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Cloud-based Localization Platforms vs. Traditional Language Service Providers

The cloud boom in recent years has by no means left the localization industry untouched. An ever-increasing number of cloud-based services, such as Smartling, Crowdin, and Easyling, have stepped in to offer unique localization solutions. Some of these are on their way to becoming firm fixtures on the industry landscape; indeed, for purchasers of localization services, the features and benefits on offer could appear irresistible. But how do these burgeoning cloud-based solutions actually line up against the offerings of a traditional Language Service Provider (LSP)?

CLOUD-BASED LOCALIZATION PLATFORMS VS. TRADITIONAL LSP

Milengo GmbH www.milengo.com

For many purchasers, these platforms are the most logical way forward for their localization needs. Alongside the versatile functionality, the aesthetics are almost certainly an added attraction that is drawing many adopters to the cloud-based approach.

The platforms also have an outward sense of familiarity and accessibility for many users, perhaps in opposition to the many processes and workflows of a traditional LSP. Certainly, if your products are web-based and mobile applications, it makes sense to approach localization with a service that perhaps echoes your very own ethos.

For those weighing their options, the decision could be a difficult one. The benefits on offer may certainly seem appealing, but are such solutions sufficiently addressing your needs?

Stress-free localizationNaturally, all purchasers are looking for a seamless, stress-free localization process. The degree to which web-based localization platforms will accommodate this depends largely on the particular needs of the customer. Let’s say you have a small software application with an enthusiastic, global user base. Cloud-based platforms offer, in theory, the perfect solution for quickly uploading your strings, assigning volunteer users, and implementing translated files.

Alternatively, you might have internal resources and require one central location where these employees can provide their translations.

API connectivity and integration is also a stand-out feature, and understandably so. The ability to set up projects via API calls or from directly within your build environment is truly modern, and it is a direction that the industry as a whole is moving – both cloud-based platforms and traditional service providers. In a general sense, this certainlyserves to speed up some stages of the localization process.

There is, though, relatively little information provided by cloud-based platforms on the management efforts needed during the course of a localization project.

Initiating projects is the easy part; linguists then need to be assigned and managed to ensure workflows are adhered to and deadlines are met. If you have 15 target languages and your files are being translated and edited by native-speaking linguists, then there are up to 30 individuals working on your project – likely across multiple time zones – that need to be managed. Each linguist needs to be given relevant instruction on the project, their progress needs to be checked on an ongoing basis, and all queries and support issues need to be addressed in a timely manner. With a cloud-based localization platform, you effectively assume the (time-intensive) role of Project Manager. When working with a traditional LSP, these are exactly the tasks that a

Key questions

4 Do I just need the job done, or am I looking for an experienced team that I can discuss all aspects of my projects with?

4 Are there any complementary services that I might require, such as terminology and glossary management, review of existing translations, and localization testing?

4 What level of project management and engineering support do I expect or require?

4 What are my service level expectations, and to what extent do I want to be able to clarify processes and workflows?

CLOUD-BASED LOCALIZATION PLATFORMS VS. TRADITIONAL LSP

Milengo GmbH www.milengo.com

dedicated Project Manager handles and a key focal point of a traditional agency’s service level.

LSP-provided platforms, such as Milengo’s LanguageDesk, allow translation purchasers to set up, request and track projects, receive deliveries, and store files in one central location. Project initiation can all be handled here via API as well. With this in mind, it is quite clear that these emerging cloud-based localization platforms are not alone in their efforts to streamline processes.

Consider also the localization of websites via cloud-based platforms. The ease of localization and deployment that many web platforms offer is certainly appealing; however, in the long term, this may not serve to reduce the stress of such efforts. Purchasers may well find they are subject to costs based on page view limits, for example, and the localized website is subsequently hosted on the proprietary platform’s own servers. From an LSP’s perspective, website localization takes a more service-oriented approach that is targeted at a successful presence in international markets for your product and brand.

PriceThere are quite fundamental differences in approaches to pricing between cloud-based localization platforms and traditional service providers. In keeping with many cloud solutions, platforms such as Smartling, Transifex, and Crowdin offer a subscription model for the pricing of their services. This cost can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand monthly depending on the scope of a customer’s requirements.

Note that this is a cost for using the service and its features alone and does not cover additional costs for the linguists working on your projects.

Where translation quality is not a focal point, such platforms, and their associated subscription costs, may well be the ideal solution for building a pool of crowdsourced translators to complete your projects. On the other hand, you might be looking to use a cloud-based tool to assign projects to your LSP. However, this could beg the question of whether the additional cost of and reliance on a proprietary tool is viable.

