The emergence of translation technology has accelerated the speed with which businesses enter new markets.
No longer can businesses afford inconsistency across their content.
Or the high costs of inefficient operations.
These two, in particular, are the result of an antiquated translation process that no longer works for businesses wanting an edge in today’s hyper-competitive markets.
This post will help you understand what translation technology is, and what its business uses are for companies growing their global footprint.
Let’s dive in…
The role of translation as an enabler of business growth
Ask any business owner what it is they want for their business in the long term, and most will tell you, “for my business to be around and thriving”.
Thriving, that is the word!
The goal of translation in business is to make the business as appealing as possible – to a foreign market – to gain visibility and rapid growth.
Streamlining of complex business operations
Your global operation will often be a mix of teams, clients, shareholders, and people representing governments, working with you in different locations.
The need for translation, in this case, is obvious.
Translation services will help you stay compliant with government regulations for global businesses.
Achieve location-specific communication standards and brand visibility
Communicating a clear and consistent message about your brand, its products, and services, in a new market, needs to be the top priority.
A translation service provider must work with you to ensure key brand messages, brand tone, and other brand assets – are translated with the intended meaning, clearly, to customers.
Affirming company reputation
What’s the surest way to build rapport with customers?
Align your company values with the beliefs and values they hold dear!
Doing this as you expand into global markets will get you and your business noticed, that’s for sure.
Your translation service provider should help to capture your brand values and messaging – so it aligns with that of your customers.
This is also important as you want to engage (Through your marketing) directly with a specific demographic.
You now have a practical understanding of the importance of translation in helping businesses find success in global markets.
Let us now explore how translation technology is improving, breaking down cultural barriers between people, countries, and businesses.
How has translation technology improved through the years?
Tremendously!
Translation technology has been around for over 50 years. But has very recently seen a significant increase in adoption, by both businesses and vendors, in recent years.
Globalization, the impact of the internet in challenging traditional business practices, and enabling E-commerce to thrive; are all pertinent factors.
According to a report by Nimdzi insights, there exist over 700 solutions in the language services landscape, and it is ever-expanding.
Virtual interpreting technology, machine translation, AI Localization, Computer-assisted interpreting… are just some exciting technologies coming out.
Let’s get on the same page for a minute, and explain, exactly what translation technology is.
Translation technology involves the use of specific software in the process of converting/ translating written text from one language to another. This technology helps to increase the accuracy, productivity, and effectiveness of translations.
Delivering results on all business fronts
The delicate balancing act of meeting customer expectations for seamless experiences and high-quality products, that are culturally relevant and adapted to their needs; with the practical considerations of keeping costs down, and increasing productivity—have added additional pressure on decision-makers.
This has led to an increased reliance on translation technology.
And for good reason.
Companies looking to go global can now do so by utilizing any of the available solutions on the market, to scale, with efficiency – and reach new markets faster than before.
Types of translation technology
Although there exists a technology and innovation boom in the sector currently, these are the most well known and highly regarded technologies right now:
Translation management systems (TMS)
It is a software platform for managing an entire translation project from start to finish.
TMS systems allow for the creation of workflows where users can be added to plan, manage, and assign projects.
Depending on the user’s needs, TMS systems are either cloud-based or on-site. However, in general, they all include these core features:
- A dashboard that displays project status updates, and other essential tools.
- CAT tool functionalities like glossaries, translation memories, termbases.
- A reporting function for viewing progress across projects.
- Multiple languages and file format support.
Machine translation
Which falls under Computational linguistics, which is the process of using AI to translate content from one language to another, without human involvement.
Compared to other translation technologies, MT is not new. It is the constant technological advances it has gone through, in the last couple of years, that has led to its increased adoption.
Machine translation engines fall into one of these three categories:
- Statistical machine translation (SMT): when the system translates from one language to another based on numerous parallel texts, the engine is trained on.
- Rule-based machine translation (RBMT): words and sentences mostly translated based on a set of rules that a user can adjust.
- Neural machine translation (NMT): is slightly more advanced in that, thanks to machine learning technology, this technology is capable of understanding entire sentences, even paragraphs, compared to translating word by word.
You’ve made it all the way here…
Thank you for taking the time to read this article.
It was created to offer valuable insights that you can share with your colleagues and co-workers.
We are Afrolingo
A professional translation and localization services company in South Africa.
We use our knowledge of:
- Translation
- Transcription
- Interpretation
- Software localization
- Mobile localization
- Desktop publishing
- And website publishing
To create localized content and messaging that connects your brand to African audiences, to drive profitable action.
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