The speed of digitization and globalization puts pressure on all of us to run faster and faster to avoid being left behind. In this “here and now” environment, companies have to deliver content in a format their customers are comfortable with and in a language they understand. Tight deadlines, increasing volumes of content, and growing customer expectations all get in the way of continuous content delivery. Luckily, content managers and localization teams have a trusted ally to rely on, namely a cloud-based translation management system (TMS).

What is a TMS?

A translation management system (TMS) is a centralized platform to automate and manage all aspects of the translation and localization process, from project creation and resource assignment through file transfer to cost analysis and project delivery. This technology centralizes linguistic assets, significantly reduces translation management effort, lowers costs, and improves operational efficiency and control of localization.

Vendor-neutral TMS for freedom of choice

Customers are entitled to freedom of choice, and a vendor-neutral system delivers precisely that. Why shackle yourself to one language service provider for all your translation requests, regardless of their cost effectiveness or expertise? Access to an independent translation management platform puts you in a position of knowledge—you are free to run a cost analysis of a project, and you are in full control of which provider you will outsource your next project to. The upside of this is flexibility, increased cost control, and substantial cost savings. 

The gift of connectivity

Your website, blog, emails, and social media all need to speak the language of your users. The path to multilingual content is fraught with obstacles, but the translation management technology of today provides simple solutions thanks to intelligent connectivity.  Enterprise-level translation management systems such as XTM Cloud offer robust APIs fitting in seamlessly with headless content management systems creating a connected localization hub where content automatically goes from a content management system to a TMS of your choice. By reducing the amount of file handling, cutting the time to market, and decreasing overhead costs, content managers have the freedom and peace of mind to go live in multiple languages at any time.

Why you need a translation management system

Leaders from all industries are turning to TMSs, but one sector where it is going up a gear is in the automotive sector. They need a translation management system to function in the same way as an assembly line, improving efficiency and reducing labor costs. The same principle that produces better quality cars more quickly in larger quantities delivers localized content into target markets faster and with lower overheads.

Cloud is the future, and the future is now

A cloud-based translation management system is the optimum way to expand a company’s global footprint. Aside from the stand-out advantages of 24/7 availability, hassle-free upgrades, and continuous feature enhancement, there’s more to this technology than meets the eye.

Moreover, a cloud-based TMS promotes centralization of linguistic assets, updated in real-time among various project stakeholders, be it translators, reviewers, subject matter experts, and project managers. Projects created in the cloud, within a central localization hub, ensure visibility into the process from top to bottom, spanning project creation, resource allocation and updates and delivery. Put simply, cloud improves project efficiency, favors scalability, and boosts quality.

Automate to lower costs and save time

The more automation a TMS provides to workflows and translation, the greater the cost savings it delivers. Tedious, repetitive chores such as assigning linguists to tasks, starting and finishing projects, and moving content from one step to another are just a few examples of how automation can speed up your work and make your team more productive.

Scale as you go

The beauty and power of a centralized localization platform is its ability to scale up or down as you go; a spike or dip in the translation volume or an increase or decrease in the number of project managers or linguists will not impact its performance and stability. A good translation management system will run equally smoothly, accommodating change as it occurs throughout the project.

Ensure quality

Good quality content strengthens your brand and speaks volumes about your product or service. A translation management system fosters high translation quality with translation memory and terminology components, delivering consistency and control even if several different linguists are involved in the translation process.

Some translation management platforms use cutting-edge NLP Artificial Intelligence to automate terminology extraction, ensuring terminology lists are auto-created while translation memories are imported into a TMS.

Inbuilt Quality Assurance components offer failsafe quality checks to eliminate spelling, spacing, and grammar mistakes, delivering the result you want every time. In legal, automotive, medical, and financial content, even the smallest error can have a negative impact on your brand in the eyes of customers and partners. Why take the risk?

Visual context available in a TMS provides in-context previews for linguists, giving clarity on intended meaning, formatting, and layout. No back and forth, no delays, and no guesswork. Just straightforward professional certainty.

Key takeaways

Centralized translation management is your best option if you’re looking for:

• Lower translation costs
• More consistent communication
• Higher quality content and operational efficiencies
• Quicker time to market
• Better engagement from international colleagues and customers

An agile, connected TMS will make your brand voice heard all over the world. Don’t tread water, invest in the translation management system of tomorrow to see the profits today!