3 Benefits of Done-for-You Embedded Video Calling Apps

We understand the appeal of primitive constructs – software that gives you the basic building blocks upon which to build a customized experience. But they might not be the best solution when you’re talking about embedded video calling apps.

The concept of a highly configurable foundation makes sense. And people often assume that starting with a simple tool is a viable way to save money and have more control as you add features and scale to meet your specific needs.

But, in the real world, things are always more complicated and labor-intensive than you originally assumed. 

We’re not saying it’s impossible to create your own perfect video conferencing app by having your developer team adapt and enhance a basic offering, but it’s definitely not a walk in the park. 

So, if you’re weighing your options – trying to figure out whether to start with a primitive construct or embed a done-for-you, out-of-the-box solution (like Whereby 👋) – we’d like to offer a gentle reality check about what really goes into enhancing, upgrading, expanding, and maintaining this type of mission-critical video chat platform. 

The thing is, there are a lot of other ways you could spend your time if your plate wasn’t full to overflowing with all the tasks associated with managing and maintaining an evolving video application. You could, of course, jump onto other internal or client-facing projects, or maybe – just maybe – you could enjoy some fall season festivities. We’ve got a few suggestions for you 🍂

INSTEAD OF writing hundreds of thousands lines of code just to get started…

There are a number of simple video calling applications out there, which are designed to give you a basic framework upon which you can build a customized experience and feature set. One of the first challenges teams face with this kind of solution is the need to write copious amounts of code just to get to square one. In addition, you have to allocate time for due diligence on critical considerations including speed, security, resilience, and so forth. This process can be very time consuming and costly in terms of resources. 

Whereby, on the other hand, gets you up and running with video calls quickly – in as few as two days. The launch process is simple: drop two to three lines of basic code into your application. That’s it. Whereby handles security, compliance, and privacy requirements along with regular ongoing maintenance and updates. Our team of engineers are available 24x7x365 if you have any questions or need any type of support. And Whereby Embedded is fully customizable, so you can tailor the look and feel of your video calls to match your branding.

…YOU COULD BE wandering the countryside, harvesting the season’s bounty 

Fall is the season when cultures all around the world come together to celebrate the harvest and share seasonal foods. From apples and pumpkin spice to Oktoberfest’s pretzels and bratwurst to the Thanksgiving turkey, there is no shortage of ways to partake of the delicious goodness that combines autumn-themed cuisine with social gatherings. Take the Romanian tradition of indulging in a garlic-heavy feast in honor of Saint Andrew (and to protect against evil spirits). Or perhaps you’d enjoy the French tradition of mushroom picking, or the British tradition of collecting “conkers.” The possibilities are endless.

INSTEAD OF building new features… 

Streamlined video chat apps may seem to offer an appealing opportunity to tailor the feature set to your organization’s exact needs, but that usually translates into much more work and risk than anticipated. To start with, there are the usual headaches associated with identifying and prioritizing which updates will be made and in what order. And once you have a roadmap in place, there is the work associated with building, testing, and deploying the video chat features as well as handling any related integrations. Testing is an important consideration, especially if any part of your testing process involves live users. 

Whereby offers an industry-leading experience with all the most popular and engaging video call features – like Breakout Groups, chat, screen sharing, and emoji reactions – right out of the box, so there’s nothing to build or implement. Whereby also has helpful integrations with apps like YouTube, Miro, and Google Drive. Perhaps most importantly, every new feature and update Whereby launches is fully tested, which protects your users and customers from becoming guinea pigs themselves.

…YOU COULD BE enjoying gathering around a fire.

As the days grow shorter and the temperatures drop, people all around the world gather around bonfires large and small to share good cheer, good eats, and good company. People in Thailand and India celebrate festivals of light, respectively called Loi Krathong and Diwali. To symbolically embrace the light that will see them through the season’s darkness, people light oil lamps, set off fireworks, release candles onto rivers on miniature boats, and hang beautiful lanterns. And in the UK, Guy Fawkes night is a fun celebration that includes fireworks, bonfires, and sparklers. Whether you light a single candle, make a fire in the fireplace, or build your own bonfire in the backyard, fall is a wonderful time to cozy up next to a crackling flame. 

