Results tagged “integration”

Fifth  in a series of interviews with sponsors of Gilbane’s 2009 study on Multilingual Product Content: Transforming Traditional Practices into Global Content Value Chains.

We spoke with David Smith, president of LinguaLinx Language Solutions, a full-service translation agency providing multilingual communication solutions in over 150 languages.  David talked with us about the evolving role of the language service provider across the global content value chain (GCVC), their rationale for co-sponsoring the research, and what findings they consider most relevant from the research.

Gilbane: How does your company support the value chain for global product support?

Smith: As a translation agency, we’ve realized that our involvement with global content should be much earlier in the supply chain. In addition to localization, we support clients in reducing costs and increasing efficiencies by providing consulting services that revolve around the content authoring process – from reuse strategies and structured authoring best practices to maximizing the inherent capabilities of content management and workflow systems. Rather than just adapting content into other languages, we assist with its creation so that it is concise, consistent and localization-friendly.

Gilbane: Why did you choose to sponsor the Gilbane research?

Smith: Of the many organizations and associations we belong to, we find that the research and topics of Gilbane studies and conferences alike most closely align with our interest and efforts to diversify our services and become a turn-key outsourced documentation consultancy as opposed to a traditional translation agency.

Gilbane: What is the most interesting/compelling/relevant result reported in the study?

Smith: The findings present two major points that we feel are relevant. First, there is definitely wide-ranging recognition of the benefits derived from the creation of standardized content in a content management system integrated with a localization workflow solution. 

Secondly, there are many, many different ways of approaching the creation, management, and publishing of global content.  There’s often a significant gap between the adoption of global content solutions – such as authoring software, translation management software, workflow linking different technologies – and the successful implementation of these solutions among those responsible for day-to-day content creation and delivery.  A major manufacturer of GPS technology is actually authoring directly in InDesign to a great extent even though it utilizes an industry-leading translation workflow tool – which provides an example of the lengths to which internal processes must be changed to realize truly efficient global content processes.

For more insights into the link between authoring and translation and localization, see the section “Achieving Quality at the Source” that begins on page 28 of the report. You can also learn how LinguaLinx helped New York City Department of Education communicate with 1.8 million families across 1,500 schools in which 43% of students speak a language other than English at home. Download the study for free.

 

Fourth in a series of interviews with sponsors of Gilbane’s 2009 study on Multilingual Product Content: Transforming Traditional Practices into Global Content Value Chains.

We spoke with Karl Darr, an independent consultant working with STAR Group.  STAR Group is a leader in information management, localization, internationalization, and globalization solutions that address the entire lifecycle of technical communications. Karl talked with us about the importance of addressing the global content value chain (GCVC) in a comprehensive way, STAR Group’s role in delivering such solutions, and what he found compelling about the research.

Gilbane: How does your company support the value chain for global product content? (i.e., what does your company do?)

Darr: STAR Group’s mission has been to enable companies to build a single product that they can sell, ship and support anywhere in the world, along with all of the appropriate technical and end-user support literature in the native tongue for any target market. In every case, we find that the customer’s satisfaction and their perception of a quality purchase are directly related to understanding their new product in their native language. 

Early on, STAR understood that a comprehensive, integrated solution could increase efficiency, while improving data quality and consistency.  So, rather than acquire and integrate third party solutions that were not designed to work together, STAR Group developed a seamlessly integrated, end-to-end solution suite that included tools to accelerate SGML/XML authoring productivity with increased quality, integrated with Terminology Management, workflow, content management, Translation Memory, and publishing – all subject to monitoring and leaving a complete audit trail. 

All of STAR’s technologies can be purchased as stand-alone products. They integrate and interoperate very well with other vendors’ products to provide a complete solution in mixed technology environments.  However, as you might expect, STAR’s complete suite affords uncommon degrees of added efficiency, accuracy, quality and operational cost reductions.

Gilbane: Why did you choose to sponsor the Gilbane research?

Darr: STAR Group co-sponsored this research because the GCVC concept speaks directly to the sweet spot on which STAR has focused for 25 years. STAR Group has provided technologies and services to support every step along the GCVC, from information engineering, creation, and cross-functional synchronization to translation, localization, management, and static and dynamic publication along with dialog management and reporting. 

