You probably won’t be too surprised to learn that the global translation industry has an average growth rate of six percent a year. That’s not bad at all, considering some industries – such as fishing – are sinking (no pun intended) while others (oil and gas included) are clinging on with their fingertips.
But then e-commerce and online promotion is the only way for businesses to really survive these days. Technology is king. It has made global reach easy – to a point. The key to being successful in international markets is to localize. By that, we mean really understand the thinking, market share of specific industries, habits, manners, idioms and language in general of whatever part of the world – or country – you’re trying to influence. So how is Localization as sectoring faring this year? Well, read on to find out the latest trends in this dynamic sector:
1-Neural machine technology to reach new heights.
It’s still a long way off from being perfect, but technology which translates languages in a way similar to the pathways used by the human brain, are on the rise. Microsoft, Google and Facebook already have it, while we suspect other companies are certainly at an advanced stage in the launch of their own version.
2-Predictive analysis to grow.
Business intelligence is indeed big business these days. Companies no longer simply want to know how that international project of theirs is faring. They’re far more likely to demand knowledge of how much the customer base has grown, what the local customer satisfaction is like and what the likely customer retention rate will be like as a result. In other words, they want to really bury into the business intelligence for that local market they’ve just invested heavily in.
3-Mobile apps become more sophisticated.
Expect to find apps with the ability to translate into ever-more languages. The single language app translator now seems ancient. People want to switch from French to German, to Arabic in a matter of minutes – an invaluable skill if you happen to be on an international Skype or telephone conference call.
4-Video translation to become ever-more prevalent.
The video was always going to be a key player in the translation and localization industry. People far prefer to watch a video than to read – it’s more entertaining for them, and less of an effort to do, for starters. If you’re at all skeptical of this, consider the fact that YouTube is receiving 300 hours of video every single minute while Facebook boasts eight billion daily video views: there’s no getting away from it, people love amusing and educational videos. Not only that, but YouTube recently announced that 70 percent of visitors to their channel are from outside the US and the majority of them speak languages other than English.
5-Increase in subtitling and captioning services.
As the number of videos watched increases, so too does the need for written translations of what’s happening visually (dubbing isn’t a preferred option for most viewers as it often detracts from the content of the video). Surveys too tell us that most young viewers prefer to hear the original language with subtitles since it helps them learn that particular dialect and language.
6-E-learning growing as companies expand.
Successful businesses with a global reach have been familiar with the need for localization services for years now. And the number of those companies is growing. This is why it’s incredibly common these days to find training courses in a variety of different languages for staff located in major cities and far-flung corners of the world. The need for e-learning will grow will every passing month in 2018.
7-Different business models will emerge.
What do we mean by this? Well, traditionally translation services were always charged in terms of the number of words involved. Today, however, translations aren’t just about words; often voice-over artists, graphic designers and trans-creation providers (looking at idioms etc) come into it too. And that means a more sophisticated service which has to be charged for accordingly.
Localization trends in the Middle East
As more individuals than ever before access the internet and forms of smart technology, translation and localization services in the region are expected to boom. At the same time, foreign investor interests have been growing substantially as entrepreneurs seek to tap into new and undiscovered markets from their traditional home bases.
Middle Eastern sectors with growing demand in Localization
The kind of sectors in the Middle East which can expect to keep extremely busy this year and beyond are those which provide services in the form of Law and Finance (in order to help with translating complicated company documents). Other popular sectors whose requirements for translation and localization in the Middle East are expected to grow this year include IT, telecommunications, electronics and health.
To find out more about what a localization company can do for your business in the Middle East contact us now!
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