Those investigating cloud solutions should familiarize themselves fully with how each tool calculates word counts and the subsequent translation memory leveraging available. This is an area in which traditional service providers can offer absolute transparency, and there is always scope for negotiating ways to reduce costs based on projected requirements.

Ultimately, when deciding whether to purchase a proprietary, cloud-based solution or collaborate directly with the language service provider, it is down to the customer to carefully calculate return on investment according to projected localization requirements.

PROS

4 Central location for projects

4 Intuitive user interfaces

4 API connectivity and integration

CONS

4 Engagement required for managing linguistic resources and assets

4 Engineering tasks not covered

4 Localized websites not hosted on your servers

CLOUD-BASED LOCALIZATION PLATFORMS VS. TRADITIONAL LSP

Milengo GmbH www.milengo.com

Translation quality and project productivitySome features of cloud-based localization platforms can contribute to better overall linguistic quality and file integrity, such as Smartling’s what-you-see-is-what-you-get, in-context translation interface or OneSky’s placeholder commenting. This might not go far enough, though, to ensuring linguistic accuracy and engagement with your content in the long term. Indeed, most features on offer are already very much industry standards within translator workspace environments.

A cloud-based platform is more the facilitator for your localization requirements; the quality of the resulting translations is, in this case, largely down to the project owner. If translation quality is not a primary concern, such platforms can be extremely beneficial. If quality, consistency, and service level is a priority, however, consider the following questions: Am I assigned a dedicated Project Manager, Account Manager, or engineering team? Is there scope for discussing the QA procedures carried out on files after translation? How are linguists selected for my translation projects?

When working with a traditional LSP, purchasers have the ability to set expectations, clarify workflows, and agree on service levels from the very outset. Furthermore, a dedicated Project Manager will build familiarity with your product, guide projects forward and optimize them, streamline workflows, and build upon service levels. They can also work to ensure that the same linguists are used on each project. This guarantees that translators, too, are building their own familiarity, ultimately having a positive effect on quality, consistency, and productivity. This level of engagement throughout a partnership with an LSP goes a very long way to safeguarding successful localization efforts.

The issue of project productivity should also be called into question here. Though intuitive, the simple, browser-based interfaces can be a greater contributing factor to lower productivity. With no ability to work in an offline environment if needed, slower turnaround times could also be expected, particular in areas of the world where intermittent Internet connections are a prevalent issue.

Finally, the lack of powerful QA functionality could cause delays at a later stage if linguists are unable to perform a holistic check of their work.

The decision between a traditional LSP or cloud-based localization platform rests primarily on three core parameters: Function and oversight, service level and transparency, and costs and ROI.

Function and oversightAre you looking for a platform on which to manage a pool of (non-professional) crowdsourced translators to expand the reach of your application or website? Alternatively, do you require greater interaction on your localization efforts, with long-term collaboration based on established workflows and processes?

PROS

4 Subscription model beneficial for crowdsourced localization efforts

4 No direct project management fees

CONS

4 Subscription costs may outweight benefits when combined with actual translation costs

4 Lack of transparency with regard to translation memory leverage for reducing cost

4 Little scope for negotiating how translation memories are used to reduce costs

CLOUD-BASED LOCALIZATION PLATFORMS VS. TRADITIONAL LSP

Service level and transparencyDo you simply need to drop off projects and pick them up when complete, or do you require added service aspects such as account management, project management, engineering support, and more, while still benefitting from leading-edge industry technologies and approaches? Are you really getting a full service that is focused on building your brand/message in target markets, or rather one that places convenience and simplicity first?

Costs and ROIIs there a viable return on investment when opting for a proprietary service with monthly subscription fees? To what extent do these subscription costs outweigh the benefits when taking into account additional linguistic fees for translation and the level of project management required?

To learn more about Milengo’s translation and localization solutions, please contact sales@milengo.com

PROS

4 Central location for projects

4 Intuitive user interfaces

4 API connectivity and integration

CONS

4 Engagement required for managing linguistic resources and assets

4 Engineering tasks not covered

4 Localized websites not hosted on your servers

Milengo provides translation and localization services for clients in the IT, hardware, and E-Commerce domains. Our flexible, technology-independent approach to localization project management allows us to easily adapt to your needs, great or small.

Milengo GmbHsales@milengo.com +49 (0)30 47 37 59 96www.milengo.com Wilhelmine-Gemberg-Weg 5-7, 10179 Berlin, Germany