Research: Demand for RTE tech surges
September 15, 2022
Findings from real-time engagement API platform Agora indicate that global demand for real-time engagement (RTE) technology in the second quarter increased by nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) when compared to the same period last year. Interest in interactive livestreaming, in particular, is supporting growth.
“Real-time engagement technology enables developers to quickly and easily build these experiences,” explained Tony Zhao, founder and CEO of Agora. “We are seeing more developers try to meet this opportunity globally, which is contributing to RTE adoption, and we expect that trend to continue.”
An interactive livestream is an online live video event in which the viewer can influence, choose, or contribute to the content of the livestream. In 2020, users worldwide spent more than 480 billion hours watching live streaming content on mobile apps, and global engagement is projected to increase by around 14 per cent, reaching 550 billion hours watched in 2021.
“This presents an unprecedented opportunity for developers,” added Zhao. “But building that infrastructure is difficult. As a result, many are turning to RTE.”
According to data from Agora, demand (revenue) for its real-time engagement platform increased by 63 per cent year-over-year in Q2. The platform allows developers to easily embed powerful real-time engagement experiences – live interactive video and audio – into their apps and services. In total, 33,000 new applications were registered on Agora’s platform in Q2, while active customers exceeded 2,800 – up by 400 compared to Q2 of 2021.
“As the demand for these experiences surges, we have made it easy for developers to integrate our RTE technology into their applications,” suggested Zhao. “We are providing a diverse toolkit that works reliably across the globe and across verticals like gaming, enterprise, collaboration, education, and more.”