{"id":336,"date":"2011-11-09T17:42:16","date_gmt":"2011-11-10T01:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ibabbleon.com\/copywriter-translator\/?p=336"},"modified":"2012-02-21T09:28:27","modified_gmt":"2012-02-21T17:28:27","slug":"whats-wrong-with-a-factory-translation-cloud-translation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibabbleon.com\/copywriter-translator\/2011\/11\/whats-wrong-with-a-factory-translation-cloud-translation\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s wrong with a factory translation (“cloud translation”)?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Factory or online?<\/h1>\n

One question I’m often asked by software developers is why they should go with an independent translator<\/a> or indie translation provider instead of the “big guys”\u2014traditional agencies\u2014or factory translation companies like icanlocalize<\/a><\/strong> or mygengo<\/a><\/strong>.<\/h4>\n

I can think of a million reasons, but here are my TOP 5<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. Quality.\u00a0<\/strong>Doing an outstanding job is everything to us. It’s our reputation and our livelihood.<\/li>\n
  2. Accountability<\/strong>. When issues crop up\u2014and they do in complex localizations\u2014you can bet that an independent translator will listen to the problem and help you find a resolution instead of passing the buck.<\/li>\n
  3. One price doesn’t fit all.\u00a0<\/strong>If you think that all translations can be reduced to a single per-word rate, you’re fooling yourself. Factory translation companies make money with add-on pricing: it looks cheap but you end up paying more and more to get the quality you deserved in the first place. You always get what you pay for.<\/li>\n
  4. Answers.\u00a0<\/strong>Unless your question is listed in an FAQ, chances are a factory translation company won’t bother to help you. Indie translators will\u2014every time.<\/li>\n
  5. Because you care.\u00a0<\/strong>You care about your software. You put a lot of work into it and you genuinely want people around the world to use it. Why would you trust your baby to a website?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How do today’s cloud translation companies compare?<\/h2>\n

    Click to enlarge<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    The death of Traditional Agencies<\/h2>\n

    I don’t talk a lot about traditional agencies, because honestly there isn’t a lot to say. They are outmoded and outclassed in the localization world: high prices, low quality and response time, and problems handling new localization formats. They don’t “get” software and they never will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Your translation questions
    \nanswered<\/th>\n    		Independent Translators<\/th>\nFactory (“cloud”) translations<\/th>\nTraditional Agencies<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
    Are the translators good?<\/th>\nWe’ve been working together for years.<\/td>\nWe do random checks, just like at the airport.<\/td>\nYes, and we replace them periodically with lower wage ones.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Who manages my project?<\/th>\nThe translator.<\/td>\nAn algorithm.<\/td>\nA rotating menagerie of low-paid, overworked “coordinators”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Do you use a smartphone?<\/th>\nFor work and play.<\/td>\nWe see money!<\/td>\nBlackBerry FTW!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Do you know what a Localizable.strings file is?<\/th>\n“Yes” = “S\u00ed, se\u00f1or!”;<\/td>\nParse error.<\/td>\n“S\u00ed” = “S\u00ed”.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Are you obsessive about quality?<\/th>\nAlways.<\/td>\nDepends how much you pay.<\/td>\nWe’ll offer a discount on your next translation instead.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Personal one-on-one service?<\/th>\nEmail<\/a> me right now. I dare you.<\/td>\nHow about one-on-zero?<\/td>\nIt depends how long before your coordinator quits.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Fast answers?<\/th>\nLightening fast.<\/td>\nDid you read our FAQ?<\/td>\nLet me get back to you.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Localization advice?<\/th>\nAsk us anything.<\/td>\nDid you read our FAQ?<\/td>\nLet me get back to you.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Can I add new languages?<\/th>\nWe’re always ready for more.<\/td>\nDid you read our FAQ?<\/td>\nYes, we make more that way.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Any format?<\/th>\nIf it’s got strings, we’ve got translations.<\/td>\nDid you read our FAQ?<\/td>\nLet me get back to you.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Disagree?<\/h3>\n

    Tell me in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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