Showing posts with label Milengo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milengo. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Creation of common EU patent system faces setback - Translation Implications
Since May 1, 2008, the London Agreement, meant to reduce costs relating to the translation of European patents, has been in effect. The London Agreement provides for patent claims to be available in the national language of the states where the European patent is registered, while the description — which represents the bulk of the text of a patent — can be made available in English, French, or German, the official languages of the EPO (European Patent Office).
The argument for the London Agreement was that the cost of translations reduced the incentives for companies to apply for a European patent and, many argued, the situation was a burden on the competitiveness of the European economy, compared to the situation in the United States.
However, according to news from NetworkWorld, the European Court of Justice might put a break on the stated plans of the current EU presidency to foster a common patent system across the European Union. The court's Advocate General believes that a centralized patent is "incompatible with the treaties" that created the EU, according to a leaked document.
If the European Court of Justice moves forward with this decision, translation companies specializing in Patent Translations will see a return of business in high volumes. Companies like UK publicly-traded RWS and Denmark's Lingtech are set to benefit from this return. I might even develop a service in this area for Milengo if this ruling materializes.
It always struck me as strange the fact that the EU was promoting a common European Patent, when respect for linguistic diversity is a core EU value. In fact, Article 21 of the ‘Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union’ forbids discrimination on several grounds (specifically including language), while Article 22 guarantees respect for cultural, religious and linguistic diversity.
However, according to news from NetworkWorld, the European Court of Justice might put a break on the stated plans of the current EU presidency to foster a common patent system across the European Union. The court's Advocate General believes that a centralized patent is "incompatible with the treaties" that created the EU, according to a leaked document.
If the European Court of Justice moves forward with this decision, translation companies specializing in Patent Translations will see a return of business in high volumes. Companies like UK publicly-traded RWS and Denmark's Lingtech are set to benefit from this return. I might even develop a service in this area for Milengo if this ruling materializes.
It always struck me as strange the fact that the EU was promoting a common European Patent, when respect for linguistic diversity is a core EU value. In fact, Article 21 of the ‘Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union’ forbids discrimination on several grounds (specifically including language), while Article 22 guarantees respect for cultural, religious and linguistic diversity.
Let's wait and see how this pans out.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Specialty Events: Localization Project Managers Round Table and Vendor Management Seminar
I was having a conversation with a client today who asked me about the benefits of the different types of events. She was specifically asking about the Localization Institute's 2010 Localization Project Managers Round Table to be held in Lake Tahoe next month.
My response was that different events cater to different audiences and that choosing the right one is sometimes hard. But I discussed some criteria that might be useful for you when evaluating events.
My response was that different events cater to different audiences and that choosing the right one is sometimes hard. But I discussed some criteria that might be useful for you when evaluating events.
- Specialty events are excellent for sharing experiences with peers. The topics tend to be focused and very relevant for people in a certain position in the organization. That is the case of the Project Managers Round Table promoted by the Localization Institute and the Vendor Management Seminars organized by IMTT. Contrary to larger generic events, the main value of a specialty event is education and peer-to-peer networking. They seldom have booths and few salespeople attend.
- Geography-focused events tend to address issues that are common to people in different roles in a company, but with a local slant. Good examples are the ELIA Networking Days, the ALC Conference and Think Latin America. The programs tend to address business issues that are common to a certain region and might not appeal to a global audience.
- Generalist events like Localization World, LISA and GALA tend to provide something for everybody, with varying degrees of success.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Some Trends in the Localization Industry
In preparation for the Vendor Management Seminar that will be held in Las Vegas later this month, I have been doing some thinking about trends in the industry that affect the services provided by companies like Milengo, and thought you might be interested in them.
There are three trends that I have identified:
In general, I believe that because Milengo positions itself as a technology agnostic and customer service-focused organization puts it in the right position to succeed in this new market reality.
If you haven't registered yet, don't miss the opportunity to send your vendor managers to the IMTT event in Las Vegas. IMTT consistently organizes the best training events in translations industry.
