The Economist has always been keen to find different ways to broaden its global readership. To reach more readers, they have now embraced AI technology to efficiently deliver translations of its content through the Espresso app.

This initiative aims to enhance accessibility for diverse linguistic audiences and attract more readers to their publications.

Understanding AI-Powered Translation

To begin with, they have deployed AI-generated translations for the most commonly requested languages including French, German, Mandarin, and Spanish. Ludwig Siegele, Senior Editor for AI Initiatives at The Economist, acknowledges that while AI translation may not be perfect – particularly in journalism due to cultural nuances, it has still reached a level of quality that is considered “good enough” for immediate publication without human editing.

Utilizing machine translation tools like DeepL along with its own tech, The Economist publishes real-time translations on its “bite-sized” Espresso app. This was recently made free for students ages 16+ across the globe. This initiative democratizes access to journalism, particularly benefiting younger audiences who face language barriers.

Overcoming Challenges

Noting that AI technology is still evolving, Mr. Siegele emphasizes the inherent challenges of using AI in journalism. Despite occasional errors, such as misgendering figures, the swift feedback mechanism allows for rapid corrections. Espresso’s content updates around 20 times daily, highlighting how AI can streamline the translation process while maintaining timeliness.

In addition to article translations, The Economist has ventured into AI-translated social media content. These brief videos undergo human proofreading to ensure quality, illustrating a balanced approach between AI efficiency and human oversight.

Looking Ahead

As The Economist explores further applications of AI, Mr. Siegele expresses cautious optimism about expanding translation services. While there is interest in applying this technology across various products, the focus remains on quality and strategic implementation. Future developments may include enhanced summarization tools and innovative content repurposing, reaffirming The Economist’s commitment to leveraging technology for richer journalism.

For more insights into The Economist’s AI initiatives, check out the article on Press Gazette.

The post AI-Powered Translation: The Economist’s Innovative Translation Strategy appeared first on Globalization Partners International.

Meeting the demands of people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds requires communicating in a language they understand. The same applies to selling in the global marketplace, where listing and advertising products or services have to be done in the audience’s preferred language. Utilizing global trade languages is essential to effectively reach and engage with international customers.

A global survey conducted by CSA Research found that over 76% of the 9,000 respondents preferred buying products from localized websites with information in their native language.

This shows that communicating in the target market’s language is not just a beneficial option. It is a necessity, and every international business should embrace this truth.

International business languages have widespread dominance in the global marketplace. These languages are accepted and used more often in global business communities worldwide as they foster smoother negotiations and transactions between different entities from different cultural backgrounds in international trade.

Importance of Global Trade Languages

1. Effective Communication

Languages facilitate clear communication between parties involved in international trade. It aids in improved communication with employees and sustaining customer relationships. When a brand tries to translate user guides, product manuals, and other associated materials, it allows customers to fully understand products and services.

2. Global Expansion

When it comes to global expansion, communicating and connecting with locals in their language can be a total game changer. If a company decides to expand its reach, it is important to incorporate international business languages for smooth access to global markets.

3. Increased Credibility

When businesses portray fluency in their client, investors, partners, and customers’ language, it boosts credibility, fosters trust, and brings about lasting relationships.

4. Increases Cultural Sensitivity

Languages help to break down cultural insensitivity. By speaking to customers and other business associates in their language it shows openness to their culture and is often interpreted as respect and acceptance.

What Languages Should International Businesses Focus on?

There are over 7,000 languages spoken worldwide as of 2023. Polyglots exist, but 7,000 is a lot for any human or international business team to learn.

Here’s a compiled list of the top ten (10) international business languages a business team should prioritize to achieve success in their global trade operations. These languages have been included based on data from research on top languages spoken worldwide and in key industries.

Top 10 Global Trade Languages to Consider

1. English

English is both a universal language and the most spoken language in the world. For the most part, it is referred to as the language of globalization. Its influence on global trade comes from the fact that it is spoken by over 1.4 billion people in the world.

It is the official language of the United States, the United Kingdom, North America, South Africa, and some parts of Africa. It is the predominant language of business and academia. It is also the most used language for media and the internet as about 51% of websites use English.

