Translation management systems (TMS) are integral to the translation processes of enterprise organizations and translation service providers. In this guide to translation management software, we answer your questions here in an easy-to-understand way.

In this article, you’ll learn:

• what is a translation management system
• TMS benefits
• how translation management software works
• and more!

What is Translation Management?

Translation management means managing content and processes involved with converting text from one language to another.

Components of Translation Management

Overseeing the entire lifecycle of translating content from one language to another encompasses a variety of tasks and responsibilities, including:

• Content Analysis: Assessing the source material to understand its context, purpose, and audience, which helps in determining the appropriate translation strategy.

• Resource Allocation: Selecting and managing translators, editors, and proofreaders who are skilled in the target languages and subject matter. This may also involve contracting or hiring translation freelancers or agencies.

• Project Planning: Developing a timeline and workflow for the translation project, including setting deadlines, milestones, and deliverables.

• Tool Utilization: Implementing and managing translation tools and technologies, such as translation memory systems, computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools, and machine translation, to improve efficiency and consistency.

• Quality Assurance: Establishing and enforcing quality control processes to ensure the accuracy, fluency, and cultural appropriateness of the translated content. This includes conducting reviews and revisions.

• Content Localization: Adapting the translated content to fit the cultural and regional nuances of the target audience, which goes beyond simple word-for-word translation to consider idiomatic expressions, cultural references, and local regulations.

• Terminology Management: Creating and maintaining glossaries and style guides to ensure consistency in terminology and style across all translated materials.

• Workflow Management: Coordinating the various stages of the translation process, from initial content preparation to final delivery, while ensuring clear communication and collaboration among all stakeholders.

• Budget Management: Monitoring and controlling costs associated with translation projects, including labor, tools, and any additional resources.

• Stakeholder Communication: Keeping project stakeholders informed about project progress, addressing any questions or concerns, and ensuring their requirements and expectations are met.

• Post-Project Evaluation: Analyzing the completed project to identify areas for improvement and gather feedback for future translation efforts.

Effective translation management ensures that the translated content is accurate, culturally relevant, and delivered on time. It will meet the specific needs of the target audience while maintaining the integrity of the original message.

What is a Translation Management System?

A translation management system (TMS) is a system that aids in the development, management and automation of language translation (converting text from one language to another). This includes digital content, web assets and more. Translation management systems are also commonly referred to as translation management software.

This type of software platform falls into the category of computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools. A TMS helps translate, organize and manage large volumes of translated texts and documents.

Translation management systems are solutions used to centralize translations and facilitate a collaborative and streamlined translation workflow. Because translation management is rarely a one-person job, centralized access and easy collaboration are highly desirable in this type of translation software. This is why cloud translation management systems have become increasingly popular, as they can be accessed from a browser.

In short, translation management systems are productivity enhancers for human translation.

How Do Translation Management Systems Work?

In a translation management system, the user uploads a file in the source language, which is then automatically translated into the target language by a machine translation engine. These TMS software programs are commonly built on the Microsoft Translator or Google Translate engine framework, which provides a rough translation for the bulk of the document. 

The text is then presented in an interface where it is separated into segments. These segments contain phrases or sentences, and the source language and target language version of the segments are aligned side-by-side.

The target language segments can then be revised within the same interface by someone who possesses written fluency of the target language. This process is called post-editing, and it serves to improve the quality of the machine-translated text (since machine translation isn’t perfect).

Post-editing within the software allows for a contextual experience, which helps the branding and intent of the document to remain intact.

Machine Learning and Translation Management Systems

In premium translation management systems, machine learning (a form of artificial intelligence) is oftentimes employed to remember the improved version of the machine-translated phrases and sentences that were post-edited. These are stored in a Translation Memory.

A Translation Memory (TM) is a bilingual repository within the software. It stores edited translations for future automatic recall. The Translation Memory automatically applies these changes to all repetitions of the phrase within the active document and future projects.

5 Benefits of Translation Management Systems (TMS)

Here are the 5 main benefits of a translation management system:

1. Delivers continuous translation quality improvements
2. Eliminates repetitive post-editing of the same sentence or phrase
3. Reduces manual labor (hours worked)
4. Reduces translation-related costs
5. Provides a return on investment

When You Should Use a TMS

It’s time to adopt a better system for managing translations when you:

• Manage translations in spreadsheets
• Go back and forth by email or Slack with collaborators
• Have a large volume of documents and content to process

You can also take this assessment to determine whether or not you need one.

Who Uses Translation Management Software?

Medium-to-large enterprises are the most common users of a translation management system. Sometimes they leverage the benefits of TMS by way of hiring a translation agency, but they can further conserve resources by managing their translations in-house. 

Enterprise translation management systems are popular due to the sizable amount of written text enterprises produce and use on a daily basis. When enterprises convert the language of a text to communicate with multilingual audiences, stakeholders and employees, it typically requires a generous amount of resources. 

Managing multiple languages and dialects is time-intensive. These software applications can aid in translation productivity and quality assurance for these companies. As a result, they save money on translation and reduce hours worked.

Selecting a Translation Management Solution

Selecting a translation management solution is no easy decision. Even with all the TMS reviews and comparison tools available online, it’s still difficult to decipher which one is right for you. However, the following information will help you narrow it down.

Best TMS Features

Regardless of the translation management software you choose, there are specific translation and localization features you should always look for. Choose one based on these must-have features: 

1. File translator
2. Copy-and-paste text translator (gisting)
3. Translation editor
4. Machine learning & translation memory
5. Terminology management & termbase glossary support 
6. Batch file translation
7. Flexible file type compatibility
8. Collaboration: translation tracking, edit history, invite colleague to edit file
9. Messaging & contextual conversation log
10. User permission controls
11. Ample commercial language pairs
12. Spellcheck & custom dictionary
13. Enterprise-level translation security
14. Compliant with industry mandates (e.g. GDPR, HIPAA)
15. Live customer support
16. Flexible purchase plans for scalability
17. Robust API access for integrations
18. Cloud-based translation management platform
19. Real-time analytics & reporting
20. Google Drive integration

Learn more about the best translation management system features.

Cloud vs. Desktop TMS

A cloud-based TMS platform is going to allow for more flexibility and less downtime than a desktop-based one. Here are 10 benefits of a cloud translation management system:

1. Access your cloud-based TMS from multiple devices

2. Greater insight into translation project status

3. Better communication equals better collaboration

4. No installation necessary

5. More uptime

6. Better value

7. Operating system compatibility doesn’t matter

8. Translate from anywhere on the globe

9. Easy onboarding & user friendliness

10. Enterprise-level security (verify with the TMS provider)

Learn more about the benefits of cloud-based translation management.

Get Started with Pairaphrase

Want to use a better system for managing translations? Try Pairaphrase. It’s the AI-powered translation management system for teams who value smarter, faster and safer translation. Not to mention you get all the features and must-haves listed above, plus more.

Schedule a demo or share this article with a colleague.