Forrester Research: Global Web Firms Turning to Automated Translation to Expand Business while Controlling Costs
Despite current economic challenges, the majority of web companies plan to spend more on their global initiatives in 2009 than they did last year, reports Forrester Research. With an eye toward efficiency and savings, these companies are going to rely on innovations like automated language translation to spend their dollars wisely.
According to Forrester, 60 percent of online businesses with a global presence are going to boost their spending in 2009, while just 42 percent of those with only a domestic footprint are planning to do so.
While spending may be going up, Forrester says that global firms are making a conscious effort to be smarter about how they’re spending their dollars.
Forrester Senior Analyst Zia Daniell Wigder recently wrote on The Forrester Blog for EBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals that there “is a renewed focus on how and where this spending is being allocated.”
A key area of investment is translation and localization, according to Zia, and retailers with an international presence are seeking ways to reduce these costs. One solution that companies are talking about — and using — is automated language translation:
“… [M]achine translation has reached a level at which it’s being deployed on some prominent consumer-facing websites. TripAdvisor is currently using the technology for consumer reviews and Intel has used machine translation in its customer service initiatives … [I]nterest in the technology is increasing given that many companies cannot otherwise justify translating large volumes of content.”
You can read the full blog post here.