English is undeniably a language for any business looking to thrive in the global market.

2. Mandarin

Mandarin is the official language of China, the giant of the east. It is the second most spoken language in the world today, spoken by 1.09 billion people. It is also a primary language of communication in certain regions and countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan.

The Chinese economy has retained dominance in the world economy by its astonishing growth. With the Chinese economy striving hard to overtake the US economy, and becoming a top economy in the world, Mandarin could supplant English as the most spoken language in the world.

The benefits of using Mandarin as a global business language cannot be overemphasized. It is not a language to be ignored because it offers international businesses the opportunity to effectively tap into the large customer base that countries in the East, especially China offer.

3. Spanish

There are an estimated 550 million Spanish speakers in the world, with approximately 486 million being native speakers of the language.

The language is popular in the US which represents a dominant economy in the world. Projections show that by 2050, the number of Spanish speakers in the US might double. So, learning Spanish should be considered a top priority for businesses seeking to enjoy smooth entry into the American market and gain recognition.

4. Arabic

This is the predominant language of the Middle East, spoken by approximately 372.5 million people in countries like Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and more.

The Middle East is blessed with vast oil reserves that contribute greatly to its expanding market. The Arabic language of the Middle East has been reported to top the list as the second most important language of the future. With its wealth, tourist attractions, and an indelible shopping experience, the Middle East represents a market with exponential growth and eager consumers.

Arabic is a significant international business language and can unlock many Middle Eastern markets.

5. French

Spoken by about 229 million people, French is regarded as a major international business language. It is predominantly spoken in Europe, particularly France and Switzerland, and some countries in Africa where it made its colonial footprints.

French is a versatile language with its influence spreading across various parts of the globe including Africa whose economy is experiencing exponential growth. It is impossible to ignore the French language and companies seeking global recognition should consider French as a language of business.

6. German

German is spoken largely in European countries like Germany, Belgium, Austria, and other parts of the world. It has over 220 million speakers in the world including native speakers.

The German economy is the largest in the European Union and a leading economic giant in the world. Germany has a global reputation for quality and innovative craftsmanship. Learning German is an effective way to foster lasting partnerships with German companies.

7. Portuguese

There are about 232 million speakers of Portuguese, making it a top spoken language in the world. It is mainly spoken by people living in Brazil, Portugal, and some parts of Africa.

Brazil has the largest economy in Latin America and is a very attractive destination for foreign business in the pharmaceutical and energy industries. Portugal is also leading in trade opportunities as well as in science, diplomacy, and education. It would be a smart choice for businesses to consider Portuguese as a useful language.

8. Japanese

Japanese is another classic Asian language to consider after Mandarin. Japan is one of the biggest targets of tech firms in the world because it maintains expertise in areas of robotics, research investments, and other relevant modern technologies.

Also, Japan is regarded by the British Council as a huge contributor to the UK’s prosperity. The Commonwealth office also regards Japan as an important partner in areas of climate policy and energy resource security. Japanese is certainly a top global business language to consider.

9. Hindi

Hindi is a widely spoken language with over 345 million native speakers. Hindi is native to India which is the second most populous nation in the world after China.

India is an emerging major Asian economy known for its cultural diversity. With its large demographics, learning Hindi provides a good customer base for business expansion.

10. Russian

Russian is a strategically important language for international trade and an official language of the United Nations.

Russia as a country has global political and economic influence. Speaking Russian is a strategic step to unlocking business doors, especially in the real estate, oil, and gas sectors.

Effects of Language Barriers on Global Trade

Language barriers can affect trade greatly, particularly because they can lead to missed opportunities, misunderstandings, and in the worst scenario, offense.

Language barriers can be detrimental to the overall growth of international businesses. According to research by ScienceDirect, language barriers have so much effect on trade that a 10% increase in language barriers can lead to a 10% decrease in the success of trade between countries.

Navigating the global marketplace requires more than just market insights. It requires a good understanding of local language and cultural nuances to be able to transcend the barriers of language differences.

