Localization has become essential for businesses operating globally. However, most companies still don’t know the right tools, processes, and methods used for localization. The lack of understanding can lead to complicated workflows, scattered files, excessive manual work, and errors.
Most project managers and LSPs invest in professional localization tools to seamlessly manage their localization projects. Localization technology has evolved over the years, and advanced localization tools do all the hard work for you, making your overall business localization journey effortless and hassle-free.
Do these advanced localization solutions really help businesses effectively work through complex localization tasks and scale globally?
Well, you must get your hands on a credible tool from a reliable language service provider only. Read this article to have a detailed understanding of how professional localization tools and solutions work for your business and how to choose the best solution to fulfill your unique localization needs.
A localization tool is a specialized software that is made to ease your localization journey by streamlining translation operations, optimizing workflows, enabling quick translations, enhancing team performance, and speeding up the overall process. The purpose of these tools is to provide LSPs and businesses with a valuable solution that can support them in managing their brand localization effectively and cost-effectively. There are different types of localization tools and solutions available in the market, such as translation management systems, localization management tools, CAT tools, translation QA tools, etc. Using these automated tools, you can significantly reduce the time and effort spent on performing everyday localization tasks
When looking for a localization solution you must have prepared your localization tools checklist considering your unique business needs. Here are a few translation and localization features that are commonly present in professional localization tools.
Cloud technology comes with more ease, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness making it ideal for small to medium size businesses. Cloud-based tools are also much easier to manage and work with. The affordability of these tools is also high because they are mostly on a shared basis. Most localization tools that you find online are cloud-based, so finding a suitable cloud solution for you would not be a problem. However, security is a major concern while working through cloud software because they are more vulnerable to hacking and cybercrimes. So, make sure that your cloud software is following strict security measures to avoid any inconvenience.
Managing high volumes of translation is another challenge for language services providers and global enterprises. There is a need to have a tool in place that will allow businesses to effectively manage their translation processes and cope with the increasing need for translations. Localization systems may contain an advanced machine translation engine that will help you generate automated translations in seconds.
Advanced machine translation tools use powerful AI algorithms to generate high-quality and accurate translations. If you have this feature in your localization system, it’ll definitely support your translators to speed up their work; however, you need to be cautious because machine translation can mess with the original context of the text.
When it comes to maintaining consistency in your translations, you have to create your brand glossaries. It will contain all complex terminologies, acronyms, and other brand definitions. Glossaries also help your translators develop a good understanding of your brand tone, style, and context. This way you can avoid inconsistent translations, which is a common issue when you have multiple translators working on a single translation project.
Your localization tool may contain features that will support you in creating and managing your brand glossaries from one place. It will also allow you to directly share your glossaries with translators to keep your brand voice unchanged in all regions.
If your localization system is providing machine translation services, it will most probably provide support for translation memory. Your translation memory in a TMS or localization system is a set of databases made up of all the previously approved translations. This way, you can store and reuse your translation files in the best way. Translation memory works best when you are dealing with recurring and similar text translations. As for e-commerce product descriptions, translation memory can be a great tool.
Almost every advanced localization system comes with QA tools and procedures that allow translators to optimize their translation quality. However, the credibility of these tools may vary based on the algorithms and databases they utilize. Automated QA tools screen your translated content, give you a quality score, and provide some suggestions to improve the readability and overall accuracy of your documents.
Manual proofreading has its own benefits but when your content has already passed the QA testing, it speeds up the proofreading and editing process.
When you are working on a large-scale localization project, or have multiple translation tasks pending in a row, it is good to have real-time analytics to evaluate your team’s performance and analyze the overall project growth. Having a performance analytics tool in your enterprise translation management system will give you a real-time overview of the task statuses and progression of the project. This tool allows the project manager to look for the gaps in the project execution, and take timely actions. Even small mistakes, if overlooked, can lead to major issues and project failure. So, if you are looking for a reliable localization system, make sure it has a built-in performance analytics tool.
Is investing in a professional localization system actually worth it? Why can’t we do it in a traditional way? And many other questions like that are asked by enterprises and LSPs when it comes to buying localization solutions. Well, the points below may provide you with some valid reasons to invest in a localization system.
Now, this is something that seems impossible to achieve when you are traditionally managing your localization operations. Traditional localization involves a lot of manual processes that only lead to more complications and excessive workloads. On the flip side, when you use a professional translation management solution, it automates your operations and there is a significant decrease in human intervention. Moreover, it is also seen that professional localization systems streamline your operations in a manner that eliminates the likelihood of errors. It may optimize your team performance because now you are not overburdening them with excessive work.
Your localization system contains many features that allow your team to manage their translation tasks in the quickest turnaround time. In-build machine translation to generate translation in seconds; however, it may require careful post-editing. Task management becomes smoother and more seamless with optimized workflow and streamlined operations. Glossaries are shared among all translators, and there is no need to provide individual instructions to all teammates. So, if you are managing your translation through a localization system, it reduces the chances of delays and leads to higher team productivity.
Establishing effective communication channels and eliminating communication gaps is a major challenge for enterprises working with global teams. When you have in-house and remote employees in your localization team, effective communication is the only thing that can help you put your teams and projects together. With a professional localization system, you can invite all your internal and external localization teams to one portal and provide them with a digital workplace to collaborate. Through the system, all your team can communicate with each other in real-time which very much reduces the chances of conflicts and project misunderstanding.
Most LSPs and businesses see these localization tools as an added expense; but in reality, if you make the right use of them, they can significantly cut localization costs. Unlike traditional localization operations, it comes with a lot of ease and also reduces your need for excessive manual staff. When machines do all the heavy weight lifting, the need for human staff automatically decreases. It also means you have fewer full-time salary-based employees. Similarly, because these tools also prevent delays and other mistakes, you are less likely to spend your resources on frequency edits and project crisis management.
The idea of having a localization tool is to ease your localization journey, and outsourcing is also a critical aspect of it. Some businesses prefer to work with freelancers, and others only hire freelancers when things blow out of proportion. In either case, you need to outsource, which is again a time-consuming and risky process. Most localization systems have dedicated freelance markets that allow their users to outsource directly from there. Freelancers are available in all time zones, and you can get them on board to work on your project anytime you want. It also reduces the chances of scams because all freelance linguists are registered through a proper testing and screening process.
Even today, when the perks of having a localization system are quite evident, businesses resist investing in the latest technology, and here are the three main reasons why.
Of course, everyone needs to look into budget, and it can be a major constraint for businesses to move from a traditional localization framework to an automated one. Professional localization systems are cost-effective, but still, you have to rethink your processes and structure and work on team training which is a sort of expense.
The avoidance of new technology can be a resistance to change and evolve. In a company, everyone is used to the existing culture, processes, models, and modes of work; innovation requires everyone to get out of their comfort zones. Of course, your employees aren’t always ready to accept the challenges that come with technological innovation. So, driving such a major change is never convenient, and there is always some fear of new tools.
When businesses are so occupied with everyday operations, they can’t really make time to think about implementing a new localization solution. Even when it comes to approving the budget of a localization system, it involves making reports, presentations, and negotiations to get all executives on one page. Moreover, training the teams to use the new software is also time-consuming. Even if you have the budget, time is still something that keeps the business procrastinating on the idea of new localization technology.
Investing in a professional system can really uplift your localization game. It brings so much ease to your everyday localization operations, optimizes the workflows, and enhances the performance and productivity of your teams. So, if you are an LSP or a global enterprise, a professional localization solution is something you need to think about. You can also tailor your localization system to fit your unique business needs. Do your research to find a reliable localization solution provider that will fully cater to your localization needs.
