Exploring the Latest Trends in Localization Technology
There has been a swift acceleration toward digitalization across the globe. As businesses moved operations online, they opened themselves to a global audience. Realizing the untold opportunities this situation presented, companies strived to bridge the gap between diverse cultures and customers worldwide, which led to a surge in demand for localization technology.
This blog will explore the latest trends that are taking localization technology by storm.
Table of Contents:
- Localization – A Brief
- Why Is It Important?
- The Latest Trends Driving Localization Technology
- Summing It Up
Localization – A Brief
Localization is tailoring a specific product, service, or content to align and resonate well with particular markets and their cultures. Localization, however, is not the same as translation, and it is common for individuals to misconstrue the nuanced disparity between these two concepts.
Translation, in essence, facilitates the conversion of texts from one language to another. On the other hand, localization transcends mere translation by meticulously tailoring content to align with the peculiarities of a specific market or region. The amalgamation of these two concepts is the basis of localization technology.
Why is it Important?
Today’s customers are extremely brand conscious. Gone are the days when blanket ads played on television were enough to entice the masses to buy into your marketing strategy. Customers today choose products primarily based on a brand’s identity. Factors like being eco-friendly or being inclusive (digitally and culturally) matter greatly.
Apart from this, localization services can also help businesses in several different ways, including the following:
- They help businesses gain a foothold in new markets by making their products or services relevant or avoiding unintentional faux pas.
- You increase your customer pool to those that can only speak or understand the local language.
- You improve customer satisfaction and brand value by respecting the local culture and values.
In short, localization can give you a competitive edge in the global market and help you grow your business across borders.
Also Read: Why Localization Testing Must Be Your Top Priority?
The Latest Trends Driving Localization Technology
Localization technology is revolutionizing the way businesses reach global audiences. In this section, we will explore the transformative advancements and trends that are driving this revolution.
1. The Proliferation of AI Into Existing Localization Technology.
It has become impossible today to talk about emerging trends without the mention of Artificial Intelligence. It has become a hot topic after the release of Open AI’s Chat GPT. Today it is already a USD 196.63 billion industry and is expected to hit a whopping USD 1.81 trillion in just seven short years.
With the emergence of advanced neural machine translation (NMT) technology, AI-based translation services have become more accurate and efficient. With immense computing power behind it, NMT has reached a point where it can comprehend complex documents and local expressions.
That said, AI still has a long way to go to take on this task autonomously and still needs intervention from expert human translators. In the context of translation and localization services, an amalgamation of AI and human expertise will be the way forward, at least for the near future.
2. The Rise of Multimodal Localization
Online learning is the current norm when it comes to higher education or corporate training. E-learning creators and corporate training solutions will soon see the need for multimodal localization functionalities from E-learning localization services.
Simply put, multimodal localization is a process of adapting online learning content to different languages and cultures using various mediums, such as text, audio, video, and graphics. The goal is to make learning more engaging and effective for students or the workforce by helping them understand the content in their local language more clearly while avoiding cultural misunderstandings.
From the perspective of educators, multimodal localization opens up the possibility of reaching a broader and more diverse audience by offering courses in multiple languages and formats.
3. The Rise of Multilingual SEO as a Critical Strategy for Internationalization
The widespread adoption of multilingual SEO strategies could be another emerging trend in localization technology in the coming years. As businesses push to go global, multilingual SEO could be the cost-effective and highly scalable approach to capitalize on non-English speaking markets.
Multilingual SEO strategies are multifold:
- Technical SEO involves analyzing the website and implementing targeted optimizations based on location and language.
- The emphasis then changes to off-page SEO, where localization providers concentrate on tasks like translating customer reviews and performing multilingual link building.
- Finally, on-page SEO is concerned with optimizing website aspects for each target language by translating and localizing website material and adjusting content to cultural preferences.
In short, multilingual SEO will help businesses establish a strong global presence by capitalizing on the ability to connect with a diverse customer base.
4. Improvements in Existing Translation Software
The software used in the translation industry is expected to undergo notable enhancements in the coming years. Implementing speech recognition technologies will greatly facilitate the process of dictating articles and enable a smooth transition in the speech translation niche.
Furthermore, due to the expansion of online video content consumption, there will be a significant demand for video translation services. A key trend that will emerge during this time is inclusive localization. It emphasizes ensuring accessibility for individuals with impairments, for example, by providing audio descriptions and closed captions. Localization professionals can make the material understandable and inclusive for all consumers.
Also Read: Choosing the Right Translation Technology for Efficient Localization
Summing it Up
Localization Technology is seeing some exciting developments in 2023. AI, multimodal localization, and the fact that translation software is becoming more adept by the minute are all opening up new windows of opportunities for organizations looking to truly internationalize themselves.
However, if businesses want to stay ahead of the curve, they can capitalize on these trends and hire the best software localization services. It will enable them to reach new clients without linguistic or cultural obstacles.
Hurix Digital is the ideal partner for companies requiring localization or online learning assistance. We have a team of skilled localization specialists who can assist you in translating and localizing your material into any language. We also provide various online learning options to assist you in training your staff, onboarding new personnel, and complying with legislation.
Contact Hurix Digital today to learn more about our localization and online learning solutions.
Performance, Results, Growth, and Life-Long Learning define my professional life. I am passionate about making workplace learning planful, purposeful, and impactful. I take pride in partnering with clients and bringing them the best in learning design and creating solutions that address business challenges.