How to Market Effectively in Different Languages

Developing a multilingual marketing strategy requires more than just translation. It involves an in-depth understanding of the target audience and then creating localized content that they can relate to.

The first approach to multilingual marketing is understanding your audience. To reach a diverse audience across borders, it is necessary to research their cultures, preferences, and buying behaviors. This enables international businesses to tailor marketing content to be valuable and still align with the cultural context of each target market.

The next step is to tailor marketing efforts with localization in mind. A good localization strategy for multilingual marketing will include the following:

1. Promoting inclusivity by adapting content, images, and other marketing materials to suit cultural preferences and expectations.
2. Celebrating cultural events or holidays with marketing campaigns to show cultural diversity and acceptance.
3. Hiring professional translators to create original, culturally sensitive content for each language.
4. Optimizing brand messages across media channels like websites, emails, and social media platforms to fit the language preference of the target audience.
5. Collaborating with local influencers and partners to produce culturally relevant and linguistically accurate content.

Conclusion

Venturing into new markets is guided by several factors with communication (language) being top of the list simply because it is a bridge that connects societies and cultures.

With many businesses shifting their focus into rapidly developing markets in other parts of the world, effective communication through multilingual marketing is a good strategy to win.

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On the 23^rd of February, 2024, one of the largest markets in East Africa, Kenya, and the United Arab Emirates inked a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA).

This partnership agreement is meant to make trade processes easy, boost the confidence of potential investors seeking to invest in Kenya’s economy, advance digital trade, and strengthen cooperation between the private and public sectors, among other measures.

This deal will enable Kenya to export agricultural products and other raw materials, conduct business easily in the UAE, and facilitate outreach to Asian and Middle East markets.

Kenya-UAE CEPA: Boosting Trade and Investment for a Thriving Economy

The Kenya-UAE CEPA will increase economic growth and bring about more investment opportunities, fostering sustainable growth and innovation in Kenya’s key economic sectors such as technology, tourism, logistics, and Agriculture.

Bridging the Language Gap for Success

While the CEPA offers immense potential, navigating cross-border partnerships can be complex. Language barriers can often hinder effective communication and hinder businesses from fully capitalizing on these benefits.

This is where GPI comes in.

We are a leading translation company specializing in bridging the gap between English and Bantu Swahili and Arabic, the key languages for this exciting new partnership. Our team of expert translators can ensure:

• Accurate translation of all your business documents, marketing materials, and contracts.
• Culturally-appropriate communication that fosters trust and understanding with your Emirati partners.

Don’t let language be a barrier to your success in the Kenyan and Emirati markets! Contact GPI today for a free consultation and learn how our translation services can help your business thrive in this new era of economic cooperation.

To learn more about the Kenya-UAE CEPA, you can continue reading at UAE, Kenya seal comprehensive economic partnership deal.

The post Global Trade: Kenya and UAE Seal a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement appeared first on Globalization Partners International.

Africa’s Growing Economies

Reports from the African Development Bank (ADB) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have predicted that Africa will be home to eleven out of the twenty fastest-growing economies of the world, and Africa’s GDP is expected to rise by 4.2% by 2025.

Digital Trade in Africa

Digital trade in Africa is growing rapidly, and in countries like Morrocco, Egypt, Madagascar, Nigeria, etc., exponential growth has been recorded since 2015.

This was triggered by subcontracting various business roles and adopting digital methods. All over Africa, improved use of digital technologies is projected to increase digital services exports by US$74 billion from 2023 to 2040, doubling Africa’s global share.

This rapid growth creates opportunities to transform the continent’s economy as its export capacity expands to include new markets and products, and domestic competitiveness strengthens by importing key input services.

This development reinstates the need for effective translation and localization services to foster global trade, especially when dealing with a linguistically diverse continent like Africa.

As predicted by the World Trade Organization, improved digital connectivity and a comprehensive enabling regulatory environment can reduce trade costs by 25 percent.

Overcoming Obstacles

Services facilitated by technology offer a way to side-step some of the obstacles to trade in Africa, which include outdated transport infrastructure and relatively high barriers to merchandise trade. Digital trade fosters inclusiveness across people of different demographics as it connects customers to service providers and suppliers.

