Localization: In-country distributors vs. multilanguage providers

Last week at Comdex I talked with a representative of a software company about their current localization strategy. They have a network of distributors in many countries, and like many other companies that just recently started localizing their products, those distributors had the responsibility of localizing the product.

This is a very common strategy and there are pros and cons to it.

Pros

The local team is involved. They have a vested interest in the success of the localized version of the product. Don’t you think they will do what it takes to make sure the localized version is shipped on time and that it is of good quality?

They are in country. Most likely they know the terminology used in the field and they can tell if the translation of a manual is not good. They know the local lingo and what terms are used in English in their field in their language.

Cons

Copyright. Some companies that start with this strategy end up changing because of unresolved issues with the in-country distributors about who owns the copyright on the localized software version. What happens if there are problems with a distributor down the line or if their contract expires and someone else takes over as representatives for that area? If the distributor paid (at least in part) for the localization of version 1.0, what happens when version 2.0 needs to be localized?

Significant time drain on the local team. Localization is not really their business, most likely they will be very busy with sales and marketing. When they don't have enough time to dedicate to managing the localization process (and we know it is a very time consuming task) the on-time delivery of the product or the quality could suffer.

Leveraging for future versions. Using Computer Aided Translation (CAT) tools it is possible to have the translation in a format - called a Translation Memory (TM) - that makes it reusable for future versions. If 80% of the documentation for version 2.0 is identical to the documentation for version 1.0, using a provider that does not provide a TM could result in higher costs in the long run.

Untested small providers may be a gamble. Chances are, they have not had to find someone to do the localization their software program before. They may not know what to look for in a localization provider and they may well choose someone that does not have experience with this kind of project. Quality could suffer. Software localization is a very special kind of translation, and experience in this fields is very important.

Software quality is more than manuals. When you need to evaluate the quality of a localized software product, the documentation and the packaging are only two components. There can be problems that are introduced in the User Interface or in the help files during the localization process that may not be obvious to a casual reviewer, but could result in usability issues, or just a poor image for the product or for the company.

A better solution

Keeping the local team involved is important. They can be a great resource in a localization project.

Start involving the local team from the beginning of the project. Get their help in developing a glossary to be used in the translation of all components. Their knowledge of the terminology is very important. They should sign off on the project glossary and suggest changes if necessary.

Keep a line of communication open throughout the project. There will be questions that the local team can answer, thanks to their knowledge of the local market and of the product. Make sure that they know what the schedule is and if there are any delays.

Have a final review done by the local team. Have them review a sample of the documentation and of the help files, and look at some of the user interface and all of the collateral before the product is released on the market. Feed the result of the review back to the translation provider to help them with their continuous improvement effort and to do even better the next time.

Use a multilanguage localization provider that can handle most or all your localization needs. Make sure that you have them (or another qualified company) do linguistic testing on all the localized versions.

Have one person from the company who will have the responsibility for interacting with the localization provider and who will make sure that the TM for the project is saves for future use.