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With the COVID-19 vaccine slowly rolling out, a glimpse of regular, in-office working life is on the horizon. But worldwide lockdowns and stay at home orders have taught us one thing, it’s that advancements in online meeting platforms have allowed us to not only work from anywhere and with anyone in the world, but they’ve also expanded the ways in which meetings can be held. Additionally, companies are realizing how important it is to invest in tools that are complimentary to both the current workflow, and the future of work. It’s for this reason that the demand for tools that support hybrid meetings and events is increasing.
We’ve asked Liam Joy, Account Executive at KUDO, to share some insights on the intricacies of hybrid meetings and events, what markets stand to benefit most from this solution, and why KUDO is the best solution for this challenge.
Can you give a quick explanation of what defines a hybrid/collaboration event?
A hybrid event refers to the amalgamation of hardware equipment and remote solutions that give participants the ability to connect to meetings or events from anywhere in the world. As a result, some attendees may be physically present in a conference room and others may be using their device outside of the room (or even country) to follow and participate in the meeting. An important consideration with hybrid events is how to provide the same access and equal participation for attendees both on site and remote, particularly where language interpretation is concerned. A flexible solution, such as KUDO, allows those attendees who are joining remotely to select the language they wish to listen to, but also participate in the meeting in their own language, from wherever they are based in the world.
How do you think hybrid events will tie into how business will be conducted in the future?
As countries and organizations begin to shift their meetings (or part of their meetings) back on-site, hybrid meetings will be a key consideration as there are likely to be travel and room capacity restrictions for some time. Not only this, but our behavior has also changed and many of us will ask ‘do I need to travel on site for this meeting, or can I join remotely from my home or office?’. This creates huge potential for us to reduce our carbon footprint by only travelling to essential meetings, knowing that we can comfortably participate in any hybrid meeting from any location. Businesses will also see the opportunity to provide live simultaneous interpretation to more meetings using a hybrid setup, where it wasn’t previously possible. This will increase engagement through the removal of language barriers. The interpreters can be based anywhere in the world using KUDO to support this hybrid meeting.
Which markets have the most potential to benefit from this type of event?
Not only will hybrid meetings be important for organizations with delegates around the world who require interpretation, it opens up a new world of opportunities for all businesses. Hybrid multilingual meetings can provide an opportunity for private/public sector businesses, where interpretation may not have been possible, to engage employees, partners or potential clients by providing a meeting in their own language. Using a hybrid multilingual solution can remove language barriers without the need to be concerned about travel and shipping logistics. There is a significant opportunity for clients in the medical and financial industries to engage their worldwide employees and partners in all required languages for trainings and town hall sessions. Due to the topics being quite specialist, having live language interpretation ensures that all attendees can have a positive training and meeting experience.
And finally, what makes KUDO the right choice for a hybrid event?
KUDO is a very flexible solution that is compatible with almost all audio and video devices, meaning that hybrid meetings are easy to set up and manage. Furthermore, KUDO is thrilled to have bi-directional Dante capabilities to carry the interpreted languages in or out of a meeting hardware, using a single cable. KUDO allows remote attendees to select the language they wish to follow (and participate in) as well as a plethora of additional tools, such as advanced voting and document sharing. Finally, the training and support from KUDO can ensure we have the right solution for your multilingual hybrid meetings and all the tools you need to get started.