MAGAZINE

December 2023

Michael Levot opens up about his work at Appen and Canva and shares his tricks on how businesses can maintain focus on localization.

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sk anyone in business to name a takeaway from 2023, and the answer will most likely include generative AI. And it’s true — technology has had another growth spurt, and we’ve been shopping for its new shoes.

But when I asked some thought leaders at LocWorld50 in Silicon Valley what aspect of the language industry is forced to take a back seat, it’s workflow and pricing. These brothers to generative AI quietly wait for a new sweater while we frantically run from shoe store to shoe store.

At MultiLingual, we will keep covering all aspects of our industry’s rapid growth, focusing on technology. In this issue, all three major process or technology innovation winners expand on their vision. Articles also examine a comprehensive analysis and side-by-side comparison of the TMS landscape in 2023, plus what’s most important to stay in business — closing deals.

And let’s not forget there are many elements to doing our jobs effectively and with consideration. Much is changing, and it’s crucial not to lose sight of the many people who make it all possible. AI doesn’t have feelings or ambitions beyond its programming. Humans do. And they happen to be the ones programming said AI. We are in control, so keep calm, and let’s tackle 2024 as a community of people.

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COLUMN

A Tale of Pigs, Wolves, and Ostriches

By Ewandro Magalhães

Magalhães draws a connection between the Big Bad Wolf character in fairy tales and the language industry’s fear of change. What better way for the protagonist to triumph than to confront those fears head-on?

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BUSINESS

Negotiating Deals in the Localization Industry

As many businesses are allocating their budgets for the upcoming year, six sales specialists share their advice for closing deals in the language industry space — measuring success, personalization, and knowing the client’s perspective can go a long way.

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Standing Tall in a Small Market

By Nadya and Sotir Rangelov

The co-founders of Oltrans Translation Agency in Bulgaria share the story of how they developed a specialized website translation service during the pandemic by identifying and addressing their clients’ four main problems.

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PROFILE

Michael Levot: Keeping Localization in Focus

Interview by Cathy Martin

Localization hasn’t always been top of mind at large tech companies with hundreds of competing priorities. But that’s changing, and Michael Levot — head of localization at Canva — has seen this shift up close. Not only that, he’s been a driving force behind recent internationalization efforts at the Australian graphic design software company.

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TECHNOLOGY

LocWorld and TAUS 2023

By Bruno Bitter, Gabriel Fairman, and Veronica Hylák

As we explore the winning products from this year’s Process Innovation Challenges and AI Revolutionary Award, we’ll hear directly from these companies’ founders on what inspired their ideas and where they aim to go next.

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REVIEW

12 Translation Management Systems

By Jourik Ciesielski

What makes a translation management system (TMS) unique? Which one fits the needs of my business? We compare 12 prominent TMSs based on features like pricing, file formats, deployment models, and APIs.

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BUYER’S GUIDE

BUYER’S GUIDE

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