Organization: Building Excellence at Every Stage

23 Feb 2017 by Rebecca Ray, Donald A. DePalma

CSA Research carried out an extensive data collection and analysis exercise in preparation for Localization Maturity Model^TM (LMM) 3.0. We conducted a comprehensive survey of enterprise buyers of language services in 15 countries in June and July 2016. We asked about five strategic areas - governance, strategy, process, organizational structure, and automation. We ran 6,657 correlations based on the data collected, of which we are publishing a small percentage in a series of six briefs.

Automation: Implementing Technology within Limits

23 Feb 2017 by Rebecca Ray, Donald A. DePalma

CSA Research carried out an extensive data collection and analysis exercise in preparation for Localization Maturity Model^TM (LMM) 3.0. We conducted a comprehensive survey of enterprise buyers of language services in 15 countries in June and July 2016. We asked about five strategic areas -  governance, strategy, process, organizational structure, and automation. We ran 6,657 correlations based on the data collected, of which we are publishing a small percentage in a series of six briefs.

Why Benchmarking Buyer Maturity Matters for LSPs

23 Feb 2017 by Rebecca Ray, Hélène Pielmeier

Recognizing buyer maturity levels and incorporating them into your strategy and solution delivery processes are essential to your business. Doing so enables you to: 1) identify the right prospects; 2) nurture leads with relevant messaging; 3) win opportunities that increase your revenue; and 4) rise above your competition by helping clients grow their international business more quickly.

Managing Information Overload through a Pragmatic Global Content Strategy

21 Feb 2017 by Rebecca Ray

Digital marketers, localization managers, and corporate planners want guidelines and data to help them decide which materials to translate and how much to translate. Join us to learn how to develop and use marketing personas, customer journey maps, categorization, and content tiering as the building blocks for a pragmatic global content strategy.

Economic Opportunity by Industry

10 Feb 2017 by Dr. Arle Lommel, Hélène Pielmeier

Language service providers large and small are on the eternal quest to find sizable clients with regular needs. Sectors that spend considerable amounts on language services represent obvious targets. CSA Research conducted a survey of 211 LSPs to analyze information on their top three accounts. This brief analyzes the economic opportunity and contact profile within each vertical.

TechStack: Interpreting Management Systems

31 Jan 2017 by Hélène Pielmeier, Dr. Arle Lommel

Managing scheduled interpreting jobs can be a daunting task for buyers of language services and their suppliers. Between April and August 2016, CSA Research investigated the state of interpreting management systems (IMSes) by conducting briefings and demos with technology vendors, and interviewing users of such systems. In this brief, we present an overview of IMSes, their evolution over time, a SWOT analysis, pricing models; and IMS solutions in the market and what to look for when selecting a system.

Does Third-Party Linguistic Review Make Sense?

27 Jan 2017 by Dr. Arle Lommel

In their quest to ensure that translations meet quality expectations, some buyers of translation services work with third-party organizations to obtain linguistic reviews of content. This step is meant to assure them that content meets legal or business requirements, but comes at a cost. While CSA Research does not recommend this approach in standard workflows, we do find that third-party linguistic review does add value in specific use cases. In this brief, we: 1) define third-party review; 2) discuss the method’s pros and cons; 3) review cases where it may be required; 4) explore alternatives for cases where it is not well suited; and 5) provide implementation tips.

Account Growth through Client Care

27 Jan 2017 by Dr. Arle Lommel, Hélène Pielmeier

What is the magic that turns some buyers turn into top clients? CSA Research conducted a survey of 211 LSPs to analyze information on their top three accounts. In this brief, we examine the relationship between the size of an opportunity and the time and effort that language service providers invest in them. We offer suggestions for how to adjust sales efforts to seller’s characteristics.

Remove Process Waste for Greater Efficiency

17 Jan 2017 by Dr. Arle Lommel, Hélène Pielmeier

Like a leaky faucet, a process that creates losses here and there can amount to a big bill at the end. However, many buyers of language services may be unaware of how subtle waste on their part contributes to quality and efficiency problems on a larger scale, even when they abide by quality management standards such as ISO 9001.

In this brief, we use the principles and lessons of Japanese process management to provide guidance for enterprise translation teams that strive to achieve operational excellence to: 1) understand the basics of waste; 2) define types of waste; and 3) adopt techniques to identify and remove it.

Understanding Buyer Decision Strategies

16 Jan 2017 by Dr. Arle Lommel, Hélène Pielmeier

When you consider expanding your sales and marketing efforts, you may find yourself hampered by a lack of knowledge about how to find profitable opportunities. If you go after particular profiles simply because they are visible, you may miss opportunities that are better for your company. If you have already zeroed in on the best opportunities, then converting them to paying customers is essential.

In this brief, we focus on characteristics that will help you fine-tune your marketing efforts and outreach activities to match client and prospect needs more effectively. We examine: 1) how contract size relates to decision processes; and 2) trends toward decision-making strategies by industry. We recommend how to use these results. When combined with our research on market segmentation, these findings will help you create or fine-tune pitches that will succeed with your target segments and personas. Because they represent the best and most direct sales opportunity, we focus our attention on the authority profiles that have the most discretion in the purchasing process.

SEO Essentials for Global Brands

30 Dec 2016 by Benjamin B. Sargent

More than 90% of customer journeys begin with search. SEO-generated visits achieve higher conversion rates than other digital lead sources. Yet many international brands tell us their implementation and processes for SEO remain unorganized and half-hearted. Virtually all companies say they are not doing enough. For most global web teams, taking a serious approach to international SEO is a future goal, not a present reality. Practitioners tell us they need actionable advice, not just strategic goals.

Should We Centralize Our Globalization Function?

30 Dec 2016 by Rebecca Ray

One of the most common questions asked by organizations implementing globalization as a business function is whether they should centralize language services. Data from CSA Research demonstrates that companies continue to consolidate in this area as they mature, driven by their desire to: 1) achieve faster times to market; 2) reduce total cost of ownership; 3) maintain specific levels of linguistic quality; and 4) integrate workflow processes enterprise-wide. In this brief, we provide hard data to support organizations in their decision-making related to centralization in the following areas: number of years managing localization, budgeting, team size, scalability, formal processes, siloed operations, and number of in-country marketing staff.

CEO Characteristics that Create Successful LSPs

21 Dec 2016 by Stephen Henderson

In June 2016, CSA Research published the results of its Annual Survey of the language industry, with ranking lists of the top 100 global LSPs and largest LSPs in the world’s nine regions. We identified the top executives at the 191 companies that we ranked in 2016. We harvested information about language fluency, level and type of education, professional experience, and gender, from a variety of sources, including company, social, and business websites. Correlating this information with verified data from the last two years of the Annual Survey, we identified business growth trends related to these demographic attributes.

Strategy: Establishing Goals and Budgets Organization-Wide

19 Dec 2016 by Rebecca Ray, Donald A. DePalma

CSA Research carried out an extensive data collection and analysis initiative in preparation for Localization Maturity Model™ (LMM) 3.0. We conducted a comprehensive survey of enterprise buyers of language services in 15 countries in June and July 2016. We asked about five strategic areas –  governance, strategy, process, organizational structure, and automation. We ran 6,657 correlations based on the data collected, of which we are publishing a small percentage in a series of six briefs.

Productive globalization requires commitment across the enterprise. Why? Because even high-performing localization teams must lobby other corporate functions to support international markets. For example, they do not have the power to mandate fully localized e-commerce infrastructure, local data security compliance, or appropriate in-country hiring practices without buy-in from marketing, IT, and human resources. Corporate, globalization, and global content strategies must be in place and integrated so that all teams can move in the right direction at the right speed to support global customer journeys.

Governance: Elevating Localization as a Business Function

1 Dec 2016 by Rebecca Ray, Donald A. DePalma

In preparation for the release of Localization Maturity Model^TM 3.0, CSA Research conducted a comprehensive survey of enterprise buyers of language services in 15 countries in June and July 2016. We asked about five strategic areas - governance, strategy, process, organizational structure, and automation. We ran 6,657 correlations based on the data collected, of which we are publishing a small percentage in a series of six briefs.

