The launch today of RingCentral’s new browser-based video meetings solution, RingCentral Video, emphasizes our recognition of the growing need for faster, more intelligent collaboration among teams that are increasingly working from home.
The introduction of RingCentral Video couldn’t come at a more critical time, as the transition to remote working and online learning skyrockets globally. According to Gartner, by 2024, only 25% of meetings will take place in person, down from 60% today. Gartner attributes that decline to the remote working trend and changing workforce demographics.
While those trends are leading to a dramatic increase in online meetings, remote workers unfortunately have struggled to find communications and collaboration solutions to meet their expectations, largely because many use an ever-growing collection of disconnected applications that keep their discussions in silos. A recent survey by CITE Research found that 67% of employees say they struggle switching between meetings, while nearly a third (62%) confess to having challenges just joining a meeting.
MVP™
The three pillars of communication and collaboration
At RingCentral we’ve always focused on keeping people connected. That’s why we believe so strongly in a platform that tightly integrates what we call the “MVP” pillars of communications and collaboration—message, video, and phone. Among many things, an integrated platform solves an important challenge to remote working—maintaining context. In other words, as employees shift a conversation from a team messaging tool to a phone call and then to a separate online meeting tool, the context of each conversation gets lost at every stage. A genuinely unified platform, however, keeps each mode of communication—as well as relevant documents and links—in one central space, where context is maintained. Shifting communications modes no longer means having to rehash previous conversations, because they’re stored in the same solution. And newcomers to a discussion can get up to speed immediately on what’s been done so far.
This is the key reason why RingCentral has tightly integrated RingCentral Video with its RingCentral Office cloud communications and collaboration solution. RingCentral Office includes team messaging and phone capabilities in a single mobile and desktop application that works across all devices, giving users the flexibility of access they need.
The importance of a browser-based video solution
The decision to deliver RingCentral Video in a browser, rather than the more common method of requiring a download or plug-in, also marks a key distinction for RingCentral. Application downloads, as meeting attendees often attest, lead to delays and complications at the start of meetings. A browser-based solution, on the other hand, requires just a single click—and no waiting—to join.
Just as importantly, the browser-based delivery mechanism for RingCentral Video still includes all the full video capabilities of tools that require downloads, such as HD audio and video, screen-sharing, annotations, and cloud recordings.
Here’s a deeper look at some of the capabilities of RingCentral Video:
No downloads. Join video meetings instantly in your browser
Many current meeting tools today force users to download an app before joining or hosting a meeting. Unfortunately, downloads mean more clicks, which means more opportunities for things to go wrong. What makes RingCentral Video unique is that it delivers the meeting in a browser window without any downloads. The experience is the same as in an app, but users join meetings instantly with one click.
One app for all modes
RingCentral views meetings as just one piece of a connected communication and collaboration experience that also includes team messaging and phone capabilities. By combining each into a single app, teams can exponentially build knowledge and momentum. The key is context, which often disappears when people jump from, say, a messaging app to a separate meeting tool. For example, with RingCentral, users can begin a discussion in their team messaging app, then use a single click to launch a phone call in the same app. Post-meeting, attendees can share notes, assign tasks, and set reminders.
Open and customizable
RingCentral also views meetings in a wider context than just communications. Because communication and collaboration are critical across the organization, we make it possible to tightly integrate RingCentral Video with other critical business apps, such as Google (Google Workspace and Gmail), Hubspot, Microsoft (Teams and O365), Slack, Theta Lake, Chorus, RSI, FreeBusy, Redtail, and Zoho. RingCentral for Salesforce is also available on Salesforce AppExchange. Additional integrations coming shortly include Canvas, Epic, Gong.io, Kaltura, Panopto, Prodoscore, and Zendesk. In all, RingCentral has more than 200 out-of-the-box integrations in its app marketplace.
Rich analytics
RingCentral Video also includes a dashboard of analytics about meeting usage that companies can use to understand and optimize productivity across teams. The dashboard allows companies to drill down into user activities, such as usage of video, microphones, and screen share. These reports help with resource planning or to drive video meeting adoption to save travel costs. The dashboard also provides an overview of the global performance of RingCentral Video outside the organization and across networks. Quality of service reports help companies troubleshoot issues faster.
Greater security and reliability
Another benefit of a browser-based meetings solution is security. Downloads can present security risks, which is why some IT departments have implemented policies and controls to prohibit employees from doing so. RingCentral Video’s browser-based solution bypasses that risk but still allows employees to access HD audio and video meetings anywhere, any time.
RingCentral is committed to customers’ privacy and security. For RingCentral Video we worked closely with Google using Web RTC to ensure the highest-quality, browser-based video experience. Using WebRTC means that all the advantages and best practices used by browser vendors in their security models are also baked into RingCentral Video.
Just as importantly, we don’t rent or sell any of our customers’ personal information. RingCentral Video also meets GDPR and CCPA privacy and security requirements.
Finally, RingCentral Video is built on a new, state-of-the-art, high-availability infrastructure that leverages our years of experience as a global UCaaS leader.
Integration with RC Rooms (in beta)
RingCentral also announced a beta of its new RingCentral Rooms solution for video conferencing. Users can initiate meetings from conference rooms and meeting spaces with one touch. RingCentral Rooms (Beta) also includes calendar integration, direct sharing and other capabilities to manage web conferences with a high-quality “in-room” experience.
RingCentral Video in action
Click here for more information on RingCentral Video.
Originally published Apr 02, 2020, updated Aug 23, 2024
