How to speed up time to market with localization strategies

Localization is a must if you’re looking to expand your business beyond your borders. However, it’s also true that this process can often be a lengthy one, especially if there’s a lot of content to adapt. We know a few strategies that can help you speed up time to market when doing localization. Don’t worry, it’s totally possible to accelerate this process without compromising quality.

What affects time to market?

First off, you should understand the factors that typically influence time to market in localization. The complexity of the content, the number of target languages, and the readiness of the product for localization are some of the main considerations. Another critical factor is the efficiency of workflows and tools. Luckily, modern localization management platforms, translation memory, and machine translation can save time.

Poor communication, inefficient approvals, or overly complex quality assurance processes are also critical factors that affect time to market. And let’s not forget about things like scope and scale of the project, as well as the number of markets targeted, play a role; these too play a role. Next, we’re sharing some tips on how to address these factors.

Plan localization from the start

Many companies, unfortunately, treat localization as a secondary task, something that happens only after the product is fully developed. However, retrofitting a product for international markets often requires extensive rework. Instead, by integrating localization planning into the earliest stages of product development, you can prevent future delays.

Internationalizing your software (structuring it to handle multiple languages and regional variations) eliminates various technical barriers that can arise later. In this phase, developers need to ensure that the design accommodates text expansion, supports multiple character sets, and allows dynamic date, time, and currency formatting, among other considerations.

Adopt Agile localization

Agile is now the most popular methodology in software development. Instead of waiting for a fully finalized product before starting localization, agile teams work in parallel, localizing smaller chunks of content as they are created. The outcome? Localization progresses at the same pace as development, thus significantly reducing the lag between product readiness and market launch.

Choose the right technology

The right tools can help you speed up time to market, primarily by cutting down manual tasks and enabling faster turnarounds. The best example would be a translation management platform (TMS), a tool that serves as a central hub for coordinating translation, reviewing, and quality assurance. Continuous localization is made possible by these tools, and your team can work on localization tasks in tandem with ongoing development. This way, you avoid the long delays of waiting for a final product.

Translation memory (TM) and machine translation (MT) are also powerful tools for accelerating localization without compromising quality. A TMS will offer both features. TM acts as a repository of previously translated phrases, sentences, and terms, which can be reused in future projects. On the other hand, MT uses artificial intelligence to translate content automatically; it’s useful for high-volume, time-sensitive content such as technical documentation or product updates.

Collaborate in real-time

Localization is a collaborative effort that involves various types of professionals like linguists, developers, and project managers. To speed up time to market, it’s important for everyone to be on the same page. Delays often occur when questions go unanswered, or when issues are discovered too late in the process. When you use real-time collaboration tools like cloud-based localization platforms, your team members can work simultaneously and everyone stays aligned.

Automate quality assurance

Manual quality assurance (QA) doesn’t cut it these days because it can be a major time sink. Automating parts of the QA process is known to not only speed up delivery but also keep results consistent. For example, if you use automated tools, you can scan for common issues like missing translations, formatting errors, or inconsistencies in terminology. These tools can also flag placeholder mismatches or untranslated segments.

Of course, human review will always remain essential for nuanced quality checks, but automation sure does eliminate much of the routine work. And by eliminating that routine, you allow linguists and QA specialists to focus on tasks where they are needed most. The result is a faster and more reliable localization workflow.

Use modular content structures

Another way to speed up localization is using content modules. When you break down content into smaller, reusable components, they can be localized independently. This is great when you want to update or localize only the sections that have changed, rather than the entire product; your turnaround times for updates will be significantly reduced.

Use a TMS like POEditor

As we previously mentioned, using a cloud-based TMS can speed up time to market. POEditor integrates with development tools to enable continuous localization. This means that translation can take place simultaneously with product development. It’s a way to reduce delays and ensure that your localized versions are ready as soon as the core product is complete.

Key features of POEditor, such as translation memory and machine translation—that you now know how important they are—enhance speed and consistency. By combining these two tools, it is possible to cut down the time spent on repetitive tasks. POEditor also provides glossaries and collaborative tools for efficient communication and consistency.

Overall, by leveraging POEditor’s functionality, you can deliver your localized products to any market you want faster than ever.