Why Benchmarking Localization Maturity Matters

1 Dec 2016 by Rebecca Ray, Donald A. DePalma

How many times have you heard “localization is special” or “globalization only affects a few departments?” Probably too many. Why are these attitudes still held by otherwise informed middle managers and executives? Because localization or globalization as a business process doesn’t register for them.

Regularly benchmarking the localization maturity of your team - as well as the globalization progress of your entire organization - changes these attitudes. Why? By recasting these areas as business processes to be measured according to agreed-upon policies, formal metrics, and ROI goals brings them out of the shadows and subjects them to the analytical scrutiny of finance, operations, and executives.

Top 100 Ranking of Global Brand Websites

30 Nov 2016 by Benjamin B. Sargent

This brief ranks the 100 most global brands for 2016, based on CSA Research’s annual study of global websites. This year we assessed 2,657 sites. Based on that analysis, we identified 58 best practices for global customer experience (CX). Then we scored the 150 brands that publish their websites in 25 or more languages based on how well they deliver on those practices. This brief lists the ranking of the 100 most global sites and breaks out scoring for three primary elements: language coverage, user experience design, and extensions of the global CX into offsite channels.

Twenty Profiles of Buyers of Language Services

28 Nov 2016 by Dr. Arle Lommel, Hélène Pielmeier

When language services providers try to promote the virtues of their offerings, they often comment that finding the right individual to target can amount to finding a needle in a haystack. Yet, identifying the best entry points into a prospect can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of sales and marketing efforts. Doing so combines with broader market segmentation efforts to yield more effective and targeted sales.

Growth Strategies for LSPs

23 Nov 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

Language service providers are often at a loss on what to do next when they develop growth strategies: Should they add new services? Should they go international? Alternatively, should they just strive to close more sales within their current target market? In advisory sessions and strategy days, CSA Research frequently explores with executives the options to grow their businesses profitably. In this brief, we structure the discussion around the Ansoff matrix, a business tool to help companies choose strategies for growing their business. We adapted it to the language services industry so that LSPs can get pointers on approaches to achieve: market penetration, market development, offering development, and diversification.

Should You Offer MT Post-Editing Why Post-Editing is the New Black

17 Nov 2016 by Dr. Arle Lommel

CSA Research predicts that by 2019 the majority of multilingual enterprises will be using machine translation in some form, with post-edited MT the fastest growing sector, with double-digit year-on-year growth. At the same time, “pure” human translation will see only moderate growth. We also find that LSPs that embrace MT grow more quickly that those that hold off. So does it make sense for you to offer post-editing services? If so, what is the best way to offer them and do you need to control the technology stack to start in this area. In this presentation Arle Lommel will discuss CSA’s findings about MT and what they mean for you as an LSP faced with the decision of whether or not to invest in this area. The presentation will discuss the challenges and industry-specific concerns that your decision must address.

Expanding Global Customer Experience

Best Practices from 150 Companies with 25 or More Languages

16 Nov 2016 by Benjamin B. Sargent, Rebecca Ray

Global brands seek to maximize return on research and development, product design, and brand investments. As customer acquisition and engagement become increasingly digitized, these companies must reliably deliver content in dozens of languages and channels, across an array of regions, cultures, and regulatory regimes. This report identifies 58 best practices, in nine facets of global customer experience, derived from 150 major brand websites with 25 or more languages. Globalization champions, digital practitioners, and executives can incorporate these best practices into their own planning documents, as a set of nine checklist tables provided in the report.

What's Not to Miss about the Boom in Interpreting Technology

16 Nov 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

Interpreting has become the next frontier in innovation in the language services sector with new interpreting delivery platforms and interpreting management systems appearing all the time. CSA Research published a series of reports based on the findings from 45 interviews and demos with tech vendors, users of such technologies, and interpreting experts. Whether you’re developing interpreting technology, reselling off-the-shelf solutions, or wondering whether you should get on the bandwagon, this presentation will highlight core findings on the state of the interpreting technology market.

How to Win More Quotes

15 Nov 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

Getting more business through the doors in an evergreen topic for language service providers. CSA Research’s interviews on LSP quoting practices enabled us to pinpoint various elements that providers have to pay attention to when bidding on projects. We’ll look at the problem from different angles including process, pricing, staffing, and technology. This webinar is best suited for anyone involved in overseeing quote development at your organization.

Building a Globally Integrated Organization

3 Nov 2016 by Rebecca Ray

When it comes to delivering a global customer experience, you’re only as good as your last performance. And your organization’s ability to repeat and sustain its successes depends on the degree to which each function has globalized its business processes. Localized app ready to go? Check. Marketing programs adapted and translated? Check. Support team equipped to deliver multilingual chat? Oops. You get the picture. In this brief, we outline the magnitude of the problem based on hard data, the reasons why localization teams end up with enterprise-wide responsibility for globalization, how they can create space for other teams to improve, and ways to prioritize the groups that need help first.

Understanding Translation Quality

31 Oct 2016 by Dr. Arle Lommel

Translation “quality” is notoriously difficult to define and can be a source of debate and dispute between translation providers and buyers. To give stakeholders a point of reference to explain what they mean and expect by quality, we: 1) examine different definitions of translation quality, discuss why they matter, and present a definition for translation quality that unifies these various aspects; 2) discuss how they relate to the broader field of quality management; and 3) provide recommendations for how to apply these views to improve outcomes and business relationships.

M&A in the Language Sector

30 Sep 2016 by Donald A. DePalma

The language market, which will turn over US$40 billion this year, is highly fragmented and begs for consolidation. Ambitious industry players and private equity groups regularly buy language service and technology providers in an effort to scale up and amalgamate the sector. In this brief, we: 1) discuss LSP attitudes toward mergers and acquisitions; 2) review recent M&A activity; 3) follow the money that funds M&A; and 4) analyze what it means to the market. It expands on market consolidation trends that we identified in a series of 2015 research. 

Machine Translation Enables Rapid Growth for LSPs

29 Sep 2016 by Dr. Arle Lommel

CSA Research with LSP CEOs finds that those language service providers (LSPs) that embrace machine translation (MT) as part of their strategic plan grow at 3.5 times the rate of those that take a more conservative approach. At the same time, many LSPs are worried about how MT will affect their ability to meet customers’ quality expectations. Can LSPs use MT to meet client demands for faster turnaround times and lower rates at the same time they deliver on quality metrics? In this research-based session, analyst Arle Lommel addresses the strategic potential of MT and how LSPs of all sizes can use it to deliver what their customers need.

Developing the IDP Market

Sustainability in Interpreting Delivery Platform Offerings

28 Sep 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier, Dr. Arle Lommel

Announcements of interpreting delivery platforms (IDPs) that enable remote, video, telephone, and even machine interpretation appear with ever more frequency. However, limitations restrict the adoption of many offerings. Most providers offer single-purpose applications suited for just one or two use cases and buyers have not adopted these products at the pace their developers expected. Developers and sellers must address core problems – or the IDP market will develop slowly, remain fragmented, and won’t exhibit clear leaders for quite some time.

Digital Opportunity: Under- and Over-Served Languages

27 Sep 2016 by Benjamin B. Sargent, Dr. Arle Lommel

Some languages historically show lower use than their market heft should warrant, such as Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian. Other languages appear more frequently than their limited market size might predict, including Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Slovak. In this brief we continue our three-year longitudinal analysis of the economic potential of online languages versus their frequency of use on the websites of prominent brands around the world. This analysis will help corporate planners focus their investment on the most necessary and lucrative languages and will guide LSPs to recommend markets that drive revenue and market share growth for their clients. 