Technology Creating Growth

Harnessing the benefits of digital trade across borders requires connectivity, skills, electronic payments, logistics, an enabling policy framework, and effective translation and localization services to combat communication barriers.

Read more on how African nations are dominating global business growth and how digital trade is becoming a catalyst for Africa.

The post African Nations Set to Dominate Global Business if Digital Measures are Taken appeared first on Globalization Partners International.

One of the biggest elements that support the global economy’s development is commonly measured by the growth of the manufacturing industry. The process of producing finished goods from raw materials is the key factor of every manufacturing company.

The manufacturing industry falls under the secondary sector and plays a very important role in the economic development of any country. Apart from all the other benefits of providing employment in remote villages, reducing the significant reliance on people’s agricultural income, and so on – this sector is considered to be the backbone of economic and social development.

The Rise of Manufacturing Communication in the Digital Age

Companies from all sectors have always found it difficult to reach their right audience/customers for growth purposes. While sectors like hospitality, medicine, e-commerce, and education have already digitalized themselves and consider communication to be their key factor for new customer acquisition; manufacturing companies have still relied on their old methods of marketing and advertising which solely depend on references within the industry.

As the world is moving towards consuming the majority of its information through websites, emails, and social media platforms – manufacturing companies have started to realize that digital communication is the next step they need to explore to reach the global marketplace.

Many companies are not only updating their website with the latest type of logos and colors, but they are also paying attention to the content; putting efforts to cater to each local region within the same country. As the competition in this fierce industry is growing, many companies have opted for translation/localization to increase their customer engagement and SEO rankings to appear at the top of various search results.

Digital marketing teams within these companies have also received higher budgets to incorporate translations as one of their tools to increase traffic through not only marketing collaterals, social media posts, brochures, etc, but also through their translated websites.

To achieve a successful website translation project, it is essential to adhere to the recommended best practices outlined in the following 16 steps, which involve numerous processes, tools, and procedures:

1. Review & Analysis of Source Website Assets
2. Best Practice Multilingual Workflow Based on CMS (content management system)
3. Project Kick-Off
4. Subject Matter Training and Research
5. Cultural Correctness Assessment
6. Glossary & Style Guide Development
7. SEO – Keyword Research & Localization
8. Translation, Editing, and Proofreading (Transcreation-Copywriting)
9. Localization of all Graphics
10. Localization of Documents
11. Localization of Multimedia
12. Basic Online QA & Testing
13. SEO and Internet Marketing
14. Launch Language Versions
15. Final Delivery
16. Final Edits and Archiving of Files

It is always recommended that any company choose the localization process over translations for their website translation needs. Localization (L10N) involves translating and localizing the front end of your website into different languages ensuring all content (text and graphics) is translated in an accurate and culturally correct manner.

In addition to the content of a website, when deciding to present other languages, the structure of the site must be reviewed. The structure of the site should be language-independent. Since dates, addresses, and phone numbers can vary in format based on the country, it is important to make sure that site functionality is not dependent on how these are entered.

Finding the Right Translation Partner:

According to a recent source, there are approximately 1.8 million translators across the globe. Hence, finding the right one that meets your expectations and satisfies your needs through the best quality and cost could be challenging. While some corporations have an in-house team of translators, for many companies, outsourcing translations to an agency makes sense. There are many nuances to language and a professional language services provider (LSP) has the expertise to help you navigate the pitfalls.

Here are some key elements that can help you find the right partner for translations:

• A professional translation agency must be ISO certified.
• Should have expertise within your field/subject matter and should provide references/case studies when requested.
• Should follow the best practices of localization by using tools and processes like Translation Memory (TM), Glossary Creation, Online QA, etc.
• Employ professional, native, and subject matter experts for translation. Remember, anyone who speaks a particular language may not be an expert in translations
• Must be familiar with key terminologies within your industry and be willing to get on calls with your stakeholders to discuss the style, tone of voice, and preferences of the translations.
• They involve you in the translation process. This gives an opportunity for those companies with bilingual staff to provide feedback on specific terminology being used within the organization.