Gilbane: What, in your opinion, is the most relevant/compelling/interesting result reported in the study?

Darr: The most relevant/compelling/interesting result reported in the study is that 70% of respondents claimed that the process of integrating their GCVC technologies was difficult at best.  What is even more surprising is that, according to the research, only 20% of respondents claimed they had API-level integration between their translation management and CMS tools.

In other words, respondents are suffering from the fact that the people responsible for globalization efforts are dealing with limited vision, scope and fragmented tool sets.  This causes ambiguities, duplications and errors that unnecessarily waste time, energy, resources and corporate profitability – while damaging product and corporate images, and at the same time weakening customer affiliations with the company.

I believe that this situation can only happen when top corporate management is more focused on getting product out the door than they are on optimizing the customer experience, which is critical to increasing profits.  When customer experience is a top priority, these companies will recognize that globalization (or the GCVC) is a manufacturing process in its own right that needs to be prioritized right along with design, engineering, production and customer support. The GCVC is not a ‘bolt-on’ solution because it needs to be intimately involved in all of these processes. As such, GCVC efforts need to start as soon as the product planning process begins, be fully engaged as customer specifications become requirements, and continue in a collaborative manner throughout the process of a project becoming a product.  But, they don’t end there either.  Ongoing multilingual product support is critical for delivering an optimal customer experience, one that results in repeat or recurring business.  Because all GCVC solutions will require ongoing maintenance and support, end-user companies need to ensure that whoever is providing support can cover the full spectrum of GVCV functions. 

Often, our discussions with companies have only begun when organizations understand the depth and breadth of the GCVC. In some cases, they end up relying on us for nearly everything – from their technical writing to translation, workflow, content management and publishing, to spare parts order management with optimized diagnostics delivery and dialog management.  Many of these organizations – some among the most successful global companies – have relegated the notion of a “document” to be an artifact of a by-gone era. 

For insights into technology integration across the GCVC, see the section on “Content Management Integration” that begins on page 32 of the report. You can also learn how STAR Group helped BMW Motorrad implement an end-to-end infrastructure for global technical communication. Download the study for free.

Globalisation and the spread of information technology allow the creation of unexpected and disruptive business models. Many executives feel the heat is on and that they must innovate faster just to stand still. "Revving up," from the Economist, October 2007.

That about says it all. Innovate faster just to stand still. One of the reasons for our research back in February was that we believe globalization innovation from a technology perspective will include the integration of content and translation management. SDL's acquisition of Tridion in May sparked a bevy of commentary in the press and analyst blogs, including our own. What would "Under One Roof" mean for the industry's approach to globalization demands and challenges? Our answer? Various approaches, but ones focused on bringing these disparate software markets much closer together. You know, the "i" market.

Since then, there's a lot more brewing -- and it all has to do with one of our favorites topics. In fact, we're hoping that recent trends enable us to expand our definitions of integration levels in a big way. Hint: more 360-degree business process management than fundamental workflow integration. Given the events to date in the translation and localization market, we're optimistic that it will. Consider the list:

• Clay Tablet Technologies, with its "seamless integration solution" is coming on strong since a major launch in 2005. Since September, the company has announced integrations with translation management solutions and service providers such as across systems and SDL, adding to a roster that includes Language Weaver, TRANSLATED, and content management provider DocZone.
• Idiom has teamed with both EMC and Astoria in recent months to promote the benefits of "an integrated, state-of-the-art content management and globalization management solution." The company announced an integration with XyEnterprise's Contenta back in April.
• Lionbridge has multiple content management providers in the "CMS Provider" section of the company's Globalization Alliances description.
• Sajan has content management integration on its agenda, making impressive progress with the release of GCMS 4.0 and more specifically, its X-Content Integration framework in March and June respectively.
• SDL has taken the Tridion acquisition a step further, describing the October content and translation management implementation at Atlas Copco as an "off-the-shelf integrated solution."

These trends are signs of what is sorely needed for organizations to strategically -- and successfully -- more toward global expansion. However, a favorite question of ours in in this brave new world of integration is: "Who’s the buyer?" In reality, it is unfortunate that in many cases, content and translation management professionals do not collaborate and even worse, may not know that technology integration is possible.