Open-Source Language-Industry Ecosystems

16 Sep 2016 by Dr. Arle Lommel

Where does open-source software (OSS) fit in the language sector? This brief updates our earlier analysis of six tools – GlobalSight, Moses, Okapi, OmegaT, ]project-open[, and TermWiki – and adds information on six more solutions: LanguageTool, MateCat, OpenTM2, Pootle, Serge, and translate5. It is based on phone and e-mail interviews with developers and users of open-source tools and a review of public information. We examine the range of functionality in place and explain how organizations build ecosystems of open-source tools associated with written-text translation. We do not cover either tools or infrastructure technologies for interpreters, such as WebRTC.

LSP Metrix: How to Evaluate the Operational Maturity of Language Service Providers

15 Sep 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

You’ve probably noticed differences in behaviors and results amongst your suppliers of language services, but sometimes can’t quite put your finger on what is causing them. In this webinar, we will present the LSP Metrix, the maturity model developed by CSA Research specifically for the language supply chain. If you are involved in selecting or managing vendors, join us to learn how to reduce the risk of selecting the wrong partners. We will also provide guidance for benchmarking current vendors to ensure that they can anticipate your needs and scale to meet future requirements.

Interpreters at the Push of a Button

How to Select Interpreting Delivery Platforms (IDPs)

31 Aug 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier, Donald A. DePalma

In this report, we introduce the term “interpreting delivery platforms” (IDP) to describe applications designed to support the delivery of spoken-word language services. They include systems for over-the-phone interpreting (OPI), video remote interpreting (VRI), remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI), and machine interpreting (MI).

In March through June 2016, CSA Research conducted 45 interviews and demos with tech vendors, users of such technologies, and interpreting experts. This report provides guidance to both buyers of interpreting services and languages service providers to ensure they select fit-for-purpose solutions. Tech vendors will gain a better understanding of the competitive landscape they face.
 

Building In-House Translation Teams

31 Aug 2016 by Rebecca Ray

Organizations can select from a number of staffing models when establishing or improving their global content delivery process. This brief outlines why they may choose to include an internal language services team, followed by guidance in the following areas for how to set up such a group: 1) organizational structure, and 2) workflow models.

Mobile-Forward Design for Global Websites

31 Aug 2016 by Benjamin B. Sargent

The small screen is here to stay. Today, you’re only as good as your 320-pixel wide display. This research re-evaluates mobile-oriented brand websites and identifies an emerging trend we call mobile-forward design. This approach surfaces a single customer experience for screen-hopping audiences, reduces cost and complexity in development, and accelerates content velocity across multiple regions and languages. In this brief, we define mobile-forward design, set forth the criteria for implementation provide examples of current practice, and conclude with a discussion of the business drivers underlying its adoption.

The Top 20 On-Site Interpreting Companies: 2016

31 Aug 2016 by Stephen Henderson

In this brief, CSA Research presents the largest global providers of on-site interpreting services based on the amount of reported revenue. The list features 20 companies.

Global Website Assessment Index 2016

29 Jul 2016 by Benjamin B. Sargent, Donald A. DePalma

Digital operations require increasing complexity and larger budgets as brands launch content-driven campaigns across a greater number of channels, countries, and languages. Marketing and digital production teams need hard data for building business cases and fine-tuning strategy, as do product management, technical publications, and customer care functions. This report provides benchmarks for the relative importance of languages and social links for global companies working in 38 industrial sectors. These benchmarks represent industry-level consensus on the commercially relevant human languages and social networks. In this report you will find:
 

How to Manage Freelancers: Lessons Learned from LSPs

29 Jul 2016 by Rebecca Ray, Hélène Pielmeier

Though not yet a trend, CSA Research observes more companies considering the option of directly managing the freelance linguistic talent responsible for generating their multilingual customer experience. This brief outlines why organizations choose to adopt this model, followed by guidance for: 1) resource manager profiles and responsibilities; 2) required technology; 3) talent acquisition tips; 4) training; and 5) performance monitoring.

The Language Services Market: 2016

Annual Review of the Services and Technology Industry That Supports the Delivery of Translation, Localization, and Interpreting

30 Jun 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Hélène Pielmeier, Robert G. Stewart, Stephen Henderson

People around the world prefer communicating in their native tongue. That fact will drive the language industry to US$40 billion in revenue for 2016. To support this growth, language service and technology providers are extending their repertoire beyond basic translation, localization, and interpreting to embrace their clients’ global content strategy. They are offering new services, building new tools, and linking their processes and technology with that of their customers to provide better, faster, and more reliable products and services.

Fast-Growing LSPs Turn to Machine Translation

30 Jun 2016 by Dr. Arle Lommel

Executives at most of the LSPs we interview or survey are evaluating the role of machine translation (MT) in their businesses. They wonder where they stand compared to their peers and what competitive pressures they will face from MT and post-editing. In this brief, we examine how CEOs from 50 of the top 100 language service providers view this topic versus how those from 75 of their smaller competitors do. We discuss: 1) the importance of MT to their companies’ strategies and growth; 2) how they deal with quality challenges; 3) how they believe that it affects their buyers’ perception of human translation (HT); 4) what the effects are on translation volume, price, and demand for HT; 5) the MT-related issues that concern LSP CEOs; and 6) suggestions for how to use the insights offered by respondents.

The Paths to Differentiation

29 Jun 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

How well can a language service provider without a unique selling proposition (USP) stand out against the competition? Our research shows that undifferentiated LSPs have a harder time catching prospects’ attention to emerge as a logical solution. In most cases, their services become a commodity, and prospects and clients see little differentiation among competitors. Providers then find themselves competing only on price, thus beginning a downward rate spiral that leads to reduced. Commoditization eliminates control over rates, while a strong and defensible differentiation lets companies regain control over their prices.

In this brief, we present: 1) a review of the characteristics of good differentiators; 2) the paths to develop compelling and unique offerings; 3) the reluctance of some LSPs to differentiate; 4) the feasibility of coming up with a unique offering; 5) the progression through the stages of differentiation; and 6) the need to invest in your USP.

Five Questions to Identify More Evolved Prospects

24 Jun 2016 by Donald A. DePalma

The market segmentation strategy for a language service provider may involve serious triage of business opportunities, even to the point of rejecting prospective clients. A major reason for not working with a given prospect is low localization maturity. Why? Mature clients can be easier to service, but less mature prospects may incur added cost for on boarding education in best practices.There is an upside: LSPs that market to evolving organization may benefit from less competition, the opportunity to become entrenched, and exponential growth over time. This brief outlines five questions that will help you decide what kind of client a given prospect will be.

Post-Editing Goes Mainstream

How LSPs Use MT to Meet Client Demands

17 Jun 2016 by Dr. Arle Lommel, Donald A. DePalma

Language service providers face increasing price pressure as well as growing demand from prospects and clients for post-edited machine translation (PEMT). If forces them to address the fundamental question of whether to implement MT in the workflows and how to do it. In February to April 2016, CSA Research surveyed 383 LSPs on their approach to PEMT. This report helps executives, sales staff, and production managers of LSPs of any size understand what their peers are doing with MT and what the competitive landscape looks like. The report covers: What MT is, who offers PEMT, how LSPs engage with MT, what types of content they post-edit, and changes in demand for these services. It closes with recommendations for how language companies can be more competitive with post-editing.

MT Skeptics: Is the Time Right for Post-Editing?

17 Jun 2016 by Dr. Arle Lommel

Post-editing is rapidly becoming a popular solution for content translation. Language service providers experience considerable pressure to adopt it for internal efficiency or to respond to client demands. However, CSA Research finds that about half of LSPs say they do not currently work with post-edited machine translation (PEMT). In this brief, we look at the reasons why these providers choose not to offer this service or limit their use. We then address why you need to consider adopting it and provide a decision matrix to see whether your company is a candidate for it.

MT Is Unavoidable to Keep Up with Content Volumes

17 Jun 2016 by Donald A. DePalma

Mainstream media report the criticisms of linguists and other specialists who decry the quality of machine translation (MT). However, language service providers experience increased pressure to adopt MT if they haven’t done so yet. This brief describes the math involved with handling today’s large volumes of content, which establishes a clear role for MT for both LSPs and their clients.

