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 1 Basic Presence Brochureware Level 2 Prospecting Extensive Information Interactivity Personalization Level 3 Business Integration Back-office Integration Customer Service Transactions Level 4 Channel Exploitation Supplier Integration Customer Integration Advanced Personalization Internet brings new challenges

Source: IDC Internet Web page trend (millions)

Source: IDC, 2000 Worldwide Internet users by region (millions)

Source: Computer Economics, 1999 English vs. Non-English

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 Do not publish machine translated information Users can ask for a better quality at their own initiative as a premium service: content validation to guarantee readability …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