If you are a buyer that's interested in this trend, come to Gilbane Boston 2007 to find out what's next for the "i" word and more importantly, what kind of technology approach is right for you. We think the entire Globalization track is pretty impressive, but for integration fans, "GCM-2: Integrating Content and Translation Processes: Managing Global Customer Experience" stands out.

Attention, buyers and users of content and globalization management solutions! Wondering about the right integration approach for your company?

The globalization track at Gilbane Boston 2007 includes a session entitled "Integrating Content and Translation Processes: Managing Global Customer Experience." The panel brings together two content management vendors, two providers of translation technology and services, and one middleware company that connects multiple CM and GM systems. Our goal is to explore the different options that you have when integrating the two technologies to create solutions supporting the global content life cycle.

In the session description, we promise to use "real world scenarios" to drive the panel. We're issuing an invitation to our readers to submit suggestions for the scenarios that we'll use for discussion. Do you have CM and GM practices that need to be streamlined? Are you planning to acquire and deploy CM/GM in the future, but not sure how to best fit the technologies together? Need fresh ideas for outmoded processes? Then think about proposing a scenario for the integration session at Gilbane Boston.

We'll arrange a call with you to discuss your scenario and its context. If your scenario is chosen for use in the session, you'll help us write up a description that we'll share with the panel participants prior to the conference. Whether we choose your scenario or not, you'll have the benefit of a little free advice from the Gilbane Group in the course of discussing your situation, constraints, requirements, etc. Please note that you need not register for Gilbane Boston in order to submit a scenario for possible use in the session. But if you do plan on attending the conference, you'll have the option of presenting your own scenario to the panel.

Send scenarios or questions about the session to me or to my colleague Leonor. We'd welcome the chance to speak with you about this unique opportunity.

The integration of content and translation management workflows has a great deal of value for globalization projects. And as we've discussed, there are various market approaches to streamlining these increasingly complex processes. With the announcement of SDL International's intended acquisition of Tridion (set to close by end of May,) buyers officially have an additional approach -- translation and Web content management under one roof.

In this case, the opportunity is clearly for marketers who struggle to meet growing corporate and consumer demand for a multi-site, multi-lingual Web presence that drives revenue and protects brand (for the former) and delivers localized customer experiences (for the latter.) The time is right for this marriage, as globalization continues to climb toward the top of the CIO's "must-have" strategy list.

SDL and Tridion are undoubtedly headed toward a cohesive integration of their respective TMS and Web CMS technologies, which makes a great deal of sense for those organizations wishing to standardize on one platform for Web site translation and management. As we would expect, API-level workflow integration is at the top of the priority list, according to executives from both companies. There's quite a bit of potential for more, when one considers the ability of SDL's Author Assistant to enhance the value of content at its source, i.e. during content creation, as well as the power of Tridion's Communications Statistics module to drive process improvements based on data culled from user activities. Safe to say it will be interesting to watch the evolution of this combined product line for its impact on the Web content lifecycle.

As we've seen in the ECM and BPM suite market, the trend toward vendor consolidation changes the landscape dramatically and spurs the inevitable "suite versus best-of breed" debate. Within the globalization market, we expect this acquisition to follow suit -- after all, the marriage crosses the "dotted line" by solidifying the value of content and translation management integration.

At the end of the day however, the buyer defines the purchasing decision that makes the most sense, based on the most pressing -- or painful -- business requirements. As it stands now, Tridion will be a separate division within SDL and operate autonomously. R5 will be sold as a module within the SDL product set and renamed SDL Tridion R5. In parallel, SDL TMS will be sold as a Tridion module.

In effect, this strategy leaves decision-making in the hands of the buyer, as it should be. Hence, the immediate goal for this marriage is to demonstrate just how compelling the promise of a "total solution" will be. The CMPros community is already weighing in on the potential; Gilbane readers: join the conversation! We'd like to continue this discussion with your feedback.

This was one of my favorite quotes from Sun's April 10th presentation at Gilbane San Francisco, titled Managing Content Globally: What Works, What Doesn't. Given by Jed Michnowicz, Engineering Lead, and Youngmin Radochonski, Globalization Program Manager, the presentation opened the LISA Forum on Day 1 of the conference.