How LSPs Quote Projects

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Solution Development, Timeline Calculations, and Pricing

31 May 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier, Donald A. DePalma

The quoting process can appear enigmatic for buyers of language services. Even when they send the same files to different language service providers, they get different questions, response times, degree of details in the proposal, pricing schemes, and turnaround times.

In November and December 2015, CSA Research interviewed 22 LSPs to investigate how they quote projects. This report provides localization and procurement managers with a unique opportunity to look under the hood of LSP operations. They can use this information to effectively submit requests that better meet their cost control, speed, and quality goals. This report covers:
 

Managing Transitions in the LSP Metrix Model

31 May 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

LSP Metrix^TM is a CSA Research assessment methodology for evaluating the level of maturity of language service providers. It details the progression of companies as their business and operational maturity evolves over six stages.

The most ambitious LSPs shoot for the stars, yet many are not equipped to succeed, so they get stranded at lower stages of maturity. We found that some business owners don’t set their sights for the most evolved state, but instead strive to reach for the more comfortable Stage 3. Why? Because at this intermediate level, they have learned to control chaos and to plan their growth, yet they don’t have to assume the technology, focus, and headcount necessary to achieve the more evolved stages.

To help you accelerate your maturation journey, in this brief we present the actions you should take to smoothly move from one stage of the model to the next. We cover: 1) core changes at each transition; 2) strategies for planning the journey; and 3) recommendations to achieve success. LSPs that have not done a full assessment yet will also find useful advice on how to begin the journey.

Digital Opportunity: Fast-Rising Languages for 2016

30 Apr 2016 by Benjamin B. Sargent

Fast-rising languages signal competitive advantages available to savvy marketers with cash to spend on capturing new audiences. This companion brief to “ Digital Opportunity: Top 100 Online Languages for 2016” examines the fastest-growing languages from that dataset, highlighting changes in online opportunity during the last year. It also looks at trends in share growth over the past seven years as we: 1) pinpoint fast risers in each of the four tiers; 2) review how the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine affected digital opportunities in countries tied to Russia and the Middle East; and 3) make recommendations for global brands.

Boost Your Content Strategy by Learning from Millennials

29 Apr 2016 by Rebecca Ray

Digital marketing managers - and the localization teams that support them - can tap into Millennial thinking to deepen content experiences. You can learn a great deal from this generation when updating your one- to three-year strategic plans for global marketing. In this brief, we share seven lessons uncovered in our research on travel and leisure (see “ Lessons from Travel Companies for Supporting Global CX,” Oct15). You can apply them to other industries - as you enhance marketing initiatives to attract future customers.

How LSPs Can Help Buyers Localize More Mobile Moments

29 Apr 2016

Companies in all industries build apps to support their businesses, which presents up-selling opportunities for language service providers (LSPs). These include: 1) handling higher content volumes and additional languages, and 2) offering add-on services to ensure world-readiness from day one. However, only a small percentage of LSPs are currently capable of providing the consulting expertise required to support mobile app localization. And even those that do still have room to refine and expand their offerings.

Based on in-depth interviews with 36 localization managers and directors at 29 global companies, we’ll share how LSPs can become the preferred providers for clients that want to localize more mobile moments.

Pragmatic Global Content Strategy

Managing Global Information Overload

27 Apr 2016 by Rebecca Ray, Donald A. DePalma

Digital marketers, localization managers, and corporate planners want guidelines and data to help them decide which materials to translate and how much to translate. This report answers that question by showing how to develop and use marketing personas, customer journey maps, categorization, and tiering as the building blocks for a pragmatic global content strategy. Marketing and localization practitioners will learn how to:
 

How to Increase Sales

27 Apr 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

Many LSPs ask us for help to design the sales function at their organization or to refine their approach so they can meet their growth targets. This session is a gold mine of information for executives, sales managers, and business developers as we will discuss how to develop your sales strategy and then how to execute on it. We’ll tie this information to both LSP and buyer maturity as well as to the lifecycle of relationships with clients. If you want to drive sales at your organization, it will be an hour well spent.

How to Develop a Strong Supply Chain

26 Apr 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

Vendor management has taken on an increasingly important role at LSPs. CSA Research published in recent months a series of reports and briefs how LSPs organize the function and deal with the challenges it faces. In this session, we’ll provide a compilation of the most important findings on thorny topics such as organizational models, capacity planning, talent shortage, rate negotiations, and subcontracting to other LSPs. Make sure to extend the invitation to participate to your vendor managers and anyone that deals with recruiting and managing vendors at your organization.

LSP Pricing Strategies

How to Price Services Just Right

25 Apr 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier, Donald A. DePalma

Competition in the language services market is ruthless. You can always find competitors that are willing to undercut your rates. And because most buyers view translation and interpreting as commodities, selling based on factors other than price is a tough exercise. Language service providers need to develop solid pricing and quoting strategies to win business predictably and to grow in a controlled fashion, without burning out staff and vendors.

In November and December 2015, CSA Research interviewed 22 LSPs to investigate pricing approaches. Executives, sales managers, and anyone quoting projects at your organization will benefit from this research. They will gain insight into the logic that competitors use to establish prices and learn tactics to improve their odds of closing business.

How to Win the High-Stakes RFP Game

25 Apr 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

Requests for proposals (RFPs) or tenders are increasingly popular with buyers of language services. Buyers rely on them not only to select new suppliers but also to re-negotiate terms with existing vendors. Language service providers must therefore excel at identifying the right opportunities and responding efficiently to these time-consuming exercises. CSA Research’s recent interviews on quoting at LSPs uncovered best practices to win new business and secure repeat work through RFPs (see “ LSP Pricing Strategies,” Apr16). In this brief, we present our findings on how to decide whether to respond to tenders and tactics to approach proposal submissions.

The Art of Quoting Turnaround Times

25 Apr 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

When language service providers quote projects and ask about deadlines, customers often joke that they need the files yesterday. Translation is frequently an afterthought, and clients rarely allocate the time for LSPs to work at a comfortable pace. Based on research on quoting and pricing practices at LSPs, this brief provides information on how suppliers establish turnaround times (see “ LSP Pricing Strategies,” Apr16). It includes: how tactics evolve as LSPs mature; approaches to timeline calculations; standard timelines; and techniques to cut down turnaround times.

Assessing the Strength of LSP Supply Chains

20 Apr 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

Do you have any idea how your vendors test their own suppliers to ensure that they have the right resources for your multilingual content requirements and turnaround times? How can you verify for sure their ability to support you around the globe and around the clock? Join Common Sense Advisory as we share the latest research related to assessing the strength of LSP supply chains.

Three Threats That Affect LSP Business

31 Mar 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

From unrealistic client demands and expectations to unfair competition, language service providers often blame revenue loss or difficulties in closing clients on external factors. But are outside circumstances really responsible? CSA Research recently interviewed LSPs about their quoting practices (see “ An LSP’s Guide to Quoting,” Feb16). We also asked about challenges they face in selling services and products. In this brief, we cover three threats that we identified: clients, competitors, and the LSPs’ own business model. We also discuss how LSPs can respond to these challenges.

TMS Revolution: Year of the Connector

31 Mar 2016 by Benjamin B. Sargent

Enterprises and language service providers alike integrate translation management systems (TMSes) with a wide range of applications. Competition among technology suppliers has gone into overdrive to build more and better connectors to make disparate solutions work together. This brief reviews: 1) six approaches to connectivity; 2) the range of system types to which they connect; and 3) the future direction of these critical middleware components.

MarketFlex for Business-Oriented TMS

Evaluating Commercial Solutions for LSPs

29 Mar 2016 by Benjamin B. Sargent, Donald A. DePalma

The market for business-oriented translation management systems in LSP environments is growing. In the past, limited commercial options led many language service providers to develop in-house solutions. Today, commercial solutions support a range of work styles, company sizes, and integration requirements. This report gives LSPs a structured analysis of seven off-the-shelf solutions for managing translation operations: 1) AIT Projetex; 2) Alpha CRC LTC Worx; 3) LSP.net OTM; 4) Plunet BusinessManager; 5) RR Donnelley MultiTrans; 6) Wordbee Translator; and 7) XTRF.