There are three trends that I have identified:
- Disintermediation and Collaboration: The vast improvement in the quality and reduction in cost of online collaboration technology -- combined with the widespread availability of affordable bandwidth -- is leading LSPs to redesign their production workflows to remove unnecessary steps and activities from their processes. A clear result of this trend is that larger LSPs are going back to working with individual translators instead of using single language vendors as intermediaries, especially in projects involving time-sensitive or dynamic content.
- Productivity Boost: The incorporation of machine translation engines and shared translation memory environments into the desktop productivity tools of translators will result in a massive increase in the number of words that a professional translator can process in a day. Averages will jump from 2,500 words to 15,000 to 20,000 words per day in the first stage, reaching even higher numbers in the near future.
- Role and Cost of Technology: Translation technology tools like translation management systems and desktop translation memory software are unusually expensive for the value that they provide. As Chris Anderson points out in his book “Free," software and content want to be free. What creates value are the services provided around technology, not the technology itself. So, I have predicted that Translation Memory technology will be free or become irrelevant by 2015.
In general, I believe that because Milengo positions itself as a technology agnostic and customer service-focused organization puts it in the right position to succeed in this new market reality.
If you haven't registered yet, don't miss the opportunity to send your vendor managers to the IMTT event in Las Vegas. IMTT consistently organizes the best training events in translations industry.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Volcano Refugees Road Trip: From Istanbul to Stockholm
Last week, the eruption of Volcano Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland left hundreds of thousands of people stranded all around Europe. I was one of them.
I was in Istanbul for the ELIA Conference, which was very good -- as usual -- when the news about the closing of the European airspace started to spread. In between sessions, everybody was checking their iPhones and laptops to find out what were the latest news about airport closings. By Friday, everybody was trying to find alternative ways to get back home.
As I had a Board meeting on Sunday, my flight wasn't scheduled to leave until Monday afternoon to Copenhagen, near where I had a business meeting, and then on the United States on Tuesday. So I felt pretty safe that I was going to make it out of there as some countries were starting to open their airspace. The rumor mill was spinning very high: There were news of additional eruptions, test flights by the Germans and the Dutch, people sleeping in airports with no more money... Definitely a dire situation. As I said, I felt safe until my flights for Monday were canceled.
On Saturday night, I started trying to look for alternatives to get out of Istanbul. There were no rental cars, so I called bus companies in Turkey, who wanted €14,000.00 to take up to 46 people to Munich (I could have made a profit, but I didn't want to go to Munich... I needed to be in Sweden!) I also looked at changing my plans and going to visit Milengo Taiwan and from there flying to Boston, which would have amounted to a round the world trip. But the connections were bad and they only had middle seats on the plane. With the support from friends in Sweden, the United States, and Bulgaria, I found out that there were rental cars still available in Sofia. But how would I get to Sofia?
Luckily, ELIA fellow board member Marianna Hill from Interpretorium had come by car with her colleague Inna and offered me a ride to Sofia. Now I needed someone to share the driving and the expense. Luckily, my friend Johan Laestadius and Mats Knapp from Kommunicera also wanted to go back home to Gothemburg and agreed to jump on this adventure.
Itinerary
The map below shows our adventure, which was twittered all along with pictures and commentary. We drove in turns for 2,700km (1,678mi), 35 hours, 2 ferries across 9 countries.
View Volcano Refugees Road Trip in a larger map
Johan and Mats dropped me in Helsingborg and continued to drive another two hours to their destination. I had my meeting the next day, and took a train to Stockholm, from where I was able to get a flight for Sunday, April 25.
In Stockholm, I rented an apartment from Checkin.se, which cost me SEK 5,300 for 4 days, close to what I spent for one night at a regular hotel when I first arrived.
All in all, a good adventure and a good story to tell!
