Lots of information broken into bite-sized chunks…
Nimdzi is proud to announce a series of Insight Reports and resources related to Translation Management Systems and focused specifically on TMS functions, capabilities, and integrations.
TMS Overview
Integration map
TMS Compare tool
Insight Report: The connector game part 2
Now… on to what you came here for!
There is a secret war going on between developers in the translation industry – and it’s all about who offers the most useful connectors. The winner will be able to present themselves in a wholly new, unique, and relevant way to customers. Having a connector teleports the LSP from the translation world into the client world. This report is not only a great conversation opener and an awareness-building tool, but it’s also awesome for automation.
Let’s have a look at LSP strategies with connectors
Example #1: WordPress and WPML
WordPress WPML plugin creates a button to send posts to TransPerfect
Image source: https://cdn.wpml.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Sending_pages_for_translation.png
Example #2: Lingotek / Magento
Example #3: Wordbee / Sitecore
Example #4: Smartling / Adobe CQ
Value to buyers
Imagine that you are a marketer and you need to send an email campaign to 10,000 subscribers around the world. You think about translation for a moment then decide against it – it would take three days to set up 10 additional campaigns and get everything up, checked, and working and you’re on a deadline. But suddenly, you are presented with a button that automatically and simply takes care of this for you. You click and pay, and watch email conversion rates go up because clients are reading in their own language. Suddenly, your decision changes to “translate.”
As a software engineer responsible for a bilingual web shop with tens of thousands of items in stock, you don’t want to have manual exports every time a new T-shirt appears in your database. With hundreds of updates a week in several languages, an integration is a must, otherwise it would just be much too tedious.
In the role of an enterprise localization program director, your objective is to have connectors in place for most types of content produced in the company. If marketing, legal, development, and technical documentation departments all automatically send their content to the translation pipeline from inside their tools, the translation manager wouldn’t have to shuffle files around.
Many entry points, one process – the blueprint for integrated enterprise translation
LSP marketing strategies with plugins
A connector can be an amazing conversation opener with the users of the integrated CMS, PIM system or version control system at user conferences. By demonstrating the connector via videos and presentations, the LSP can clearly show additional value that they offer above and beyond competitor companies.
Developing a new integration can also become the foundation for a new and relevant digital marketing campaign. It’s possible to get user lists for selected software via communities, tools like Builtwith.com, and partnerships with software developers. LSPs can then email users of the software, or set up targeted Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google ads.
Connectors sit in plugin directories for CMS, and can be found by users who are looking to address translation challenges. Optimizing plugin names for search (i.e. naming them “Translation” or “Localization” plugins rather than simply “TMS N plugin”) can maximize these benefits.
Act now – under 13 percent of systems are covered
Conventional translation management systems offer anywhere from 10 – 70 connectors each, and Nimdzi’s Integration map beta based on 10 TMS systems lists 165 different integrations in total. There are more than 1,300 content management systems in the world and hundreds more help desks, PIM software brands, marketing automation tools, and other client systems, so it’s safe to say off-the-shelf integrations cover less than 13 percent of most popular systems.
Many areas are heavily under-served. Connectors are either:
- Too expensive (can cost about USD 4,000 per system for off-the shelf software or USD 10,000 for a custom development)
- Too few
- Too basic for the enterprise, or;
- Too slow and buggy
Furthermore, once developed, connectors do not necessarily support new features inside CMS:
- Web page builders
- Visualization tools, and;
- Custom short codes and object types
They require maintenance, and oftentimes also require customization to meet client needs.
Just like the translation world, this is a very fragmented space which allows any company to spring in and build a new piece of software in an under-served area. Once can also simply navigate the existing connectors, select the best ones, consult clients on integrations, and white-label where possible.
A new marketing and technology strategy awaits.
Thirsty for more TMS insights? Keep reading!
Check out more from this series of Insight Reports and resources related to Translation Management Systems and focusing specifically on their functions, capabilities, and integrations.
TMS Overview
Integration map
TMS Compare tool
