Our Analysts' Insights

We have frequently and long been asked who owns translation memories (TMs)?” In today’s COVID-19 environment, the better question might be “Where are my TMs?” If you rely on one or more LSPs to manage and maintain your translation memories, terminology, and other linguistic assets, now is a good time to revisit your disaster and recovery plan (DRP) for technology, and business continuity plan (BCP) for the entire organization’s processes. Even if you host and manage your TMs centrally withi...

Loyalty will rise to the fore after the COVID-19 pandemic runs its course. People will remember the brands that reached out in meaningful ways during the crisis. Start planning now to take advantage of loyalty to retain premium customers through the crisis and beyond as you strive to support them during the ensuing ramp-up or recession.

In a separate blog post ("AB5, COVID-19, and the Plight of Freelance Linguists"), we examined some of the challenges that freelance linguists face right now on two fronts: COVID-19 and changes to labor law – focusing on the situation in California – that have created difficulties for individuals who work as contractors for many LSPs or clients. In this post, we turn to some of the concrete actions that LSPs, end buyers, and linguists themselves can take to improve the situation of th...

Following online group meetings with Leadership Councils and CEOs representing LSPs of various sizes, CSA Research has been speaking with directors of enterprise localization groups over the last few days to hear their perspective on the impact of COVID-19. They identified two changes in their business requirements – their internal and outward-facing content is evolving to become remote-friendly, and they would like their language service partners to respond to quick-turnaround requests without...

The COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty about California Bill 5 (AB5) and similar laws have created turbulence for freelance linguists. Together, they show both the strengths and challenges that the translators and interpreters who power the industry face. COVID-19 has shown how precarious a position many of them are in, including highly successful professionals. Regardless of whether linguists are employees or freelancers, the current situation demonstrates how interconnected all parties are and ...

Wouldn’t it be great if we could eliminate the Rashomon effect from the language services and technology industry? If somehow, we didn’t have to rely on guesses, estimations, or conjectures? That’s exactly what CSA Research does.

Consumer and digital marketers have so much to deliver that it often looks as if they’re trying to balance multiple spinning plates in the air. One of the trending initiatives that they must integrate into their strategies is the option of direct-to-consumer (DTC), in which their organizations revert to marketing, selling, and supporting individuals – rather than filtering them through third-party marketplaces such as Alibaba, Amazon, or Rakuten. This is a major shift for many medium- to large...

Far too many companies rely on anecdotal data; rough measures based on GDP, and the number of people who speak languages, or even less precise guides such as executive gut feel or a knee-jerk reaction to loud or political feedback. These methods risk making ineffective decisions for language strategy, instead of using the linguistic portfolio to grow business, increase revenue, and make advances over the competition. Shifting to data for language ROI helps set up realistic expectations and goals...

Many executives and their functional managers view international business issues as “special” and outside the parameters of the processes for which they are directly responsible. They assume that translation alone takes care of everything international. On the other hand, mid-level managers reporting to those executives often understand intuitively that global success comes from delivering a relevant digital experience that involves so much more than translation. They want to do it right, but ...

When was the last time your strategic planners or management team reviewed what you’re doing in China − and why? If it hasn’t been within the last 12 months, here are three reasons why it’s time for an assessment, along with recommended actions to take.