The way we work, interact with others, and conduct business has changed over the past few years, more so in 2020 when remote conferencing became a routing. Remote conference interpreting became a necessity for many large and small companies.
In the past, language barriers between organizations and individuals were overcome by having an interpreter. The common practice was to have an interpreter based on the location of one of the participants and interpret live. Organizations would have their interpreter hired as a full-time employee who will provide such services. The only downside is the unnecessary need to have the interpreter in the location of one of the participants of a conference.
Remote conference interpreting has existed as a service for several years. However, it was not widely used. Today, as the demand for remote conferencing increased, businesses are looking at this type of service as a standard way of conducting business with partners across all regions of the globe.
The main goal of remote conference interpreting is to provide multilingual support for participants. Usually, the interpretation is located remotely, independent of all participants. Professional interpreters will use soundproof booths, located offsite. They will join the event virtually and will deliver the interpretation in real-time. The participants can listen to the interpreter using a separate line to minimize interference with the other participants.
Pros
The benefit of working with remote conference interpreting services is access to a wider multilingual coverage for various types of events. You can work with more interpreters that may not even be located in the same country that could offer better support.
Another benefit is the cost reduction. Remote services tend to be cheaper. There is also a reduced cost than would otherwise be associated with onsite equipment and setup.
Lastly, convenience is a major factor that determines many companies to use remote conference interpreting. Since the number of people working from home has increased significantly, having access to such services with the click of a button adds a certain degree of convenience that traditional onsite interpreting cannot match. Logics are no longer an issue and booking an interpreter is considerably easier.
Cons
While remote conference interpreting services seem like a superior solution, there are a few negative aspects. The most notable one is the risk associated with internet connections. As online conferencing and live events are required to be run over the internet, the interpreter also needs to have an internet connexion. If the internet connection drops for the interpreter, it may affect the event or it may even have to be postponed.
Conclusion
Interpreting services will increase in demand as more and more companies expand their global reach. Since working from home is becoming a common practice, the demand for remote conference interpreting will increase. The only concern that some companies might begin having is the availability of such services. It is not far-fetched to see remote interpreters being overbooked or unavailable due to the extremely high demand for their services.
