Intro
Advantages of Continuous Localization
Andovar provides technology-enhanced enterprise translation services and solutions to companies across multiple industries in over 200 language pairs. Helping multinational enterprises stay ahead of the competition in international markets, our automated systems and workflows accelerate multilingual content delivery across enterprise-wide operations with quality, speed and scalability.
You do not have to wait for your development to finish for us to begin translation, which then takes time to review and correct before it is integrated into your product and released to your customers. Workflow automation plus human expertise for editing and review accelerates your time to market.
By relying on such resources as AI-powered translation, in-built terminology tools, Translation Memory, and the Memsource cloud-based Translation Management System (TMS), which boasts artificial intelligence, we only translate the same content once. We can then reuse the content as needed to save both money and time.
When your need for continuous localization grows, so does our ability to fulfill it. Andovar can tap our network of over 10,000 professional translators from six offices around the world. We can assign several specialists to your project, so they can all translate your large volume of content at the same time. If you have several development teams scattered around the world, we can assign a separate localization team to each, often in the same location as your employees.
If your project reaches customers in China, Spain, and France, you do not have to wait for the Chinese translation to finish before starting on the Spanish version, and then the French. Different Andovar teams can work in different languages at the same time.
To be successful, continuous localization depends on a great deal of automation for both the software and development teams. The automation workflow goes like this:
1. The developers work on their software in their native language. New code with strings that require translation goes into a code repository, such as GitHub.
2. The repository recognizes any changed content that requires translation and pushes it to the TMS.
3. Our professional translators localize and review the content on the TMS.
4. The localized content merges into the code repository where it integrates into the code.
5. The integrated code goes to the server for distribution to the customer.
By integrating localization into your continuous software delivery, your engineers do not have to worry about constantly implementing, testing, and reviewing the translations. This repetition increases the chances of errors. They only have to do the process once at the beginning and then forget about it.
USE CASES
What Industries Are Best Suited to Continuous Localization Services?
Continuous localization ideally suits the following businesses where change is constant and updates must reach the customer as quickly as possible.
Software & App Development
Gaming
Dynamic Websites
Customer Reviews
Technical Support
Social Media Marketing
E-commerce
Legal Documents
IMPLEMENTATION
Implementing Continuous Localization
For continuous localization to happen efficiently, the development and localization teams cannot exist as separate entities that communicate with each other through emails, text messages, and phone calls. They must coolaborate closely and ideally have at least the following roles:
• Localization manager who oversees the entire process.
• Localization engineer who implements the technical details of your continuous localization workflow.
• Localization Quality Assurance (QA) manager to take charge of maintaining the quality of the localization.
Andovar contributes a professional translator to the team. This individual localizes the user interface, pop-ups, help text, and any other strings in your code. We assign experts who are native speakers of the target language, fluent in the source language, and specialists in your industry.
Bringing Andovar in during the planning process enables us to set up a mutually beneficial working environment before you write the first line of code.
- Translators become part of your process instead of being an annoying distraction. They then gain knowledge about your product as work proceeds. They can, for example, learn what words need to remain untranslated because the source language becomes more meaningful.
- Developers become part of the localization team. As they gain insight into the translation process, they can offer important feedback. For example, they can discover inconsistencies in the translated content.
Developers may fear continuous localization if they have no experience with coding to meet international requirements. They may then protest the process from the very beginning, making the entire process more difficult.
To prevent this, one of our staff who specializes in your industry can educate your engineers, which is another reason to bring us in before the project formally starts. This first-hand knowledge assures them that internationalization does not add much to their daily work. They can then approach continuous localization with confidence, ready to make the changes needed to their software.
CONNECTORS
Fast, Hassle-free Translation
Link your asset management system to our translation management system with one of our handy TMS connectors for hassle-free seamless localization of all your content.
Case Studies
Success Stories
Agoda
Audiences across Europe and Asia can now access Agoda’s extensive travel services in their own languages.
Spotify
Reaching out to music lovers in Thailand, Spotify translated its user interface into Thai, expanding into a new market.
Airbnb
Preparing to launch in a new region, Airbnb wanted to adapt its marketing content and localize its app and videos.
FAQs
Frequently asked Questions
Although continuous localization and agile localization are often used interchangeably, they do have their differences.
- Agile localization follows the sprints that characterize the agile development process. Each sprint has a defined beginning and end. The release of content has to wait until the sprint finishes. Agile sprints take anywhere from one to four weeks.
- Continuous localization happens all the time and automatically integrates into the continuous delivery workflow of the software. Content is always available for release. This process can take as little as 24 hours, especially when using a TMS that is based in the cloud.
While continuous localization offers many benefits, it does have challenges.
- Accuracy and consistency. Ideally, translators receive some time to understand your content needs and how they affect customers. Unfortunately, the fast timelines of continuous localization may prevent that comprehension.
- To get around this, you can upload background information, such as multimedia or product guides, to the cloud where translators can easily access what they need to know. It’s also helpful to create a translation style guide and term glossaries so that any terms are used consistently across multiple releases.
- Workflows. Each of your development teams may have different development workflows that need adjustments to work with a consistent localization process.
- Budget. Continuous localization costs more than traditional translation. But it can save you time, which allows you to release products and update them weekly rather than every few months. This faster turnaround engenders loyalty and trust, which leads to greater sales from an audience that trusts you for your reliability and quality.
Absolutely not. If you’re starting on localization from the beginning, we are happy to recommend software to make the process more efficient for your team. However, you can also stick with whatever tools or Content Management System you are already using. We bridge the gap between your platform and ours by customizing APIs and connectors to your organization. You can take advantage of our integrated translation system of tools, linguistic networks, and localization specialists.
A Translation Memory eases continuous localization by storing previously translated paragraphs, sentences, or words. The TMS then uses these segments when localizing source text to the target language.
Talk to an expert
Please provide a little bit of information in the form below and we will be in touch soon. If you are interested in working for Andovar (as translator/ SLV or full-time employee), please visit our careers site.