MarketFlex reports draw on TMS Live data, product demos, in-depth executive interviews, customer surveys, web presence, and online community engagement. To produce this report our analysts evaluated 375 factors for each solution. That includes 191 product features and 184 vendor attributes, organized into 20 scoring areas, weighted and balanced in a complex scoring algorithm.
 

An LSP’s Guide to Quoting

Organizational Models, Processes, Automation, and KPIs Necessary to Improve Closing Ratios

29 Feb 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier, Donald A. DePalma

As clients become ever more demanding, rates and turnaround times drop, and service levels multiply. How can language service providers close more business in this highly fragmented and commoditized chaotic environment? Before they even think about sales estimation strategies, they should first fine-tune their quoting function.

In November and December 2015, CSA Research interviewed 22 LSPs to identify best practices. Executives and managers will find valuable advice in this report to re-think or refine their setup. While the report focuses on quoting translation jobs, interpreting-centric LSPs will also find relevant ideas and advice. This first installment of findings on quoting practices covers:
 

Specifications Improve Quality and Satisfaction

29 Feb 2016 by Dr. Arle Lommel

Many translation quality disputes between enterprises and language service providers (LSPs) arise from the lack of communication and a mismatch of expertise and expectations. Formalizing project specifications improves communication, quality outcomes, and customer satisfaction. Use of common terminology and parameters can align the goals and expectations of all parties before projects begin. In this brief, we show how to apply ASTM F2575, an industry standard for translation project specifications, to address: 1) how the lack of clarity in the translation process leads to problems; 2) how the use of specifications minimizes them; 3) the issues that specifications should address; 4) how to prioritize the content of specifications; and 5) how companies can incorporate F2575’s parameters into their own processes. While this standard is by no means the only approach to developing specifications, it is representative of best practices for improving buyer-supplier interactions.

What to Do When It’s Time to Drop a Language

29 Feb 2016 by Rebecca Ray

Translation and localization managers are skilled at adding languages and locales for their products and services, documentation and support, and web and mobile sites (see “ Adding Languages to Websites - It Gets Easier,” Jan14). However, decommissioning a language or locale can be a challenge. This brief guides you through the process: 1) decoding the initial executive directive to drop support, 2) analyzing the ramifications of the decision, 3) presenting alternatives, and 4) developing timelines and communication plans for language decommissioning.

Design Strong Online Quote Forms

29 Feb 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier

As part of our recent research on how language service providers handle the quoting function, CSA Research explored the use of online quote forms (see “ An LSP’s Guide to Quoting,” Feb16). We analyzed quote request forms on the websites of the largest LSPs that appeared in our 2015 annual rankings (see “ The Language Services Market: 2015,” Jun15). This brief presents findings on the frequency of such forms, usage patterns, the anatomy of forms, and what their design tells us about their purpose. In addition, we offer tips to avoid design mistakes.

Evaluating the Operational Maturity of Suppliers

How to Apply the LSP Metrix TM Model during Vendor Selection and Management

25 Feb 2016 by Hélène Pielmeier, Donald A. DePalma, Rebecca Ray

Based on the successful adoption of the Localization Maturity Model (LMM) developed by CSA Research for buyers of language services, we now offer a similar model, LSP Metrix^TM, to evaluate the maturity of LSPs. It provides 70 evaluation factors, grouped in 19 assessment areas, across six stages of LSP maturity. We categorize the criteria under five dimensions: business models, business direction, business development, service delivery, and resources.

Trend Lines for TMS: Anticipating and Preparing for Change

9 Feb 2016 by Benjamin B. Sargent

How satisfied are buy-side localization teams with their current translation management systems? Why does it take more than 20% of buyers longer than six months to deploy a TMS? Should companies even buy one of these systems nowadays – or replace the one they have? If so, what tools exist to help them choose the right one? If not, what are their options?

Join us to find out the answers to these questions and how to apply them to your automation strategy over the next 12 months.

Simplifying Multilingual Content Production with ITS 2.0

31 Jan 2016 by Dr. Arle Lommel

Global enterprises require efficient and cost-effective localization of XML content, but achieving this goal can be challenging due to the variety of forms XML can take. While HTML content is easier to localize, it often has its own complexities. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)’s Internationalization Tag Set (ITS) 2.0 provides a set of metadata formats that simplify working with both of these formats. As the available information about ITS requires extensive reading and synthesis, this brief summarizes: 1) the challenges of translating XML; 2) the benefits of ITS 2.0; 3) an overview of its features; and 4) a perspective on its future. 

Consumer Language Preferences for Japan

29 Jan 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Stephen Henderson

CSA Research polled consumers in Japan and nine other non-English-speaking countries about their language preference — mother tongue or English? For each country, we studied their behaviors and attitudes toward the availability of websites, product information, and other elements of the customer journey in their languages. We also analyzed issues such as the likelihood of their purchasing goods and services on English-language sites, how much time they spend on such sites versus ones in their own language, and expectations for post-sales customer care. Anyone selling to people in Japan will find this data and the analysis available in “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” valuable input to their content strategy for this market.

Consumer Language Preferences for Indonesia

29 Jan 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Stephen Henderson

CSA Research polled consumers in Indonesia and nine other non-English-speaking countries about their language preference — mother tongue or English? For each country, we studied their behaviors and attitudes toward the availability of websites, product information, and other elements of the customer journey in their languages. We also analyzed issues such as the likelihood of their purchasing goods and services on English-language sites, how much time they spend on such sites versus ones in their own language, and expectations for post-sales customer care. Anyone selling to people in Indonesia will find this data and the analysis available in “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” valuable input to their content strategy for this market.

Consumer Language Preferences for Russia

29 Jan 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Stephen Henderson

CSA Research polled consumers in Russia and nine other non-English-speaking countries about their language preference — mother tongue or English? For each country, we studied their behaviors and attitudes toward the availability of websites, product information, and other elements of the customer journey in their languages. We also analyzed issues such as the likelihood of their purchasing goods and services on English-language sites, how much time they spend on such sites versus ones in their own language, and expectations for post-sales customer care. Anyone selling to people in Russia will find this data and the analysis available in “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” valuable input to their content strategy for this market.

Consumer Language Preferences for Spain

29 Jan 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Stephen Henderson

CSA Research polled consumers in Spain and nine other non-English-speaking countries about their language preference — mother tongue or English? For each country, we studied their behaviors and attitudes toward the availability of websites, product information, and other elements of the customer journey in their languages. We also analyzed issues such as the likelihood of their purchasing goods and services on English-language sites, how much time they spend on such sites versus ones in their own language, and expectations for post-sales customer care. Anyone selling to people in Spain will find this data and the analysis available in “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” valuable input to their content strategy for this market.

Consumer Language Preferences for Turkey

29 Jan 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Stephen Henderson

CSA Research polled consumers in Turkey and nine other non-English-speaking countries about their language preference — mother tongue or English? For each country, we studied their behaviors and attitudes toward the availability of websites, product information, and other elements of the customer journey in their languages. We also analyzed issues such as the likelihood of their purchasing goods and services on English-language sites, how much time they spend on such sites versus ones in their own language, and expectations for post-sales customer care. Anyone selling to people in Turkey will find this data and the analysis available in “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” valuable input to their content strategy for this market.

Consumer Language Preferences by Country

29 Jan 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Stephen Henderson

Reports from CSA Research on the behaviors and preferences of information consumers definitively prove that far fewer consumers will buy or even consider products and services if they’re not provided in their mother tongue (see “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy,” Feb14; and “ Millennials around the Globe,” Sep15). To enable strategic planners to manipulate our survey data in their own business models, we released Excel versions of country-specific briefs for each of the 10 nations in our “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” (CRWB) dataset.