As I had a Board meeting on Sunday, my flight wasn't scheduled to leave until Monday afternoon to Copenhagen, near where I had a business meeting, and then on the United States on Tuesday. So I felt pretty safe that I was going to make it out of there as some countries were starting to open their airspace. The rumor mill was spinning very high: There were news of additional eruptions, test flights by the Germans and the Dutch, people sleeping in airports with no more money... Definitely a dire situation. As I said, I felt safe until my flights for Monday were canceled.
On Saturday night, I started trying to look for alternatives to get out of Istanbul. There were no rental cars, so I called bus companies in Turkey, who wanted €14,000.00 to take up to 46 people to Munich (I could have made a profit, but I didn't want to go to Munich... I needed to be in Sweden!) I also looked at changing my plans and going to visit Milengo Taiwan and from there flying to Boston, which would have amounted to a round the world trip. But the connections were bad and they only had middle seats on the plane. With the support from friends in Sweden, the United States, and Bulgaria, I found out that there were rental cars still available in Sofia. But how would I get to Sofia?
Luckily, ELIA fellow board member Marianna Hill from Interpretorium had come by car with her colleague Inna and offered me a ride to Sofia. Now I needed someone to share the driving and the expense. Luckily, my friend Johan Laestadius and Mats Knapp from Kommunicera also wanted to go back home to Gothemburg and agreed to jump on this adventure.
Itinerary
The map below shows our adventure, which was twittered all along with pictures and commentary. We drove in turns for 2,700km (1,678mi), 35 hours, 2 ferries across 9 countries.
View Volcano Refugees Road Trip in a larger map
Johan and Mats dropped me in Helsingborg and continued to drive another two hours to their destination. I had my meeting the next day, and took a train to Stockholm, from where I was able to get a flight for Sunday, April 25.
In Stockholm, I rented an apartment from Checkin.se, which cost me SEK 5,300 for 4 days, close to what I spent for one night at a regular hotel when I first arrived.
All in all, a good adventure and a good story to tell!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Machine Translation in the News Again
Google Translate and Google Translator Toolkit made the rounds of the big U.S. media last week, with major stories in The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. These were tweeted, retweeted, facebooked, LinkedIned, and forwarded by e-mail ad nauseam. How are people reacting? I identify two major groups:
Nem tanto ao mar, nem tanto à terra, is a Portuguese expression (don't try to google-translate it, it's not going to work) that literally translates as "not so much to the sea, not so much to the land" but means that the neither extreme is right and the truth is probably in the middle. If you follow my postings or presentations, you should know by now that I believe that translators should use MT to improve their productivity and it is only useful if the user knows the language into which the text is being translated.
I agree with Ben Sargent from Common Sense Advisory, when he says in the Global Watchtower that "...machine translation could remove the cloak of invisibility from translators, giving them greater recognition and status. As 99.99 percent of translation is done by the machine, two things may happen: 1) The volume of human translation could increase; 2) the perceived value of human translation could increase."
Nabil Frej and John Yunker have posted on their blogs the preliminary results from the “Which Engine Translates Best?” challenge organized by Gabble On which asks volunteers to evaluate Google Translate, Microsoft Bing, and Yahoo Babel Fish translations (if you haven't done it yet, I strongly suggest you spend 10 minutes doing it). And it looks as if Google is doing a better job than the other two, but with some exceptions.
From a translation business perspective, I am adopting a pragmatic approach. At Milengo, we are running a few pilot projects with some of our clients to evaluate seven language pairs using the Asia Online technology. We have also used the API for Google Translator Toolkit to connect it with Milengo's Translation Management System and we are currently running some test projects with it. Our goal with these efforts is not to replace human translation, but to increase productivity and to allow our clients to translate content that would otherwise never be translated because of cost and deadlines.
The situation reminds me of a story that my friend João Roque Dias, from Portugal, told me about how government officials in Portugal would fend off requests in the late 70s by saying that outcomes were unpredictable because the country was in a PREC (Processo Revolucionário em Curso or Revolutionary Process In Progress), which eventually became synonymous with "a mess." Language technology for me is in a PREC: Any outcome is possible, so I am hedging my bets!
