Each time a company adds more products, services, languages, or locales, data volume increases exponentially and inconsistencies become more likely. Simply put, the more content an organization creates, the greater the need for terminology consistency.

To examine the rationale for terminology management, business globalization research firm Common Sense Advisory interviewed terminologists, lexicographers, and localization managers at 24 global businesses and government organizations. The results, which are detailed in Common Sense Advisory’s latest report, "The Case for Terminology Management," demonstrate the many benefits of terminology management, from branding consistency to improved translation quality. The report reveals how a single terminology error in a product or service can quickly result in hundreds and even thousands of mistakes as the inconsistency snowballs across multiple versions, models, user groups, output formats, and languages.

Common Sense Advisory senior analyst and lead analyst on the report, Nataly Kelly, comments, “To launch a product and then realize that a term has a double meaning or an undesirable connotation in the target market is a global company’s branding and sales nightmare. Defining how a term is used at the source can prevent costly damage control and error corrections later on.”

The 30-page report includes:

• A detailed analysis of the most common methods for measuring the return on investment (ROI) of terminology management.

• The five essential steps to building an in-house terminology management process.

• A listing of the typical terminology database fields within major metadata categories.

• The four most common categories of terminology management software applications.

Based on the interviews and research, the report analysts conclude that terminology management helps global businesses stretch budgets and save costs. “The report confirms our previous findings which show that terminology is a fundamental piece of the global content management lifecycle. Further, companies that invest in terminology management save money down the line due to decreased translation project costs, as well as less time spent clarifying ambiguous terms and making corrections,” summarizes Kelly. “The Case for Terminology Management" is available as part of a Common Sense Advisory research membership. For more information, visit www.commonsenseadvisory.com.