GALA Blog

Language service providers around the globe have been heavily impacted by the economic downturn, but many expect a rebound in the next three months, according to the Globalization and Localization Association’s most recent quarterly survey. The survey, which asks GALA members about trends in the industry, was conducted in May and was the third in a row to question language service providers on the economic downturn.

A full 78 percent of respondents said they had been impacted by the downturn in the last three months (Feb – April), a marked increase from 57 percent who indicated they had been impacted in the previous February survey. Far fewer in North America felt a direct impact (55 percent) than Europe (83 percent) and Asia (85 percent).

Language and localization really became an ‘industry’ forty years ago. That’s when professionals began to organize into language service providers, professional quality became tantamount and companies began to respect the value of project management and translators with subject matter expertise. The industry has grown very successfully since then. There are more than 5,000 LSPs internationally. Technology providers support the industry and have developed constantly evolving tools to make work flow better and more efficiently. As an industry, the market for outsourced language services was over US $9 billion worldwide in 2006, growing at 7.5 percent per year to US $12billion in 2010 (according to Common Sense Advisory).

Yet the tough economy and technological advances sometimes stand in the way of growth. So what is the true state of our industry? Hans Fenstermacher, an industry leader and founding member of GALA, asks many questions about the industry: “The industry is having an identity crisis of sorts: in-source or outsource? humans or machines? professionals or crowds? desktops or clouds? more technology or better services?” He adds, “These questions have always been there, but they seem to be more insistent today. How should language service and technology providers position themselves today? One thing seems clear, we need to be much more diverse in our approach to the language business than ever before. To satisfy growing requirements, we need all elements of our industry. So, translators: start your MT engines! LSPs: get your workflow game on! Clients: stop insisting, and start collaborating!”

Hans’ engaging questions and answers set the state for a major discussion on our industry at GALA 09, 14 – 16 September, in Cancun, Mexico. Joining Hans, who will represent GALA, will be the executive director of LISA, the president of ATA and the head of the Localisation Research Centre. Don De Palma, industry leader and analyst at Common Sense Advisory, will moderate the session. It promises to be the most complete overall discussion of the language and localization industry ever presented.

GALA 09 will also feature Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, as the keynote speaker as well as a plethora of other speakers focused on everything from managed crowdsourcing to automated translation to public relations and marketing in the industry. Early registration for GALA 09 runs through 25 July. You can register and learn more about speakers at the conference website.

As for the state of the industry, comments are welcome! We may use questions and discussions from this blog and from Linked In discussions as fodder for our panelists…we’d like to hear your perspective.

Common Sense Advisory is surveying buyers and users of translation, localization, and internationalization software about their experiences with the products and the support they’ve received. Let your voice be heard. Take the survey!

Whenever we plan to buy something, we often look to Consumer Reports, J.D. Power, Underwriters Laboratories, Good Housekeeping, or their national equivalents to get a sense of quality, performance, and customer satisfaction from previous buyers. None of these companies have asked purchasers of translation, localization, and internationalization software how satisfied they were with what they bought, so Common Sense Advisory is stepping into the breach to ask. Voice your opinion and take our survey on customer satisfaction with language software.

Over the last few months, globalization software vendors have released a wave of new products and updates, many in just the last few weeks. Some of these new versions debuted quietly, sliding in to replace earlier versions without anyone noticing. Others called attention to themselves, heating up the message boards as translators shared their concerns about changes in license policy, interfaces, and pricing. Still others escaped notice altogether, testament to their esoteric or tiny communities of users.

It’s time for you to tell us what you think about the language software that you use in your company, at your agency, or in your freelance practice. Take our customer satisfaction survey, in which we ask about your strategic translation and localization vendor, the products you use, and whether you’re satisfied with the product itself and the service and support you’ve received. We’ll post a summary of results in an upcoming Global Watchtower entry and here in the GALA blog.