My name is Josep Condal, and I am the Managing Director at ApSIC. I currently serve as GALA’s Head of the Technology Committee.

My professional background is both in software development and localization, so no wonder why my Holy Grail is to reach new levels of quality and performance driven by technology and, where the technology does not reach yet, processes.

My main interests on technology revolve around tools that directly or indirectly enforce streamlined operations. Streamlined operations mean happy clients, happy vendors, and happy CFOs. A number of tool publishers in our business have gradually evolved to serve their clients (the ones in an organization who have a purchase decision), forgetting a little bit (and sometimes a lot!) who the actual users downstream are. This attitude is obviously understandable and respectable, but leaves plenty of opportunity for great improvements that really can change things. We hope that this blog space can contribute to open new paths of communications among those who use the tools and those who make them.

The Trados acquisition by SDL was really eye-popping for many and the apparent aftermath is that it has set a new ground for opportunity and innovation both inside and overall outside SDL’s walls. I anticipate many important changes technology-wise over the next 5 years, and we hope that this GALA blog can become a good source of information and discussion for what’s here and what’s coming.

Sorry for this long post! I just would like to add a couple more lines to thank Tony O’Dowd for volunteering to be the host and moderator of this blog initiative, Aki Ito for his determination on making sure that things happen at GALA, and to Laura Brandon for turning an idea from a brainstorming exercise into something that we can touch and feel. I would also like to thank in advance all the contributions that the bloggers of this space will be making to help define the role and shape of technology in the GILT business.

Welcome to the GALA Technology Blog. This first of its kind in the industry.

This BLOG is designed to gather, collate and discuss the impact of tools within the Localization Industry. It is designed to capture your thoughts, ideas and suggestions from improving the current number of technologies and products that you use on a daily basis within your company.

The feedback will be condensed and sorted and made available to tools manufacturers so that they can incorporate these suggestions and enhancements in future versions of their product offerings.

So what not give it a try! Your ideas are valuable and can make a difference!