Jed and Youngmin nailed it when they defined three key components of a global content platform: content management, translation, and delivery. As they outlined the struggles of legacy challenges in all three areas, a pattern of checklist items for the audience quickly surfaced. Lack of metadata. "Siloed" mindsets, workflow, and content repositories. Static Web server content delivery. Inconsistent messaging. Slow time to market. Cost overruns. As moderator, it is always interesting to scan the faces in the crowd for reactions. During this part of the presentation the response was palpable: "got that, got that, and yes, definitely got that."

They also nailed it when they moved to the "here's the good news" part of the presentation. Global awareness throughout the organization. Process alignment and consistency. Separation of content from presentation. Translation memory management and sharing. Integrated content and translation workflows. Automated, Web services-based content distribution. They described what is most definitely a "Level 2+" integration from a technology perspective. At this point, the audience response was equally palpable: "want that, want that, and yes, definitely want that."

Wrapping up the success story with lessons learned (according to people, process, and technology categories; be still my heart!) Jed and Youngmin also noted that Sun, like most organizations, is still learning. Some of the questions they posed -- which we will continue to explore on this blog -- included:

What takes precedence when solving for people, process and technology?
What is the proper globalization strategy and who defines it?
Can a single solution work for everyone?

On behalf of The Gilbane Group and LISA, we thank these excellent presenters for a job well done. This presentation will be available here this week; check out one of my other favorite quotes emblazoned on the t-shirt on the last slide.

The recording from our February 14th webinar, "Integrating Translation and Content Management Workflows" is now available here. Many thanks to Steve Billings, Senior Solutions Engineer with Idiom Technologies, and David Smith, President of LinguaLinx, for joining me for the conversation and of course, to the participants for attending.

We informally polled participants during our last webinar on globalization business drivers and published the results here. In this webinar, we asked the question again. Here's the results:

We also added a new poll specific to integrating translation and content workflows. Here's the results:

Clearly the subject of this webinar was right on for participants, with 21% citing "integration of CMS (content management systems) and GMS (globalization management systems) as the number #1 headache. The good news is that there are a number of market approaches to cohesive workflow integration for translation processes. We've provided details on our definitions of Levels 1-3 here. Steve and David presented a typical customer scenario involving all three integration levels during the webinar. Check it out.

Translating content for multiple global markets is a complex effort that involves a variety of technologies, business processes, and internal and external contributors. In 2006, we researched more than 40 companies in the global content management market, including language service (LSPs), content management (ECM/CM), and global information management (GIM) providers.
The research revealed that there are various market approaches to the integration of translation and content management workflows. We've categorized them into three levels, summarized as follows:

• Level 1: workflows are autonomous for the most part, characterized by email or FTP-based transfer of source and localized content with some amount of automated notifications. There is little if any access to or reuse of translation memory. Although there is often automated assembly of content object(s) that require translation, we call this level the “handshake approach” to underline the dependence on human-driven, manual business processes.


• Level 2: workflows are integrated at the API level to achieve bi-directional communications, enabling automated assembly, transfer, and auditing of source and localized content based on workflow state changes. Building on the Level 1 approach, this eliminates dependence on email attachments as well as FTP site management. In addition, there is a strong focus on access to and reuse of translation memory.


• Level 3: workflows support and extend a Level 2 integration and provide more opportunity for translation memory reuse. Focus in this approach is less on interoperability and more on visibility into process and project management. Visibility capabilities can include bi-directional query on project status and cost, integrated task management and collaboration, and combined reporting. Usability is key in this approach, with emphasis on accessible capabilities directly from user interfaces.

The Gilbane Group is having a conversation on February 14th with Steve Billings, Senior Solutions Engineer with Idiom Technologies, and David Smith, President of LinguaLinx about the reality and value of integrating translation and content management workflows. Join us! If you can't make it, feel free to submit a question via a blog comment and we'll do our best to address it.

Webinar Event: Integrating Translation and Content Management Workflows
Date: February 14th, 2007
Time: 1:00pm Eastern, 10am Pacific
Duration: 1 hour
Register here