KUDO started off 2022 with a huge move – it launched an app on Zoom to fully integrate its interpreter scheduling system with the ultra-popular video conferencing program, right in Zoom’s Marketplace. The integration means that anyone looking for human simultaneous interpreters can book them directly from Zoom,and KUDO users can book meetings with interpreters in KUDO or Zoom. The app is categorized in the Zoom Marketplace under “education” and “collaboration.” As the press release states, “by integrating Zoom into KUDO, KUDO has made it seamless and simple for KUDO’s users to easily leverage their network of certified interpreters in Zoom meetings.”
In November, KUDO was featured in Time magazine as one of the “100 Amazing Innovations Changing How We Live.” This integration is likely to increase its visibility even more. With it, the platform offers real-time availability, instant booking confirmations, and automated payment processing. It promises to match professional interpreters to meetings based on their language specificity, skillset, and availability. Interpreters can be booked for same-day meetings, often with only a two-hour notice (for existing customers). The integration is based on KUDO’s Marketplace technology launched in February 2021 and its main goal is to decrease back-and-forth between meeting planners and interpreters by teaming them up through its pool of 12 thousand vetted professionals in over 200 spoken and sign languages. The vetting process includes interpreter experience, subject matter expertise, and their connectivity infrastructure.
This is a huge move for a few reasons. Firstly, KUDO is currently the only integration in Zoom for booking simultaneous interpreting. Boostlingo is there, but it’s for consecutive interpreting only, and Wordly is there, but that’s AI-enabled automatic transcription and translation. Secondly, the majority of RSI taking place on the private US market seems to be through Zoom, and potential clients no longer need to seek out interpreters or an agency first. Thirdly, Zoom has become a household name and is often people’s first choice for video conferencing. It rose meteorically since the beginning of the pandemic, like RSI, and for KUDO this could mean sky-rocketing growth.
2022 has started out with a bang for KUDO. And as KUDO Co-founder and CEO Fardad Zabetian stated, their “team is just getting started.”
Note: This post has been edited for additional clarity.
