key
At Mersoft, our WebRTC Professional Services Team is dedicated to preventing any and all of these risks by providing hands-on support throughout the product development lifecycle. Our team of WebRTC system integration experts have helped dozens of providers. From IoT startups to large brand-name enterprises, we’ve successfully launched many solutions. We break our focus down into the five main areas of modernization of existing video solutions, product strategy, architectural design, hands-on technical development, and general program management. Let’s take a look at each of these below.
Modernization of Aging Video Streaming Solutions
If you are an IoT startup or other company looking to roll-out your first video solution, you get to start from scratch with WebRTC. However, the majority of providers in the space already support video solutions and are challenged with modernizing their technology stack and product offering for web video. This typically means integrating WebRTC with an existing RTSP system or replacing applications that use Adobe Flash or HLS. Then there’s more: building out new user experiences across consumer devices (web, mobile, set-top box, Smart TV), and learning how to support and maintain new technology. From top to bottom, this “modernization” of an existing video streaming solution can be a major challenge for engineering teams unfamiliar with the nuances of WebRTC and user expectations around application experience and video latency.
The Mersoft team strongly supports these efforts through needs analysis, solution design and integration planning, program management, and hands-on technical support. We steer customers through the pitfalls of WebRTC system integration and make sure their solution meets market demands around scalability, latency, user experience, and more.
Jeff Smith, CTO of Mersoft has advised many customers. “Our WebRTC professional services team has experience with so many different implementations. No matter the challenge, we’ve probably seen it before, and have a good approach for the customer.”
WebRTC Product Strategy
“We are most effective when we challenge assumptions and ask customers direct questions.”
Whether launching their first video streaming product or modernizing an existing solution, providers are not always certain on the best direction. Today’s market expectations around latency and user experience extremely high. Therefore, it’s critical for companies to be 100% confident in their strategy and design before diving into development. The Mersoft team provides business analysts, user experience designers, and product strategists that collaborate deeply with product innovators. They work inside companies to define the features of a new service offering. This can include UX mock-ups, workflow mapping, and support of focus group testing to be sure the product experience is on target. Jeff Weiner, VP of Product Marketing and Sales says, “We are most effective when we challenge assumptions and ask customers direct questions. As a result, we help define revenue models and tie feature benefits to very tangible ROI. It’s a great collaboration with every customer.”
Hands-on WebRTC Development
During initial product development and then ongoing maintenance, it’s hard to successfully staff all the right skills. The Mersoft professional services team engages in any area of technical development. For example, skills range from optimizing video and audio streams to enhancing the user experience of applications. They bring a deep background of knowledge and experience in the WebRTC space. We pride ourselves on the success of our customers. Therefore, we’re ready for short- or long-term engagements to make sure customers get there.
Architecture and Design of WebRTC Security Camera Streaming Solutions
The success of every new initiative hinges on thoughtful design and planning. Our customers’ engineering teams staff extremely smart people. Yet, many times they are deficient in hands-on WebRTC experience. So, they’re challenged to effectively architect and plan a bullet-proof solution. Mersoft has senior architects and engineers with a passion for new technology. Engineers that thrive on helping customers identify and overcome potential challenges before they become engineering obstacles. In addition, our team collaborates directly with customer teams in lab testing. Together, they validate assumptions of the solution before our customers step too deep into their development.
WebRTC Camera Live Stream Program Management
To help guide customer projects down a path of success, Mersoft will bring experienced program managers. Each has a strong track record of delivering projects on time and budget. They work with customer teams to develop project plans and serve as the single point of contact. They identify and proactively manage risks and issues, collaborate across teams and vendors, and more. As industry experts, our program managers are hyper-focused on ensuring the project runs on-time and on budget to maximize success.
Your Insurance Policy for Project Success
Nobody likes risk, especially for a strategic initiative like new product launch or modernization. Yet, they are critical to compete strongly in the market. By leveraging Mersoft Professional Services, engineering and product leaders can minimize that risk. They can feel 100% confident in delivering an amazing product to market. The Mersoft team can engage in any phase of the product development lifecycle and guide solution providers in launching market-winning products. Talk to the Mersoft WebRTC Professional Services Team now to learn more about how they can help make your next project successful.