Consumer Language Preferences for France

29 Jan 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Stephen Henderson

CSA Research polled consumers in France and nine other non-English-speaking countries about their language preference — mother tongue or English? For each country, we studied their behaviors and attitudes toward the availability of websites, product information, and other elements of the customer journey in their languages. We also analyzed issues such as the likelihood of their purchasing goods and services on English-language sites, how much time they spend on such sites versus ones in their own language, and expectations for post-sales customer care. Anyone selling to people in France will find this data and the analysis available in “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” valuable input to their content strategy for this market.

Consumer Language Preferences for China

29 Jan 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Stephen Henderson

CSA Research polled consumers in China and nine other non-English-speaking countries about their language preference — mother tongue or English? For each country, we studied their behaviors and attitudes toward the availability of websites, product information, and other elements of the customer journey in their languages. We also analyzed issues such as the likelihood of their purchasing goods and services on English-language sites, how much time they spend on such sites versus ones in their own language, and expectations for post-sales customer care. Anyone selling to people in China will find this data and the analysis available in “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” valuable input to their content strategy for this market.

Consumer Language Preferences for Germany

29 Jan 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Stephen Henderson

CSA Research polled consumers in Germany and nine other non-English-speaking countries about their language preference — mother tongue or English? For each country, we studied their behaviors and attitudes toward the availability of websites, product information, and other elements of the customer journey in their languages. We also analyzed issues such as the likelihood of their purchasing goods and services on English-language sites, how much time they spend on such sites versus ones in their own language, and expectations for post-sales customer care. Anyone selling to people in Germany will find this data and the analysis available in “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” valuable input to their content strategy for this market.

Consumer Language Preferences for Brazil

29 Jan 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Stephen Henderson

CSA Research polled consumers in Brazil and nine other non-English-speaking countries about their language preference — mother tongue or English? For each country, we studied their behaviors and attitudes toward the availability of websites, product information, and other elements of the customer journey in their languages. We also analyzed issues such as the likelihood of their purchasing goods and services on English-language sites, how much time they spend on such sites versus ones in their own language, and expectations for post-sales customer care. Anyone selling to people in Brazil will find this data and the analysis available in “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” valuable input to their content strategy for this market.

Consumer Language Preferences for Egypt

29 Jan 2016 by Donald A. DePalma, Stephen Henderson

CSA Research polled consumers in Egypt and nine other non-English-speaking countries about their language preference — mother tongue or English? For each country, we studied their behaviors and attitudes toward the availability of websites, product information, and other elements of the customer journey in their languages. We also analyzed issues such as the likelihood of their purchasing goods and services on English-language sites, how much time they spend on such sites versus ones in their own language, and expectations for post-sales customer care. Anyone selling to people in Egypt will find this data and the analysis available in “ Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” valuable input to their content strategy for this market.

Use These Job Descriptions to Build Your Team

28 Jan 2016 by Rebecca Ray

What roles are critical for the success of your translation team? What specific expertise should your HR department look for? Should you hire them now or later? This brief addresses these questions by presenting 10 sample job descriptions for four levels of localization maturity.

Mobile App Localization

How LSPs Can Help Buyers Localize More Mobile Moments

26 Jan 2016 by Rebecca Ray, Hélène Pielmeier

Companies in all industries build apps to support their businesses, which presents up-selling opportunities for language service providers (LSPs). These include: 1) handling higher content volumes and additional languages, and 2) offering add-on services to ensure world-readiness from day one.

Only a small percentage of LSPs are currently capable of providing the consulting expertise required to support mobile app localization. And even those that do still have room to refine and expand their offerings. Based on in-depth interviews with 36 localization managers and directors at 29 global companies, this report shows LSPs how to support clients to localize more mobile moments:
 

Eight Areas Where You Can Help Clients Improve ASO

26 Jan 2016 by Rebecca Ray

Most of us still discover and download mobile apps based on app store searches. These stores operate, by default, as global distribution channels opening access to 155 territories on the iTunes App Store and almost all countries on the planet via Google Play. Hundreds of local app stores in countries like China and India offer additional opportunities. This brief summarizes eight areas in which LSPs can support clients to promote more app downloads and installations by potential customers.

Language Services Face a Perfect Storm

31 Dec 2015 by Donald A. DePalma

CSA Research has analyzed the state and size of the language industry every year since 2005. This brief discusses economic trends, investment, and competitive pressures in the sector. It focuses on a historical sample of the 10 largest LSPs as a proxy for the entire market in our discussion of business structure, investment activity, and the internal and external forces that are shaping the future of the industry.

Where Managed TMS Fits in Translation Strategies

31 Dec 2015 by Benjamin B. Sargent

Language management plays an increasingly strategic role for global brands. Technology adoption through a managed service makes a lot of sense for companies without large, expert teams in-house. In this brief, we explain the pros and cons of translation automation offered by language service providers that manage translation management systems for clients.

How to Assess Translation Quality

30 Dec 2015 by Dr. Arle Lommel, Donald A. DePalma

Measuring translation quality has long challenged both buyers and suppliers. In this brief, CSA Research provides an overview of assessment methods, discusses their strengths and weaknesses, and outlines how they support translation workflows.

Balanced Scorecards for Vendor Evaluation

30 Dec 2015 by Rebecca Ray, Donald A. DePalma

How should buyers of translation services evaluate their suppliers? The reply is usually along the lines of, “Measure what matters.” But how do you choose from among the many criteria related to quality, turnaround, and cost efficiency? This brief outlines how balanced scorecards can help you efficiently track vendor performance.

When LSPs Seek Revenue beyond Their Own Borders

30 Dec 2015 by Stephen Henderson

Nearly 60% of language service providers earn revenue from clients outside the borders of their headquarters country. What regions do they target when they go international? CSA Research analyzed revenue data from 860 LSPs to identify the origin of their revenue and how it affects the landscape of the language services market (see “ The Language Services Market: 2015,” Jun15).

Insights on How LSPs Test Their Supply Chain

14 Dec 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier

Freelancers with great résumés can still fail miserably on a project. How do language service providers identify suppliers that will provide consistent deliverables that meet your quality requirements? CSA Research interviewed vendor managers at LSPs on their practices for vetting the competencies of translators, interpreters, and desktop publishers (see “ Assessing the Strength of Your LSP’s Supply Chain,” Oct15). This brief covers: 1) testing approaches; 2) tests by service type; 3) testing process; and 4) recommendations on establishing a solid testing system.

Developing a Strong Supply Chain

The How-To Guide to Vendor Life Cycle Management

30 Nov 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier, Benjamin B. Sargent

In theory, all language service providers have access to the same pool of resources. Yet in practice, so many vendor management strategies exist – different approaches to process, staffing, and tools – that every LSP ends up with a different database. Vendor pools vary in breadth and depth, shaped by the company’s clientele and its business approach.

To explore this subject further, CSA Research interviewed 31 LSPs. The first report resulting from this research series focused on how to design the vendor management function (see “ Vendor Management at LSPs,” Oct15). This second installment analyzes best practices for companies developing their VM processes. This report guides new business owners wanting to systematize their approach to supply chain management. It also helps established VM teams on their trek toward process maturity. In this report, we cover:
 

How LSPs Test the Skills of Vendors

30 Nov 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier

Vendors with great résumés can still fail miserably on a project. How do language service providers identify suppliers that will provide consistent deliverables that meet their quality requirements? CSA Research interviewed vendor managers at LSPs on their practices for vetting the competencies of translators, interpreters, and desktop publishers (see “ Developing a Strong Supply Chain,” Nov15). This brief covers: 1) testing approaches; 2) tests by service type; 3) testing process; and 4) recommendations on establishing a solid system.

Negotiating Rates with Translation Vendors

30 Nov 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier

As part of our research on how language service providers manage their supply chain, CSA Research interviewed 31 LSPs about how they approach rate negotiations with their vendors. In this brief, we present: 1) the importance of negotiations to profitability; 2) the players involved; 3) the timing of discussions; 4) negotiation techniques; and 5) tactics to deal with rate increases.

