Post by habiba123820 on Nov 6, 2024 1:45:07 GMT -8
When you launch your startup, you have both immediate and long-term goals ahead of you. Chances are good that localization will play a role now and in the future. Automating and outsourcing your l10n services immediately opens the door to growth. When localization can keep up with you, you can sustain the kind of growth that localization enables. It’s a delicate cycle filled with endless opportunities. Finding a top-notch language service provider (LSP) will help you establish a robust framework for your long-term localization, technology, and partnership strategy.
What do you want from a location service provider (L10n)?
There are a lot of technical details to work out, but the big picture is that you want efficient quality. The right l10n partner will be committed to both efficiency and quality as they help you develop a localization strategy with long-term technology solutions to support it. The first step is to choose a localizer.
Localization Strategy
It’s fair to say that the best localization strategy is one that takes care of itself so you can get on with what you’re already doing. When an L10N service provider can do this without your company actively wordpress web design agency managing it, the time and resource savings help you really get ahead. Project managers are freed up to start thinking about the strategic challenges the company faces on a global stage, rather than worrying about logistical issues that can be automated. So while an automated L10N service provider may not do your thinking for you, they can free up your thinkers to focus on where it really matters. Of course, not every LSP out there will be committed to putting your localization strategy first. You need to evaluate your options up front and make sure you have quality management in place for the long term.
Integrated Technology
For startups, the real goal is to identify issues that are getting in the way of your goals, solve them, and move on to the next step. You don’t have the luxury of continually iterating on a specific problem. It would have been better if it had been solved yesterday. And from a startup’s perspective, localization is important, but it’s only one thing. You need a localization solution that can take care of itself and that scales reliably. The latest localization technology opens up vast global possibilities. You need to work with a partner who can commit the technical muscle and support needed to back it up. If a provider offers you a lot of technology that isn’t actually relevant to your product—or a lot of technology and no help using it—you won’t be positioned for success. A lot of attention from a boutique localizer with weak technology behind it isn’t any better. You need an LSP with the resources and expertise to integrate and automate your localization process .
Translation Quality and Transparency
Of course, a primary component of L10N services is translation, and there is often an outdated black box mentality associated with delivering translations. Many LSPs handle translations in a hidden way, so you don’t know who is involved. In fact, it is common for localization companies to outsource their translation work to additional vendors, so they may not even know who is involved. There are several problems with this practice.
This lack of transparency makes it harder for you to evaluate the work. You have no idea where it came from or whether the translators are qualified. Furthermore, you may not be able to recognize problems or poor quality work in general if you don’t speak the language in question. You have to be able to trust someone to have their backing. A bigger problem with the black box approach to translation is that it disproportionately benefits the middleman. Practices that keep translators at arm’s length are not in their best interest or yours. Cut off from the market, translators are easily pressured to work for low wages. Those who refuse to work under these conditions must look elsewhere for work. As a result, when you work with a large l10n service, you cannot be confident in the quality of the work you receive. You may even be contributing to an exploitative labor system that benefits these companies at the expense of the linguists and the quality of your content.
What do you want from a location service provider (L10n)?
There are a lot of technical details to work out, but the big picture is that you want efficient quality. The right l10n partner will be committed to both efficiency and quality as they help you develop a localization strategy with long-term technology solutions to support it. The first step is to choose a localizer.
Localization Strategy
It’s fair to say that the best localization strategy is one that takes care of itself so you can get on with what you’re already doing. When an L10N service provider can do this without your company actively wordpress web design agency managing it, the time and resource savings help you really get ahead. Project managers are freed up to start thinking about the strategic challenges the company faces on a global stage, rather than worrying about logistical issues that can be automated. So while an automated L10N service provider may not do your thinking for you, they can free up your thinkers to focus on where it really matters. Of course, not every LSP out there will be committed to putting your localization strategy first. You need to evaluate your options up front and make sure you have quality management in place for the long term.
Integrated Technology
For startups, the real goal is to identify issues that are getting in the way of your goals, solve them, and move on to the next step. You don’t have the luxury of continually iterating on a specific problem. It would have been better if it had been solved yesterday. And from a startup’s perspective, localization is important, but it’s only one thing. You need a localization solution that can take care of itself and that scales reliably. The latest localization technology opens up vast global possibilities. You need to work with a partner who can commit the technical muscle and support needed to back it up. If a provider offers you a lot of technology that isn’t actually relevant to your product—or a lot of technology and no help using it—you won’t be positioned for success. A lot of attention from a boutique localizer with weak technology behind it isn’t any better. You need an LSP with the resources and expertise to integrate and automate your localization process .
Translation Quality and Transparency
Of course, a primary component of L10N services is translation, and there is often an outdated black box mentality associated with delivering translations. Many LSPs handle translations in a hidden way, so you don’t know who is involved. In fact, it is common for localization companies to outsource their translation work to additional vendors, so they may not even know who is involved. There are several problems with this practice.
This lack of transparency makes it harder for you to evaluate the work. You have no idea where it came from or whether the translators are qualified. Furthermore, you may not be able to recognize problems or poor quality work in general if you don’t speak the language in question. You have to be able to trust someone to have their backing. A bigger problem with the black box approach to translation is that it disproportionately benefits the middleman. Practices that keep translators at arm’s length are not in their best interest or yours. Cut off from the market, translators are easily pressured to work for low wages. Those who refuse to work under these conditions must look elsewhere for work. As a result, when you work with a large l10n service, you cannot be confident in the quality of the work you receive. You may even be contributing to an exploitative labor system that benefits these companies at the expense of the linguists and the quality of your content.