Mirela
Handling localization in-house is great, but what if—for whatever reason—can’t put together a team of experts to help you translate and adapt your content? The alternative is localization outsourcing, an approach that can even help you save time and money on localization. If you haven’t yet decided if this is the right choice for you, here are some pros and cons to help you reach a conclusion.
Should you outsource localization?
In short: it depends. Some of the deciding factors include your company’s resources, expertise, and strategic goals. Outsourcing is a great idea if you’re looking to expand into new markets as quickly as possible but have yet to put together a team of localization experts. External providers already have teams of linguists and cultural experts who can expedite the process.
Cost efficiency also comes into play. Building and maintaining an in-house localization team can get pretty expensive. By outsourcing, you can manage costs more effectively, scaling up or down as needed. However, there are situations where keeping localization in-house may be preferable.
If you’re a company that handles highly sensitive or confidential content, however, you may feel more secure managing the process internally. In addition, companies with complex products or services that require tight integration between developers and localization teams might benefit more from in-house collaboration.
Who benefits most from localization outsourcing?
Small and medium-sized enterprises are, without a doubt, those that resort most to outsourcing localization. These companies often lack the resources to maintain an in-house localization team, so outsourcing would be the practical and cost-effective solution. Startups, too, can benefit from outsourcing to avoid overstretching their limited resources.
Even global enterprises, despite their scale, frequently outsource certain localization tasks, especially for niche markets or languages. This is due to the fact that external providers can handle overflow work and should be able to provide specialized expertise in less common languages.
Best practices for outsourcing localization
What are your goals, target languages, and desired outcomes? These are the first questions you need to ask yourself before deciding which localization partner to go with. Look for agencies or freelancers with a proven track record in your industry and target markets. Nowaday, it’s easy to check their past projects, client testimonials, and assess the provider’s expertise in specific languages/regions to establish if they’re a good fit.
Maintaining brand consistency is very important, so make sure to put together a style guide and glossary of key terms for your localization partner. A style guide is a document that outlines the rules for the tone, voice, and formatting across all content, while a glossary is a list of key terms and phrases, along with their approved translations or definitions.
Once your content has been localized, it should be reviewed by native speakers and tested in real-world scenarios for accuracy and functionality. For digital products, this may involve testing user interfaces to make sure that the localized software performs correctly. This feedback should also provide insight into the quality of work delivered by your localization partner and whether or not it meets your standards.
Challenges of localization outsourcing
So, now that we’ve talked about the good, we should also mention some of the potential risks of localization outsourcing. When you externalize the process, quality control may be harder to manage. To mitigate this risk, choose a reputable provider and establish clear quality benchmarks.
Companies managing sensitive content are usually concerned with data security, so be sure to get informed about the data protection protocols your potential provider has in place. Communication and coordination can also present challenges, especially when you’re working from different time zones. Check-in regularly with your provider and use collaborative tools like POEditor to keep your projects on track.