Global Mobile App Development

19 Nov 2015 by Rebecca Ray

With a billion tablets already online and four billion smartphones predicted to be in use worldwide by 2017, mobile is the next frontier for companies to implement and fine-tune the global customer experience. Yet, your organization must shift from delivering localized content to enabling localized experiences whenever and wherever people expect them – all according to their language, culture, personal preferences, and current physical location. Join us to find out how designers, developers, and localization teams build these localized experiences.

Wearables: The Next Localization Frontier

13 Nov 2015 by Rebecca Ray, Benjamin B. Sargent

More than 90 million wearable devices are connected to the internet, with more added every day. While the iPhone and Android platforms were designed as multilingual from the start, that isn’t always the case for wearables. In this brief, we describe the current landscape for wearable technology and the Internet of Things (IoT), and outline three areas in which localization teams can offer their multilingual expertise early in the design and development phases for these products.

Vendor Management at LSPs

The How-To Guide to Designing and Evolving the Function

29 Oct 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier, Benjamin B. Sargent

Supply chain management has taken on an increasingly important role at language service providers. It stems from ever more specific and rigorous client requirements, intense price pressure, the depth of subcontracting to peers, and the diversification of the industry around language combinations and domains.
CSA Research interviewed 31 language service providers to document best practices for setting up the vendor management function at LSPs. To evaluate the technology that supports the function, we also attended demos of the vendor management features of five translation management systems (TMS) and conducted an analysis of more than 30 translator registration portals.

Assessing the Strength of Your LSP’s Supply Chain

29 Oct 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier

When assessing language service providers, buyers tend to focus on evaluating company characteristics and capabilities. Few dig deep enough into the LSPs’ supply chain to quantify the odds of obtaining the desired quality – on time and within budget constraints. CSA Research recently conducted an in-depth study of vendor management practices with 31 LSPs. This brief presents 15 questions to ask current and potential partners to better gauge the strength of their vendor management processes.

Subcontracting to Other LSPs

29 Oct 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier

Language service providers notoriously tap the capacity of other LSPs to get work done, thereby creating a multi-layer supply chain. As part of CSA Research’s interviews on vendor management best practices, we identified several issues that we discuss in this brief: 1) patterns of delegation to peers; 2) pros and cons of working with other LSPs; 3) agency evaluation standards; and 4) trends that affect subcontracting activities.

Insights on Enterprise Translation Automation

2 Oct 2015 by Rebecca Ray

Are your prospects and customers struggling to scale their translation automation architectures to a range of languages, products, content, and platforms? Do they even have an automation architectures? Where do they fit along the continuum for reactive, tailored, and architected automation? During this session, we will share automation case studies based on detailed interviews with technology managers and executives at 15 global enterprises. We will also advise you on additional services you can sell related to this area.

Audience: Designed for executives, sales people, project managers, and production managers

Strategic Planning for LSPs

1 Oct 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier

Where do you want to go with your organization? October is a prime month to start your strategic planning for the year to come. This session leads managing directors or owner-operators through the journey of strategic planning. We will present information to support your planning process such as how to take the LSP Metrix stage of the organization into account when doing your planning. We’ll also cover growth factors from fastest-growing LSPs as contrasted against the challenges of companies that are struggling to grow.

Audience: Executives, sales and production managers

How Travel and Leisure Companies Buy Translation

What LSPs Need to Know

30 Sep 2015 by Rebecca Ray, Hélène Pielmeier

Travel and leisure (T&L) is one of the world’s largest industry sectors. It generated US$7.6 trillion in 2014 and doesn’t show any sign of slowing its strong and sustained climb. Language service providers (LSPs) can rejoice because this sector is a heavy consumer of a broad range of language services.

This report documents the special needs and requirements of T&L companies. It is based on interviews with 18 corporate buyers and LSPs that specialize in this vertical and an analysis of 53 LSP websites that showcase travel and leisure expertise. Companies interested in targeting this industry can use the research to determine whether it is a fit for them. Seasoned T&L vendors can employ it to benchmark their current activities, identify additional revenue opportunities, and refine their service offerings.

Millennials around the Globe

How Audience Age Affects Global Content Strategy

30 Sep 2015 by Donald A. DePalma, Rebecca Ray

The generation born between 1980 and 2000 has captured the attention of marketers, economists, and sociologists around the world. This report analyzes the online language behaviors and preferences of Millennial consumers in 10 non-Anglophone countries. Our goal in conducting this research was to determine whether this group behaves any differently than their older counterparts when they encounter non-localized products and websites. To accomplish this, we compared Millennials to the three generations that preceded them, thus providing marketers with detailed data on age-based behaviors and preferences.

What we found will help companies determine when they should add a generational component to their global marketing strategy. The findings and analysis will be useful to international marketers, content strategists, and website owners.

LSP Metrix: How to Get to the Next Maturity Stage

30 Sep 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier

What makes a language service provider more evolved than another? To enable suppliers with a culture of excellence to distinguish themselves, CSA Research developed a model to assess the organizational maturity of LSPs. Instead of chanting “quality, service, and price,” providers can make a more substantive statement about their evolved state. In this session, you will learn the basic of the model and how to assess your organization. This will enable you to map out a practical path to progress to a more advanced maturity stage characterized by fewer failures, predictable results, and higher profitability.

Audience: Designed for executives, sales, and production managers, but anyone working at an LSP should learn about this model

Developing the Supply Chain for the Future

28 Sep 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier

Freelance linguists are responsible for their own training. Yet, CSA Research observes in interactions and research with language service providers that LSPs have a crucial role in developing freelancers’ skill – and they usually do so without charging them for it. In this brief, we explore: the strategic reasons why LSPs train their linguist supply chain; the methods they use to cultivate the skills of their current vendors; internship opportunities they deploy to develop new talent; and what LSPs can do to further develop the supply chain of the future.

Finding Revenue in Under- and Over-Served Languages

25 Sep 2015 by Benjamin B. Sargent

For buyers and sellers of translation services, global market position is increasingly tied to an expanding number of human languages in the global digital marketplace. Comparing the opportunities of language with the competition for attention in those markets provides planners with a data-driven filter for mapping future business growth.

How does language popularity on the world’s most prominent websites compare to the economic potential of audiences speaking those languages? In this brief, CSA Research reveals under- and over-served language markets, listing 85 languages found on two or more sites in our review of 2,407 prominent websites from companies representing 25 countries and 59 industries. Strategic planners, product managers, and global marketers need this data to support decision-making. Language service providers (LSPs) need it to advise customers and develop their linguist supply chain.

Digital Marketing Convergence – How Are Localization Teams Affected

22 Sep 2015 by Benjamin B. Sargent

Google, Facebook, and Twitter algorithms reward content based on engagement from users, surfacing the best content to more users. Integrated campaign management boosts engagement scores, prompting companies to restructure their resources, process, and tools. In this webinar, you will learn how global brands are embracing convergence and even breaking down the traditional silos in digital marketing production. Localization teams must prepare for integrated campaign management and – ideally – help drive the change process. Integrated campaign management enables revenue and this presentation gives localization leaders a roadmap for boosting business results globally for their organizations.

Why Language Service Providers Fail to Grow

31 Aug 2015 by Stephen Henderson

In “ TheFastest-Growing LSPs: 2015” (Jul15), CSA Research identified the companies with the largest growth rates and the reasons for their success. Although most of the LSPs that responded to our annual market survey grew, others stagnated, and some even shrank. This brief explores the reasons for flat or declining revenues among the LSPs and language technology vendors. It will help companies in these sectors better understand and overcome the challenges to growth that they face.

LSP Metrix

A Business and Operational Maturity Model for Language Service Providers

28 Aug 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier, Donald A. DePalma

What does it take to succeed as a service provider in the fast-paced language services industry? LSPs come in all shapes and sizes, yet no single element defines a successful company. This extreme variability begs for structure and definition. As a result of the great feedback on our Localization Maturity Model for buyers of language services, CSA Research undertook the project of building a similar model to evaluate the maturity of language service providers, which we named LSP Metrix^TM.

This report documents the progression of LSPs as they move from one stage of maturity to the next and the characteristics of providers at each level for all 70 evaluation factors.