- It's the end of the world for translators. This doomsday approach stems from fear of the unknown and amazement with the quality of the translation that Google has been generating for some language pairs.
- MT is never going to reach perfection. So, no worries. This nonchalant attitude comes from those who only see the defects in the tools and feel safe in their current positions.
I agree with Ben Sargent from Common Sense Advisory, when he says in the Global Watchtower that "...machine translation could remove the cloak of invisibility from translators, giving them greater recognition and status. As 99.99 percent of translation is done by the machine, two things may happen: 1) The volume of human translation could increase; 2) the perceived value of human translation could increase."
Nabil Frej and John Yunker have posted on their blogs the preliminary results from the “Which Engine Translates Best?” challenge organized by Gabble On which asks volunteers to evaluate Google Translate, Microsoft Bing, and Yahoo Babel Fish translations (if you haven't done it yet, I strongly suggest you spend 10 minutes doing it). And it looks as if Google is doing a better job than the other two, but with some exceptions.
From a translation business perspective, I am adopting a pragmatic approach. At Milengo, we are running a few pilot projects with some of our clients to evaluate seven language pairs using the Asia Online technology. We have also used the API for Google Translator Toolkit to connect it with Milengo's Translation Management System and we are currently running some test projects with it. Our goal with these efforts is not to replace human translation, but to increase productivity and to allow our clients to translate content that would otherwise never be translated because of cost and deadlines.
The situation reminds me of a story that my friend João Roque Dias, from Portugal, told me about how government officials in Portugal would fend off requests in the late 70s by saying that outcomes were unpredictable because the country was in a PREC (Processo Revolucionário em Curso or Revolutionary Process In Progress), which eventually became synonymous with "a mess." Language technology for me is in a PREC: Any outcome is possible, so I am hedging my bets!
Monday, March 01, 2010
WorldWare, Think Latin America and ELIA
Sitting in my hotel room in Berlin after a week of training and meetings with my sales team, I am working on my calendar for the next couple of months. Even though I am not a consultant anymore, many of my former clients and friends ask me which events they should go to, since there are so many happening in March and April.
Even though there are many good events, I chose the following three, for the following reasons:
WorldWare Conference - March 16-18, 2010 in Santa Clara, CA
This is a more technical event, with a great roster of speakers and participants (the usual suspects like IBM, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Cisco, and several more). The location is great (same venue as the last Localization World) and there are several sessions focusing on the ROI of Software Internationalization, some intended for those with moderate to advanced knowledge about the field (P2, P3, P6) and one workshop intended for management and executives new to the idea (W7).
I am particularly interested in session A4 on International Domain Names/SEO by ICANN. I also like that the keynote by Cliff Miller (An Entrepreneur in a Shrinking World), which gives the perspective of a small company, is followed by Bill Sullivan from IBM, giving the perspective of the very large company (From ROI to DNA).
Check out the program. And remember: A trip to Silicon Valley is never wasted.
Think Latin America - April 7-9, 2010 in Búzios, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
It is obvious that I wouldn't miss an opportunity to go back to my home country, especially for an event at a fantastic venue like this. The program is designed to show what major brands like Coca-Cola, MGM Networks, VMware, Xerox, VeriSign, Nokia and others have been doing to conquer this market, where people are not only happy and beautiful, but increasingly rich and influential. As the program says: 21 countries, 2 languages, 1,000 ideas!
I am particularly interested in the sessions on Logistics (From a Niche Market to a Multi-Billion Dollar Business: Logistics Lessons to Localization Stakeholders) by Wagner Covos, of CEVA Logistics, and on Local Consumer Marketing (How to Leverage the Power and Influence of An Emerging Social Class with Increased Purchasing Power) by Marco Simões, from Coca-Cola.
ELIA Networking Days - April 15-17 in Istanbul, Turkey
I am so excited to go to Turkey. First because I have never been there, and second because ELIA (of which I am the vice-president) has put an awesome and very practical program together for these Networking Days. Even though every session is great, starting with the keynote by the Google Translate guys, I want to highlight three things:
All in all, there is going to be a lot of cool stuff happening these couple of months. I am sure American Airlines will be happy that I will be flying all over for a change.