While these elements may seem a lot to verify, their benefits will serve you in the long run by helping you save costs on repeated content, shorten turnaround times, and provide optimum quality of translations, and SEO rankings.

Conclusion:

With the rapid growth of the manufacturing industry around the globe, it is crucial for every company to be on top of its game when it comes to marketing and advertising. Thus, through translations, you will always have a competitive advantage compared to other companies that would still be using only one universal language to reach out to the global audience. As marketing experts say, customers always buy products where they feel more comfortable and welcomed, so, what other way would be as beneficial as presenting your services in their local language?

References:
Importance of Manufacturing Industries – GeeksforGeeks

The post The Importance of Localization/Translation in the Manufacturing Industry appeared first on Globalization Partners International.

April’s issue of Languages & Locales does not disappoint with its Website Localization Case study for the Marina Bay Sands. When they needed to localize their website for its international visitors, they turned to GPI to provide best-in-class support. Utilizing best practices, along with the Globalization Project Management Suite, GPI’s translation Services Portal, GPI supported the development and deployment of the Marina Bay Sands website into seven languages.

In Tools & Tips, learn more about GPI’s translation Services Connector for Kentico. Kentico is a web content management system (CMS) that makes it easy to develop, manage and deploy websites. The GPI connector for Kentico makes managing multilingual websites easy and seamless.

In Meet the Team, take a moment to learn about GPI’s own Vimal Panicker, Director: Global Business Engagement.

Finally, in our Curation Corner, learn what country plans to become the next tourist industry leader and the challenges they face.

Are you ready to dive in? Read the Languages & Locales January – March edition now!

Subscribe here if you want to receive the upcoming editions of Languages & Locales.

The post April to June Edition of Languages & Locales Newsletter Now Available! appeared first on Globalization Partners International.

In a recent report, it is estimated about 5.16 billion people used the Internet for various purposes at the start of 2023. You would be surprised to know that these people are among the 64 percent (approximately) of our world’s total population.

Experts are estimating that two-thirds of our population will be using or have access to the Internet by the end of 2023. These mind-blowing statistics are more than enough for any business to declare that ‘’Content’’ is going to be the most vital factor for revenue generation for any company in the coming years. However, will creating highly creative and engaging content in only English or one particular language suffice? Probably not. Do you know that only 1.5 billion speak English across the globe? That is why top global companies translate their content into multiple languages targeting international markets to garner the most engagement and attention for their brands, products, etc.

Finding a Translation Partner

Over the years, companies have realized that it is now their customers who drive their strategy and plans with regard to content. To keep up with these customers across the globe, translations are now considered to be one of the most important marketing tools, for not only driving traffic to their website but also increasing their brand/product awareness through marketing collaterals, advertisement banners, social media posts, etc. But finding the right partner for your translations could be difficult if you have not worked with one before.

In a recent study, it was estimated that there are approximately 1.8 million translators across the globe. Thus, qualifying one that meets your company’s and reviewers’ expectations to produce optimal quality translations within a specific budget is challenging.

For one language, you can expect to need 2-3 translators to perform the various tasks, plus, depending on the format of the translations, you may need desktop specialists to typeset the translations. Based on the multiple facets of translation and vetting qualified resources, a professional language service provider (LSP) can manage these tasks for you.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Translation Partner

To identify the right partner for translations, there are some key factors to consider:

• Look for an ISO-certified and professional translation agency.
• Qualify whether the translation partner you choose has expertise within your field/subject matter and if they can provide any references/case studies.
• Are they using localization tools and best practices such as Glossary Creation, Translation Memory (TM), Online QA, etc?
• Are the translations performed by professional, native-speaking (of the target language), and subject matter experts? Not all who speak the language are good at writing or translating the content.
• Confirm if they are familiar with key terminologies within your industry and are willing to get on calls to discuss the style, tone of voice, and preferences of the translations.

While these factors may seem a lot to verify for simple document translations, please remember – every content that is out there with your company logo/name represents you. The benefits of working with an LSP will serve you in the long run by helping save money on repeated content, shorter turnaround times, optimum quality of translations, and SEO rankings.