INSTEAD OF juggling support calls and maintenance updates… 

From user error to actual technical difficulties, every in-house application is going to generate its share of support calls. And for an application that is used as frequently and by as many people as a core video conferencing app, those calls can add up fast. This isn’t just an issue of adding a time-consuming task to your to-do list. Fielding these calls efficiently and effectively can require additional training and even mean you need to hire folks who have specific skills and/or knowledge. 

Whereby minimizes user support requests by delivering consistent reliability that’s highly accessible to all users. In fact, we have been voted the number one easiest to use video conferencing platform on G2 for years, which means you can rest assured that your users – whether they are business professionals on conference calls, young students in classrooms, or older folks joining telemedicine consultations – will have very few issues joining and managing their video calls. 

…YOU COULD BE celebrating your ancestors.

Fall is traditionally a time of remembrance and recollection. In Korea, people spend the three days of the Chuseok harvest festival enjoying family reunions, visiting the final resting places of ancestors, and engaging in all kinds of feasting and game playing. In Mexico, of course, they have Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead, a celebration in honor of those who have passed on. These celebrations are anything but sad or macabre. They are actually a wonderful time to remember loved ones and celebrate their lives. 

When you consider all the angles, a done-for-you solution just makes sense.

We realize we’re definitely a little biased, but we really believe that companies are much better served by taking advantage of all the time, expertise, and effort we’ve put into Whereby Embedded rather than investing their own resources into adapting and maintaining a more bare bones video conferencing solution. As we said, we get it. We understand why companies think about going the primitive construct route. But – believe us – it takes a lot to get it right. 

Meanwhile, Whereby is already set up to deliver all the benefits any organization could want from a video calling app:

• Cost Savings: We save you the design, development, and engineering time you’d otherwise spend adding and managing custom features. This means you can allocate those resources elsewhere.

• Excellent Support: We have in-house expertise in WebRTC and are ready to support you. This keeps you from having to recruit your own experts or train up existing personnel, either of which is both time consuming and costly.

• Maximum Uptime: Our video/audio infrastructure is scaled and optimized for a global participant base. This enables us to make our SLA 99.99% (maximum ~52 minutes of downtime every year), and you can easily check on uptime status updates online at wherebystatus.com.

• Unsurpassed Security and Privacy: Whereby was founded by privacy-conscious Norwegians. Our dedicated security team is continually looking for and addressing any potential gaps and implementing regular updates to stay ahead of the latest threat.

• A World-class Experience: We are proud of how intuitive and engaging our video conference platform is. And it really does offer all the features you could wish for. It’s easy to use, fully customizable, maintenance-free, fast to implement, and supports useful integrations while also providing a range of excellent native features.

• Low Total Cost of Ownership: More than any other embedded solution out there, Whereby delivers a truly low TCO. This is achieved by combining a super easy implementation (dropping two to three lines of basic code into your application) with excellent support across engineering, security, compliance, privacy, and updates/upgrades. 

So, instead of adding to your workload by choosing to enhance a basic video calling app until it meets your business needs, we’d love for you to check out Whereby Embedded and take a moment to enjoy the transition between seasons. Go for a walk in the woods, take a drive to see some foliage, or just sit in the backyard with a good book and a hot drink. Tis the season to slow down, after all, not add to your plate. 

Try Whereby Embedded for free today.

Let’s Talk

Still have questions? Wondering exactly how Whereby Embedded might fit your video calling needs? Looking to pick someone’s brain about how Whereby’s capabilities align with your requirements? We’d love to talk. Just drop us a line, and one of our experts will be in touch soon.