Even though there are many good events, I chose the following three, for the following reasons:
WorldWare Conference - March 16-18, 2010 in Santa Clara, CA
This is a more technical event, with a great roster of speakers and participants (the usual suspects like IBM, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Cisco, and several more). The location is great (same venue as the last Localization World) and there are several sessions focusing on the ROI of Software Internationalization, some intended for those with moderate to advanced knowledge about the field (P2, P3, P6) and one workshop intended for management and executives new to the idea (W7).
I am particularly interested in session A4 on International Domain Names/SEO by ICANN. I also like that the keynote by Cliff Miller (An Entrepreneur in a Shrinking World), which gives the perspective of a small company, is followed by Bill Sullivan from IBM, giving the perspective of the very large company (From ROI to DNA).
Check out the program. And remember: A trip to Silicon Valley is never wasted.
Think Latin America - April 7-9, 2010 in Búzios, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
It is obvious that I wouldn't miss an opportunity to go back to my home country, especially for an event at a fantastic venue like this. The program is designed to show what major brands like Coca-Cola, MGM Networks, VMware, Xerox, VeriSign, Nokia and others have been doing to conquer this market, where people are not only happy and beautiful, but increasingly rich and influential. As the program says: 21 countries, 2 languages, 1,000 ideas!
I am particularly interested in the sessions on Logistics (From a Niche Market to a Multi-Billion Dollar Business: Logistics Lessons to Localization Stakeholders) by Wagner Covos, of CEVA Logistics, and on Local Consumer Marketing (How to Leverage the Power and Influence of An Emerging Social Class with Increased Purchasing Power) by Marco Simões, from Coca-Cola.
ELIA Networking Days - April 15-17 in Istanbul, Turkey
I am so excited to go to Turkey. First because I have never been there, and second because ELIA (of which I am the vice-president) has put an awesome and very practical program together for these Networking Days. Even though every session is great, starting with the keynote by the Google Translate guys, I want to highlight three things:
- The Tools Track, which I am moderating, which will include presentations by the users - not the salespeople - of eight tools: Across, MemoQ, GlobalSight, WebWordSystem, Plunet, Worxs, XTRF, and Project Open;
- The Situational Leadership Workshop: How to manage and lead different individuals with different levels of skills, attitudes and motivation. The presenter, Ezster Avar, is extremely good (I participated in two of her workshops in Vienna) and this methodology is a great way to manage people.
- The session Taxation in Europe, by the Milengo CFO Tamara Nadeje, should give European companies ideas on how to save taxes.
All in all, there is going to be a lot of cool stuff happening these couple of months. I am sure American Airlines will be happy that I will be flying all over for a change.
Friday, January 15, 2010
What the translation industry can do for Haiti
Modified reposting of entry by Tammi Coles in the Milengo Blog. Tammi is our Geeky Marketing Diva, and has a lot of experience in nonprofit advocacy. In her words, "coalitions and collaborations = conservation of effort = victory."
Like you, Milengo staff worldwide heard the news about the earthquake in Haiti. As the reports and photographs poured in, the extent of the devastation became clear: full neighborhoods have been destroyed, government offices and services have crumbled, and basic access to food and potable water has degraded.
We have also witnessed an amazing public rally for support, including reports of initiatives from leading technology companies to mobilize their customers and employees in the efforts.
These reports started a conversation between Milengo CEO Renato Beninatto and Lexcelera CEO Lori Thicke about just what translators and localization service providers could provide to the effort.
We don’t have to look too far for ideas.
Pledge the efforts of your company
The folks at One Hour Translation put out a press release earlier today offering a simple, free translation of up to 250 words per each organization and individual affected by the earthquake. One document may not seem like much, but in an industry of over 40,000 companies, the potential impact on medical aid documentation and charity websites is enormous.
