The Future of Localization: A Varied Spectrum of Service Models (whitepaper)

In an industry where multi-gigahertz processors analyze hundreds of sentences per minute, translators still require roughly the same amount of time that they did 25 to 50 years ago to deliver a page of new text in the target language.

Language service providers know that operations such as translation memory will always benefit from technological innovations, while functions like transcreation, editing and quality assurance will always rely heavily on human interaction. But neither can live without the other, in spite of the productivity gap that divides them. Meanwhile, the industry charter is to deliver the best possible translation services for the lowest price, in the shortest period of time.

Or is it?

This paper examines this productivity gap and asks why service levels and industry pricing models have not kept pace with changing customer needs. It explores the role of content, quality and cost, and asserts that language providers must take the lead in collaborating with customers to define service levels and pricing that squarely meet the needs of translation buyers.

 Download the Whitepaper (pdf, English) 

See also: Localization in 2010 and Beyond (webinar replay)