“We have had a lot of success working with GlobalVision… They are very receptive to our feedback during the project, and delivered a translation localization that was careful and deliberate.”
“GlobalVision has been a great fit for our translation localization needs. We deliver a technically complex, high-value product, and we need translation quality that reflects that value.”
“GlobalVision understands the ramifications of incorrect technical data to a company that does a lot of engineering. Fortunately, they seem to get it right every time.”
“I’d like to thank you and your team for a job well done. Speaking on behalf of the team you’ve made this a pleasant, efficient and painless experience.”
“… GlobalVision has been our sole translation partner for all major releases and service packs since then. They are very cost-competitive, with strong project management skills…”
“We are very impressed with GlobalVision’s professional approach to localization. Our product-update localization efforts and costs have gone down by as much as 30%.”
“Working with GlobalVision is a breeze, I wish all our suppliers had the same work ethic! I never have to worry about prompt delivery and they provide us with excellent and thoroughly checked translation services.”
“I am quite positively impressed. You met a very demanding schedule with a minimum of fuss required on my part. That is a big bonus for me. I haven’t had to nurse this project along…”
“GlobalVision’s attentiveness to our needs and wants has made them an easy choice for our company’s translations. We can send them a document and it comes back ready to use, no extra work on our end.”
“…we solely use GlobalVision for all our translation needs, software, marketing materials and product specs. The delivery was always on time (many times ahead of time)”
“Highly recommended! … They have always been a pleasure to work with, and have provided our company with high-quality finished products.”
“While GlobalVision has provided excellent translation work for us, they also have very strong project management that allows them to meet their commitments on cost and delivery.”
“We have been extremely pleased that we have found the right company to go to as we expand into other international markets.”
“GlobalVision have the experience, expertise and takes pride in what they do and it shows in their professionalism in managing the project and delivering quality results on time… Highly, Highly recommended!”
“Translation is often a very difficult and challenging endeavor. GlobalVision always takes on the task with a high degree of initiative, thoroughness and professionalism.”
“The work completed by GlobalVision was done on time, in budget, and conducted in a very professional manner. We would highly recommend GlobalVision as a supplier to any company needing translation services…”
“… Now that we have used GlobalVision to translate work into 13 differed languages our Customers tell us that they could not have done a better translation.”
“GlobalVision was a key part of launching our company’s international strategy. Their superior team helped us translate key web pages into eight foreign languages quickly and professionally.”
“We do appreciate how easy they have made this entire effort. Also, they were exceptionally pleasant to work with. Thank you.”
“After ten years of partnership with GlobalVision, SolidWorks can clearly attest to the success of the working relationship… The quality of the language translations has been high…”
“I always recommend GlobalVision to both clients and colleagues because I know their translations are accurate… they have not let me or my clients down!”
“GlobalVision is a top-notch company who not only delivers quality translations that meet or often beat deadlines, but also gives peace of mind that you are always receiving the best value in the industry.”
“The service and professionalism of the staff was A+ … the staff maintained continued contact until the job was 100% complete.”
“GlobalVision always showed professionalism along with a detailed status of how the job was progressing. Their pricing was very competitive and projects were done on time.”
“I have worked with several translation agencies before discovering GlobalVision, and I can attest that GlobalVision’s quality of customer service is unparalleled.”
“Product section looks really good, I’m impressed by the good translations!”
Enabling Globalization
Localization ( l10n ) Challenges
Localization – Time-To-Market
While many companies are undertaking ongoing initiatives in development, marketing and production to reduce time-to-market, lag times in product localization ( l10n ) continue to delay international product releases.
With rapidly evolving technologies and the need to leapfrog the competition, companies find that waiting 3-6 months for their localized products to ship no longer meets their needs or their end-users’.
Localization projects should take between 6-8 weeks and can start concurrent with product development. With the advent of search-engine and database tools, translation reuse has shortened the international release cycle by months. Simultaneous product rollouts are a reality in the third millennium. Do not risk losing market share to your competition simply because you are still applying old l10n strategies, relying on distributors, limited in-house translation resources, or ill-equipped translation vendors.
l10n – Product Ownership
Your development group has worked hard to create the product. Your marketing group has promoted it. You have paid all the bills. Don’t you want to have ownership of your product, no matter where you sell it?
Many companies hand over product ownership and control to their international VARs and distributors by having them fund or perform its localization. Although this may appear to be a short-term savings, in the long term it often proves otherwise.
Having VARs or distributors perform or fund the l10n activities adds shackles to your sales and marketing expansions. It may limit your ability to renegotiate terms, add new distributors, or go direct. Retranslation at a later stage to guarantee ownership is not something your end-users would be pleased with. Once they get accustomed to the localized product, they want consistency and continuity in the translation in follow-up updates.
Upfront and total ownership of your localized product is a must-have.
Localization – International Image
Your product bears your name. It should project the appropriate image not only in your home country, but in all your markets.
Trusting a third party to localize your product gives them control over that image. This third party should be committed to projecting the best image possible while remaining consistent and loyal to the source. Often distributors and VARs think they know better, taking liberties as they adapt your product for their markets. They ad-lib, deleting and adding as they see fit. It is hard to repair the damage after it is done.
The image portrayed by your product should never be compromised, no matter who does your localization.
l10n – Technology Convergence
Advances in Internet technologies, development tools, authoring tools, and platforms have expanded the use of different file formats and build environments. Software applications and manuals are no longer based only on Microsoft resource files or Word documents. Java, XML, ASP, HTML, and a range of other formats are now standard in many applications and products.
And with the continuing move toward technology convergence, companies are marrying software, electronics, mechanics, chemistry, biology and other sciences to develop high-end solutions.
Translators are now expected to understand all these different technologies and file formats and accurately translate only what is needed, without modifying tags, links or code. If errors are made, a significant amount of debugging time is needed to fix and build these international products.
Localization is both an art and a science. Don’t short-circuit the process or underestimate the effort needed. It takes experienced engineering and translation professionals to properly implement an efficient translation-reuse process and localize your product.
Localization – Language and Cultural Differences
Languages have unique and complicated requirements. Some are written from left to right, others from right to left, and still others are bidirectional. Many Asian languages require double or multi-bytes to represent the tens of thousands of symbols they use.
Cultures also differ widely even among nations that speak a common language! Work ethics, commitments to quality and schedules, holidays, time zones, and general habits vary greatly depending not only on who you are working with, but also where you are working.
These are localization challenges that should be trusted only to professionals. Don’t tackle them alone, unequipped and unprepared.