The Evolving Localization Landscape & What It Means for Businesses

Just a few years ago, “localization” was an esoteric word known only to the specific world of translation professionals, and businesses were still educating themselves on the fundamentals of building a global company and presence. Today, localization has become a well-known and vital aspect of business growth, as companies around the world increasingly recognize the need for proper adaptation of their content for local markets across the globe.

A process that used to require manual copying, pasting, and emailing back-and-forth of content to be translated has now been replaced by technologies like translation management platforms that bridge the worlds of manual and automatic translations.

As we enter this era of transforming global business landscapes and rapidly changing consumer behavior, businesses are pulling out all the stops, technologies, and investments to keep up. Here’s a closer look at the evolution and transformation of the localization landscape.

Getting More and More Creative with Translation Methods

While technologies and translation agencies are nice tried and true methods for getting content localized, the increasingly connected world has also opened up new pathways for companies to not only efficiently translate their content, but do it in even more authentic ways. How? Through community translation programs, which engage global product users by enabling them to take control of how they want their favorite products and brands to be presented in their local markets.

Over recent years, more and more global companies have started to recognize and leverage the power of their global communities for localization efforts. If you have a growing community abroad and are looking to localize, connect the two with crowdsourced translations. (Just like Trello – who launched in over 20 new languages with over 500 crowdsourced translators from the user community!)

Consolidating Localization Technology Market

What started out as manual translations and spreadsheets has now evolved into machine translations and hybrid tech/human methods for more precise translations. As the localization market continues to evolve with new methods and innovations, companies will be able to further refine their localization techniques at an even more rapid pace.

Today’s latest trends in the localization space are evidence of further evolution and maturity of the localization landscape as a whole. In the coming years, we’ll see this cycle continue to play out and the global impact it will drive for companies across the world.

Must-Know Localization Trends for Global Businesses

Today, technology is breaking down geographical and global barriers, and doing it at exponentially increasing speeds. To help your global business understand which trends to keep an eye on as you build out your international presence, download the 2019 Localization Trends Guide today. And if you’re ready to start unlocking the power of localization for your business, sign up to try Transifex for free for 15 days.