![]() What hardware/equipment is needed to set up Highfive? In fact, Elon Musk recently tweeted that video conferencing is “definitely a future feature” using its vehicles’ in-cabin cameras. We installed Highfive last year in my Tesla, and it works great! Our vehicles may soon become new digital workplaces. This allows you to launch a WebRTC session directly from devices like smart TVs or smart cars like Teslas. Any of over seven billion browser-enabled devices, even if they are not primarily a computer, could theoretically run WebRTC protocol. It’s also a light protocol in the sense that it can operate on devices beyond traditional laptops and Web-based systems and phones. The thing about WebRTC is that natively it’s a low latency protocol, which is very important when you’re trying to do audio and video simultaneously. What about WebRTC gave you the foresight to realize its potential all those years ago? Secondly, we partnered with Twilio to provide phone numbers using CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) for people calling in from all over the world. Voice was built in collaboration with Dolby using the Dolby Voice® codec for a great conferencing experience over WebRTC. There are two things unique to Highfive audio. Traditional vendors like Webex handled voice by attaching a PSTN connection with an audio bridge or the 800 number for those who chose to join by telephone. Because, if we cannot hear each other clearly, the meeting is essentially dead before it’s even begun. The last thing was audio, which is the most essential part of any conference. We knew WebRTC had arrived when that same year Apple and Microsoft both declared they would support WebRTC in their browsers. ![]() We used to joke every year at our annual conference, ‘This is the year of WebRTC,’ and 2019 was finally the year. While we felt this was the underlying communications protocol of the future, eight years ago, that philosophy was a bit more controversial. The second thing Highfive did was build the service on WebRTC, an open-source framework enabling Web Real- Time Communications. We are running on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and use Google Cloud Platform for some telemetry data, so all of our services run on a hyper-scale public cloud and provide industry-leading security. One is, Highfive is built entirely in the cloud, so it’s a true “born-in-the-cloud” company. Three things attracted me to the platform. I joined Highfive’s board of directors a little over two and a half years ago, and then 18 months ago, I was asked to join as CEO and help take the company to the next level. I came across Highfive and met its founders, Shan Sinha and Jeremy Roy, both of whom had left Google several years prior. When we saw Zoom start to take off, I researched different video and web conferencing companies to see what was out there. Dimension Data was Cisco’s largest global partner in telecommunications and collaboration. I had roughly US$1.8 billion of revenue in my business unit of about 9,000 employees. My previous position was at Dimension Data, a division of NTT, where I ran their Global Collaboration and Customer Experience business. I’ve been in the telecommunications industry for almost 30 years. Please tell us a little bit about your background before Highfive. This interview was originally published on May 10, 2020. We talked about how the pandemic has changed the way we conduct business meetings, sell products, provide counseling services – even teach pilates! – and its long terms effects on a post COVID world. Joe Manuele, CEO at Highfive, explains how their WebRTC driven conferencing platform and their immersive audio and video powered Dolby Voice® create an unparalleled user experience for both business and personal interactions. Web conferencing has become an integral part of business and now, due to COVID-19, personal continuity.
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