Eight Tips for Localized App Store Optimization (ASO)

28 Aug 2015 by Rebecca Ray

Most of us still discover and download mobile apps based on app store searches. These stores operate, by default, as global distribution channels opening access to 155 territories on the iTunes App Store and almost all countries on the planet via Google Play. Hundreds of local app stores in countries like China and India offer additional opportunities. This brief recommends eight ways to promote more app downloads by potential customers, regardless of where they reside or which store they frequent.

Get Your Company on the Fast Track

28 Aug 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier

In CSA Research’s investigation into the maturity of language service providers, we identified a category of companies that doesn’t fit the mainstream LSP model. We characterize them as “fast-track LSPs” that are on an accelerated path to growth (see “ LSP Metrix,” Aug15). In this brief, we explain the differences between these providers and their more traditional counterparts. We also outline what mainstream LSPs can learn from this business-driven approach.

Amazon Shows a Profit and Invests in Global Growth

31 Jul 2015 by Donald A. DePalma

Commerce sites such as eBay and social media like Facebook have joined Baidu, Google, Microsoft, and Yandex in bringing machine translation technology in-house as they strive to go global with continuous, integrated, and on-brand content. This brief discusses that in-sourcing in the context of recent market activity - including Amazon’s rumored acquisition of MT provider Safaba.

Global Website Assessment Index 2015

Languages and Social Networks on the World’s Most Prominent Websites

31 Jul 2015 by Benjamin B. Sargent

Product managers, international marketers, and C-level executives often seek justification for the cost of adding or maintaining languages for online content and social media. Conveying the brand in more languages correlates positively to a range of success metrics, both broad and narrow. In this report, budget owners will find data and charts to help make the business case for languages. Research on industry norms remains an important facet of competitive research for marketing management. The benchmarks found here also show the relative importance of languages and social networks, as found on prominent websites. These benchmarks represent an industry-level consensus among the largest and most visible players, with separate charts for 25 industrial sectors and 30 sub-sector vertical industries.

How to Elicit International Customer Feedback

31 Jul 2015 by Rebecca Ray

Localization managers often find it difficult to provide timely, high-quality feedback from international customers. Colleagues in product marketing question which localized versions to produce in the first place. Digital marketers seek insights on what the competition is doing in local markets. Those responsible for translation want to verify linguistic quality. This brief covers what feedback to elicit, who to gather it from, how to collect it, and what to do with it once you have it.

The Language Services Market: 2015

Annual Review of the Translation, Localization, and Interpreting Services and Technology Industry

30 Jun 2015 by Donald A. DePalma, Hélène Pielmeier, Robert G. Stewart, Stephen Henderson

Imagine buying a new car and not being able to decipher the owner’s manual because it’s in a language you don’t read. Or remember the frustration of trying to register at a website form that doesn’t recognize your country’s postal code format. Think about the impact of making important healthcare decisions if you don’t understand what the doctor says. It’s only when translation, localization, or interpreting aren’t there that consumers recognize their true value. But for businesses, governmental bodies, or non-profits, adapting their products and services for their domestic and international customers is essential to their success.
This report describes the industry that provides the language-related services and technology that support these adaptations. For the 11^th consecutive year, CSA Research conducted its annual study of the market for outsourced language services and technology. For this year’s report, we surveyed 860 providers from our global database of 18,097 firms. It includes the following sections:
 

Demand and Supply in the Language Industry

30 Jun 2015 by Donald A. DePalma

This brief describes the demand driving the market, the supply chain that satisfies it, and the opportunities and challenges faced by the providers. While the issues we discuss here are well known to LSPs and many language service procurement managers, that’s not the case with new managers and practitioners on the buy side, non-linguist executives or entrepreneurs on the supply side, venture capitalists (VCs), private equity groups (PEGs), and other investors.

Are You Ready to Acquire a New Team or Be Acquired?

30 Jun 2015 by Rebecca Ray

We are frequently asked at Common Sense Advisory how to manage the integration of a newly acquired localization team. Whichever side you’re on - as the acquirer or as the one being acquired - the process requires a lot of hard work to align international objectives, people, production models, automation architectures, and vendor supply chains. This brief provides guidelines for those in the driver’s seat and those along for the ride as a passenger during the turmoil of mergers and acquisitions.

Vendor Selection for Mobile App Localization Made Easy

30 Jun 2015 by Rebecca Ray

Your current production model for multilingual content may integrate mobile localization without a hiccup. However, if you need to supplement your in-house, vendor, or freelancer team, this brief outlines eight essential areas to probe with potential partners for mobile app localization. The advice is based on in-depth interviews with 36 localization managers and directors at 29 global companies in eight industries in 10 countries (see “ Global Mobile App Development,” May15). This information – along with the bonus tip – will help you save time during the screening, vetting, and selection process for language service providers (LSPs).

Ten Traits of Highly Successful LSPs

30 Jun 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier

Why do some language service providers grow rapidly while others limp along year after year? Rapid and sustained success never happens by accident. CSA Research’s years of advisory sessions and strategy days with LSPs have helped us identify the characteristics of the most effective providers and the core set of principles that drive these successful companies. This brief presents 10 traits common to accomplished LSPs.

Enterprise Translation Automation

25 Jun 2015 by Rebecca Ray

Are you struggling to scale your translation automation architecture to a range of languages, products, content, and platforms? Do you even have an automation architecture? Where do you fit along the continuum for reactive, tailored, and architected automation? Join Common Sense Advisory as we share automation case studies based on detailed interviews with technology managers and executives at 15 global enterprises.

Global Mobile App Development

Best Practices for Mobile App Localization

29 May 2015 by Rebecca Ray, Benjamin B. Sargent

With a billion tablets already online and four billion smartphones predicted to be in use worldwide by 2017, mobile is the next frontier for companies to implement and fine-tune the global customer experience (CX). However, mobile phones represent more than just another digital channel for content, as more and more people throughout the world adopt the devices as the principal sources of communication, services, and entertainment in their lives. To fulfill their expectations requires organizations to shift from simply delivering localized content to enabling localized experiences whenever and wherever people expect them – all according to their language, culture, personal preferences, and current physical location.

Rethinking Client Language Reviews

How to Help Buyers Develop a Flexible Quality Framework

29 May 2015 by Hélène Pielmeier, Rebecca Ray

Client language reviews – often called in-country or third-party reviews – are notorious for causing delays and frustrations for all parties involved. Reviewers may alter the meaning of translations, introduce mistakes, fall into an editing black hole, or sit on review files for months.
CSA Research has been observing and analyzing how buyers and providers of language services deliver acceptable quality levels since 2007. This report compiles the best practices we have identified. The information will help LSPs guide clients to replace outdated quality models and build flexibility to meet today’s requirements, in particular for Agile or mobile projects. In this research, we cover how to:
 

The Changing Landscape of the Language Industry

20 May 2015 by Donald A. DePalma

In 1968, Waste Management, Inc. (WM) began an aggressive roll-up of the trash collection business in the United States and Canada, purchasing many small service companies. It disrupted the old mom-and-pop model of small providers, each owning just a few garbage trucks and servicing small towns. WM leveraged its brand, common operational procedures, and shared infrastructure to become the largest company in the sector in North America.

The language services and technology industry is likewise fragmented. The WM-style growth path has not been lost on venture capitalists (VCs) and private equity groups (PEGs) who see an opportunity to consolidate the many players in the market. This brief discusses three trends driving external and internal investment in the sector - technological disruption, the move to transactional services, and consolidation.
 

The Rise and Fall of the Top Online Languages

Online Audience and GDP Benchmarks for 100 Languages in 2015

30 Apr 2015 by Benjamin B. Sargent, Donald A. DePalma

Companies with global ambitions must pay close attention to the shifting makeup of online audiences to ensure the maximum leverage of product development, marketing, and customer service budgets. This report shows which languages matter the most in terms of online economic opportunity, presents a framework for categorizing languages into tiers, and recommends actions for marketers. It uses gross domestic product (GDP), population by country, and internet penetration rates to render important benchmarks for digital communication.