Tech
Speaking
my language
Greg McEwan, head of communications at
Interprefy, tells EN about how the company is
changing the event interpretation game
What is Interprefy?
Interprefy provides remote
interpreting for events
and meetings. Its platform
revolutionises simultaneous
interpreting by replacing
old hardware with a cloud-
based solution so that
interpreters can deliver their
services without needing to
be onsite. Meanwhile, event
participants can simply
listen to the language of their
choice through their smart
phones. Because you don’t
need to fly in interpreters,
pay for hotels and organise
for interpreter booths to be
installed, event managers can
enjoy the stress-free and cost-
effective premium service
offered by Interprefy without
compromising on quality.
How did the company get
started?
When our CEO, Kim
Ludvigsen, worked in
business development at
Swiss Post, he saw how many
events required interpreting
services in order to ensure
understanding among the
Swiss national languages:
French, German and Italian.
Kim found the technology
being used was very old-
fashioned and the proprietary
equipment to be both
cumbersome to transport
and expensive to rent.He
reckoned that – in a similar
way to other communication
services – simultaneous
interpreting could be
dramatically improved by
using standard IT hardware
and by implementing state-
of-the-art Internet and
smartphone technologies.
Today, five years later,
Interprefy is a consolidated
business with a global reach
and a dedicated management
team.
How does it work in
practice?
Because interpreters
can work from anywhere,
events with interpreting no
longer need to be organised
months in advance and
we’re used to clients with
constantly moving agendas
and ever-changing language
requirements. It’s no problem
for us because we work
with the biggest language
service providers globally
to ensure we can find the
right conference-level
interpreters for a particular
event, not only with the right
language combinations but
also a specialist knowledge
of the sectors, if needed.
Interprefy provides training
to interpreters on its platform
and technical support
is provided prior to, and
during, an event.All that is
required when it comes to
set-up is a laptop with a WiFi
connection, microphone and
camera. Alternatively, we can
ship a specialised piece of
hardware roughly the size of
a shoebox.The interpreters,
based remotely, will work in
real-time and event attendees
can simply download the
Interprefy app, select the
language of their choice and
listen to their native language
through headphones.
How do you tackle potential
connectivity issues?
Prior to an event we will
assess the connectivity, the
approximate number of
users and we always have a
backup plan. It’s surprising
how little bandwidth we
require. But in cases where
the Wi-Fi connection really
isn’t adequate, we can provide
radio headsets.
What kind of events do you
work on??
Interprefy works for any
format – small meetings,
online meetings, exhibitions
with people event joining
remotely, breakout sessions
and large conferences.
We recently completed a
single event which involved
102 interpreters!We
work with some of the
world’s most recognised
brands, associations and
international organisations.
We have offices around the
globe and, because we can
source interpreters with
any specialist subject areas,
many of our customers have
events in niche sectors, from
pharmaceuticals to insurance
and so on.
What sets Interprefy apart
from the competition?
Interprefy is solely
dedicated to remote
simultaneous interpreting.
While other companies
include RSI as a bolt-on or
have diluted their offering, we
have invested a huge amount
in developing a solution
that is reliable and that
interpreters like to use. EN
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