Offer your services as an individual translator
The French-based Translators Without Borders (founded by Lori) take it a step farther by offering translators the chance to answer the call of the humanitarian groups that need their time and effort. Their largest partner, Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders is already on the ground in Haiti, with over 1,000 patients already in their care and an inflatable hospital on its way. Whether the need is for training materials for volunteers or media announcements in multiple languages, your talents are welcome.
Spread the word one SMS and Tweet at a time
Messages on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter have made a considerable impact on Haitian relief efforts. @RenatoBeninatto sent out a message on Twitter regarding the efforts of Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean to get donations for the work of his nonprofit, Yele.org, from U.S. residents. And CNet News reported that a similar SMS donation campaign driven by Verizon and the Red Cross raised $4 million USD within days, with each SMS a donation of just $10. The effort to both make a donation and spread the news virally is too simple to ignore.
Help Coordinate the Efforts
Doug Green from Translation Source, in Houston, TX, wants to make sure that our joint efforts are not so diluted. So, in order to make sure that language assistance has been properly mobilized, and that the language industry puts its best foot forward. He has created a Facebook group, a Twitter account, and an e-mail address to concentrate information:
Facebook: Interpreters and Translators for Haiti
Twitter: @IT4H
Gmail: IT4Haiti@gmail.com
Doug also tells us that Pacific Interpreters has already stepped forward and begun to donate all over the phone interpreting assistance for Haiti.
We hope to hear more on Twitter and on this blog more about what you, our colleagues in the translation industry, are doing to help. Add your comments, ideas, feedback and more below.
Like you, Milengo staff worldwide heard the news about the earthquake in Haiti. As the reports and photographs poured in, the extent of the devastation became clear: full neighborhoods have been destroyed, government offices and services have crumbled, and basic access to food and potable water has degraded.
We have also witnessed an amazing public rally for support, including reports of initiatives from leading technology companies to mobilize their customers and employees in the efforts.
These reports started a conversation between Milengo CEO Renato Beninatto and Lexcelera CEO Lori Thicke about just what translators and localization service providers could provide to the effort.
We don’t have to look too far for ideas.
Pledge the efforts of your company
The folks at One Hour Translation put out a press release earlier today offering a simple, free translation of up to 250 words per each organization and individual affected by the earthquake. One document may not seem like much, but in an industry of over 40,000 companies, the potential impact on medical aid documentation and charity websites is enormous.
Offer your services as an individual translator
The French-based Translators Without Borders (founded by Lori) take it a step farther by offering translators the chance to answer the call of the humanitarian groups that need their time and effort. Their largest partner, Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders is already on the ground in Haiti, with over 1,000 patients already in their care and an inflatable hospital on its way. Whether the need is for training materials for volunteers or media announcements in multiple languages, your talents are welcome.
Spread the word one SMS and Tweet at a time
Messages on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter have made a considerable impact on Haitian relief efforts. @RenatoBeninatto sent out a message on Twitter regarding the efforts of Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean to get donations for the work of his nonprofit, Yele.org, from U.S. residents. And CNet News reported that a similar SMS donation campaign driven by Verizon and the Red Cross raised $4 million USD within days, with each SMS a donation of just $10. The effort to both make a donation and spread the news virally is too simple to ignore.
Help Coordinate the Efforts
Doug Green from Translation Source, in Houston, TX, wants to make sure that our joint efforts are not so diluted. So, in order to make sure that language assistance has been properly mobilized, and that the language industry puts its best foot forward. He has created a Facebook group, a Twitter account, and an e-mail address to concentrate information:
Facebook: Interpreters and Translators for Haiti
Twitter: @IT4H
Gmail: IT4Haiti@gmail.com
Doug also tells us that Pacific Interpreters has already stepped forward and begun to donate all over the phone interpreting assistance for Haiti.
We hope to hear more on Twitter and on this blog more about what you, our colleagues in the translation industry, are doing to help. Add your comments, ideas, feedback and more below.
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