Sascha Leib, Eurologos localization manager responds to five questions on the prospects of his division

The future of software and website localization



Editorial Staff : How can the market for localization demand on international markets be assessed?

Sascha Leib : Software-producing businesses are subjected to very fierce competition on all user markets. This is based on three factors: first, the languages of localization (software not localized in the languages or geo-styles of the target markets is always at a seriously disadvantage and often out of the competition); second, the speed of this localization (a deadline that might be very short does not allow for the profitable launch of the software whose shelf-life is, in turn, always very short); third, the price of these localizations must remain modest, and therefore financially advantageous (if not, one is tempted not to localize anything, even at the risk of radically reducing one's own competitiveness).

The handicap of non-translation, speed and price

E.S. : How can one resolve these three competition factors?

S.L. : The supply market is generally poorly adapted to these unavoidable requirements of the demand market: even when a localization business has resolved the problem of being technically up-to-date as much in know-how as in technologically very advanced equipment, it remains incapable of really ensuring the speed of completion, translation continuity

and the necessary savings in sale price. The reason for these three deficiencies is unfortunately structural: almost all of these localization agencies have a single location in one country, therefore unable to cope with multilingual localizations. It's true that there are international companies (less than 1%), "glocalized" worldwide like Eurologos, in a position to guarantee speed, linguistic control and validation on the basis of a process of real homogenization and at a very low price. In fact, these localization multinationals avoid long procedures of control and correction while guaranteeing very low prices to their clients: production takes place on site, in our own offices! Furthermore, all you have to do is think about it: how can a single-location company relevantly claim to ensure languages and geo-styles of other countries?

E.S. : Why is there this huge inadequacy between the markets of supply and demand?

S.L. : Despite the translation profession being the oldest in the world (actually, the one that inevitably comes to mind is only the second oldest…), it is still completely primitive: some claim to provide the client with multilingual texts when they are only in a position to ensure a text of one language, that spoken in their own country. At most, they can sometimes ensure two languages, those spoken (as the case may be) in the region where the agency itself is situated. Translators and localizers must be able to work side by side for one common language spoken on a daily basis. It's under these circumstances that one can really check and validate (hence correct and ensure localization quality to the client) texts as well as IT integrations.

Websites that don't speak to the client


E.S. : Now let’s talk about website localizations.

S.L. : The production of several linguistic versions of websites (in languages and geo-styles) makes the arguments defined above appear more evident still. The need to communicate in several languages, experienced by globalization businesses and institutions, is increasing more and more. One can only persuade or conquer a market if one speaks its language. For example, persuading the markets of Brazil will henceforth take place in Brazilian and not in Lusitanian Portuguese spoken in Portugal (that is increasingly diverging from the South American geo-style). A business that wants to conquer a new market must firstly equip itself with a website that speaks to it in its native language and its geo-style.
The future of websites is thus multilingual. And it will be normal for businesses and public institutions to have 10 to 15 languages of communication. Some of them, the most globalized ones, will even have to have twice as many available.
How to achieve this? Completion speed (thinking of website updating) and reasonable (even very low) prices. And naturally, absolute reliability of localizations. Thus having as many offices available as there are languages and geo-styles to be localized. Eurologos anticipates going from 30 to over 40 offices worldwide by 2007-2008.

E.S. : What about cutting-edge technology?

S.L. : Only truly global organizations, "glocals" like Eurologos, will be able to apply investments in technology and know-how able to face the requirements (even on a daily basis) of communication. And naturally, with rapid multilingual production at good value. Anyway, that’s the way it is now. Businesses that are not multinationalized can only calculate how very far behind they have already fallen.

Sascha Leib
Software Localization Manager
Eurologos-Bruxelles
☏ +32 2 735 48 18
s.leib@eurologos.be

EUROLOGOS GROUP OFFICES.
TRANSLATING AND PUBLISHING WHERE THE LANGUAGES ARE SPOKEN

Eurologos NewsletterJANUARY - MARCH 2005