Working with a Translation Company in the UAE

UAE is a country with an 88.52% of expat population, thus, companies in this region have a deeper understanding of every cultural aspect, buying patterns, customer behavior, etc. While these factors also play an important role within the translation industry, it will always be an added advantage for companies to work with translation agencies that are experienced in this particular region.

UAE’s laws have set great expectations for each of their licensed companies to be able to meet clients’ requirements through the optimum quality of deliveries. Hence, any UAE-based company will always ensure to meet the client’s expectations to the best of their ability and comply with the service laws and regulations within the country.

In recent years, UAE has welcomed and acquired the best talents from across the world providing them with short/long-term visas to be able to work from the country. This allows top localization professionals across the globe to travel to UAE for work and be able to serve not only the clients in UAE, but across the globe and different time zones. Especially for languages like Arabic, UAE has certain certifications and qualification requirements for any translator to be able to provide translations legally, hence, companies always prefer working with UAE-licensed translation companies for translating any of their legal, general, marketing, or website-related content, to name a few.

Conclusion:

While UAE is a country with a large number of expats and English-speaking individuals, it is still one of the most popular tourist countries in the world. So businesses can always be driven by not only targeting the residents that speak English but, by planning ahead of your competitors, translating your content for your targeted markets, and having a cutting-edge benefit to winning business. You can also review our blog on ‘’what to look for when selecting a translation company’’ to start on the right foot.

References:
Digital Around the World — DataReportal

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Now more than ever, having a multilingual hotel website is essential for driving global hospitality industry business. First impressions count, and since the pandemic, more international travelers are researching and doing their transactions online.

Did you know that 75% of the world’s population does not speak or read English? So, if your hotel is not visible in the language of your key markets, you risk losing valuable revenue. Below are some fundamental reasons why hotel website translation is important for your business.

1- Your Hotel Brand Will Reach New Markets

The post Translating your Hotel Website is Important for your Business appeared first on Globalization Partners International.

Diwali or Deepavali, commonly known as the Festival of Lights, is one of the major festivals celebrated by more than a billion people across India. During the festival, Indians light up their houses as a symbol of protection from spiritual darkness. The name Diwali is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘’Dipa’’ which means light, lamp, and candle and ‘’Avali’’ means to be in a row, series, or continuous line.

This 5 days festival is filled with celebrations including lighting up houses, streets, and buildings, the preparation, and sharing of traditional Diwali sweets, making Rangoli, which are colorful patterns made on the ground using colored powders, shopping, and visiting family and friends. The preparation for Diwali normally starts a week before the celebration.

Celebration of Diwali

Diwali is celebrated widely across India by a majority of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Newar Buddhists. The festival has many interpretations of different historical stories among religions, however, the message for the celebration is common for all: good triumphs over evil.

For a majority of believers, Diwali honors the arrival of the goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. The row of lights is meant to guide the goddess in finding her way to people’s homes and bless them with prosperity for years to come.

India is one of the most religious countries in the world and home to billions of people with different spiritual beliefs. As the years go by, the country sees more people from different religions enjoying Diwali by spreading its message of joy and light around the world. Interestingly, it is not only celebrated in India, but in other countries like the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and others. This has encouraged Indians to celebrate their biggest festival with firework displays, lighting up their houses, streets, and prominent places.

Fun fact, in the UK –Leicester City is known to host the largest Diwali celebration outside of India. Tens of thousands of people come to celebrate each year, except in 2020 when it was done virtually. Apart from the social and cultural celebrations, many Hindus living inside and outside of India visit their place of worship, known as Mandirs (Temple) to offer their prayers. Temples are decorated with flowers and lights creating an eye-pleasing and spiritual experience for its worshipers and visitors.

