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Transcript of The Localisation Industry in Transition: New Economy, New Technology Florita Mendez Localisation...
The Localisation Industry in Transition: New Economy, New Technology
Florita Mendez
Localisation Ireland 2000
Dublin, November 7, 2000
Agenda
• Software localization today
• Internet challenges
• Application of technology
• Application of machine translation
• Implications in business models
Localization today - what we know
• We master software localization process• Localization tools are mature and
comprehensive• Shorter learning curve for new players• Customers are localization savvy• Internationalization needs are known and
methods mastered• Same as translation, software localization
becomes a commodity
Level 1Basic Presence
Brochureware
Level 2Prospectin
g
Extensive Information
Interactivity
Personalization
Level 3Business Integratio
n
Back-officeIntegration
CustomerService
Transactions
Level 4Channel
Exploitation
Supplier Integration
Customer Integration
Advanced Personalization
Internet brings new challenges
Source: IDC
Internet Web page trend (millions)
300925
1679
3218
4984
8034
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Source: IDC, 2000
Worldwide Internet users by region (millions)
0 50 100 150 200 250
North America
Europe
Asia
Latin America
Rest of the World
2003
1999
Source:Computer Economics, 1999
English vs. Non-English
0% 50% 100%
2001
2003
2005
English speaking
Non-Englishspeaking
Issues
• Volume is certainly an issue. Not enough translators around.
• Time-wise: “There is nothing older than yesterday’s newspaper”
• Cost of localizing all this information doesn’t make business sense
• Human-translating some of the new features like chat rooms is definitely not possible
• Asking users to assume the cost is a tough job
Alternatives to traditional process
• Improve delivery mechanisms– ASP model, e-commerce model, workflow
systems
• Re-use content– Translation memory, content management
• Improve translation throughput– Using machine translation when quality is the
lesser important in time-cost-quality equation
Improving machine translation quality
• Constant investments– improving existing language pairs– creating domain dictionaries– developing new language pairs– fine tuning the engines for specific applications
(chat vs. news vs. databases)– developing next generation of engines
Improving machine translation quality
• Case by case– Combining MT with TM in environments where
human translation is also used– In certain cases, pre-editing to remove
ambiguities and improve understandability of the input text to the MT engine
– Human post-editing or content validation
Implementation of MT
Because MT is not HT !!!!• Needs to be integrated in a transparent manner• Offered on a pull basis. Do not publish machine
translated information• Users can ask for a better quality at their own
initiative as a premium service: content validation to guarantee readability
• … and never use/offer MT for marketing, legal, medical and other critical information
Implications in business model
On the technologies:• heavily invest in R&D• workflow as vendor core systems• open standards to interconnect different
applications
Implications in business model
New distribution channels:• embedding translation capabilities into
applications• using alternative distribution channels (e-
commerce, ASP, ISP, Portals)• establishing mechanisms to satisfy on
demand translation and localization
Conclusions
• Vendors shifting from service providers to solution providers
The Localisation Industry in Transition: New Economy, New Technology
Florita Mendez
Localisation Ireland 2000
Dublin, November 7, 2000