Conclusion

From their childhood years, Diwali is a festival that Indian families will always look forward to. Schools would be closed for about 10 days, children would get new clothes and gifts from their parents and relatives, a lot of sweets, bursting firecrackers, and much more. Diwali has always brought light and happiness around the community and played an important role within the Indian culture, allowing people to come together regardless of their cultural differences and beliefs. You might find it interesting that many people find Diwali a reason to mend their rifts between each other and become friends to celebrate good over evil.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Nationalgeographic / Kids
Britannica
Natgeokids

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A request for proposal (RFP) is a business document put together by government and multinational companies in order to receive bids from multiple vendors at the same time for a service that they will need in the near future. This document provides all the necessary information that a business should know to deliver a successful bid for them to win the business. An RFP typically includes information such as the scope of requirements, deadline for the RFP submission, project deliverable timeframe, point of contact, Q&A sections, location, etc.

One of the most important factors of an RFP is allowing all the legitimate vendors of similar services a fair chance to participate and provide their best pitch for winning the business. Typically, this will apply to government and large corporation RFP requests, where they post RFP requests on their website or procurement platform and companies that want to bid are able to do so.

Smaller businesses will most likely contact the businesses that they think will meet the necessary qualifications and certifications, and who are willing to participate in the RFP process.

How to Prepare a Translation RFP?

Translation RFPs are a great way for a company to compare and select a translation agency that best fits its needs. Although translations may seem very simple, various factors play an important role in a successful translation project.

Localization/translation is approximately a $50 billion industry, hence, translation companies across the globe have developed multiple tools and technologies that can help them win business by delivering optimum quality within the given budget and timeframe.

An experienced and qualified translation agency can help improve your outreach to existing and new clients, whether it is through print, website, or software localization.

To prepare a translation RFP, it is important to understand the full scope of your requirements. This includes the set of languages you want to translate to, their locales, the purpose of your localization, what requires translation, the timeframe, etc. With the basics determined, you can provide all the necessary information in your RFP for a better understanding of your request.

Here is an example of information you can provide below:

1. Type(s) of content
   • Web
   • Software
   • Document
   • Audio/Video
2. Language(s) required including locales
3. Details and metrics of actual documents, even if estimated
   • 6: 4-page, 6 x 9 brochures, 500 words each
   • 20: 4 to 5-page menus, 1,500 words each
   • 18: 20 to 35-page eBooks, 5,000 words each
4. Details and metrics of websites to be translated, even if estimated.
   • What content management system (CMS) is being used
   • Word/page counts for content
   • SEO requirement
5. Details and metrics of software to be translated, even if estimated.
   • What platform is being used
   • Word/string counts for content
6. Details and metrics of audio/video to be translated, even if estimated.
   • What formats are being used
   • Word/page counts for script content
   • Number of voice/video talents required

While the majority of the translation RFPs are primarily focused on pricing, we highly recommend you also evaluate the tools and technologies, quality control process, experience translating within your industry, and the services offered aside from translation.

Tools like Translation Memories (TM), Translation Connectors, Translation Portals, etc., may not seem beneficial at the beginning, however, they can have a significant impact on the cost, quality, and delivery timeframe of your projects. For example, a TM tool can help you save time and cost on the content you may have already translated, and a Translation Connector can help import and export the content from your website within a couple of mouse clicks (no manual copy/pasting), and more.

Mandatory Information to Be Included in the RFP

This blog provides detailed information on what should always be included in a translation RFP along with its do’s and don’ts: How to Write an RFP for Translation Services

However, the most important factor when preparing a translation RFP is the deadline for submission and a point of contact for queries. Every company should consider the effort a translation agency applies to put together a response to your RFP. Hence, rushing the process for submission and not being available to answer any questions related to the RFP could be counterproductive to the RFP process. Once the RFPs have been evaluated, the shortlisted bids should be given a chance to present their services either in person or through an online meeting. This will allow them the opportunity to demo the tools and technologies that can aid in the completion of your project. This can further help you make an informed decision when selecting a translation partner.

Conclusion

Businesses of all sizes take an RFP route for their vendor selection process. We recommend that when shortlisting your RFP responses consider your participants’ care when responding to the RFP requirements, their expertise, processes, and technology solutions in addition to cost and delivery timeframe. While the budget will always be a large component of the selection process, a provider’s expertise can wind up saving you time and money through their quality resources and tools.

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