The pros and cons of outsourcing localization

When it comes to the localization process, it can be difficult to decide whether to bring the process in house, or if it’s better to rely on the services of one of the localization outsourcing companies, regularly known as language service providers (LSPs). In order to fully understand the pros and cons of outsourcing, it’s important to understand exactly what localization is, what the advantages and disadvantages of localization are, and what drives localization strategy for multinational enterprises.

Advantages and disadvantages of localization

Localization is becoming an increasingly important part of many companies’ businesses, as they continue to pursue new markets in international territories. So why is localization so vital?

• Speaking the same language as customers helps businesses build important brand loyalty
• Customers will feel more valued when they see their favourite company has created content, services or products specifically for them
• Advantage over other international companies in local markets, as well as competitive parity with local services
• A powerful opportunity to expand the business into new markets that don’t speak the language of the original content, service or product
• Ultimately, high quality localization is the key to increasing revenue

While there are plenty of advantages to localization, there aren’t a lot of disadvantages. The cons that do exist occur more as a result of poor localization strategy and management than any common disadvantage with the process as a whole.

Some potential disadvantages to poorly executed localization:

• Customers lose trust in the product when they see regular grammatical mistakes
• Potentially expensive if repeated translation is required due to low quality product
• Without deep knowledge of the local culture, it can be difficult to decide how to pitch new content and what types of language to use

So, what are the advantages of outsourcing localization?

Since localization is such an important process, it makes sense to keep everything in-house. Right? Well, the answer is a little more nuanced than a simple yes or no.

Keeping the localization process in-house means that the team will have extensive knowledge of all content, services and products from the very beginning, with less need for an on-boarding process, and a more direct line of communication between teams.

However, creating an in-house team of localization specialists who can advise on localization strategy from scratch can be an expensive and long process. This is where LSPs come in.

The most popular LSPs will have robust processes in place to ensure that all localized content is produced to the highest possible standards, with teams of subject matter expert linguists able to provide cultural insights for new target markets.

One potential disadvantage to outsourcing localization is that managing multiple vendors, one for each step of the process, can prove a demanding task and a drain on internal resources.

Enterprise Localization provides a solution

Founded in 1985, expert LSP Alpha CRC provides clients with end-to-end Enterprise Localization services. It creates teams of linguists, project managers and subject matter experts to offer in-depth advice on localization strategy. With a network of international offices and audiovisual studios, Alpha CRC is able to help clients refine their localization by centralizing all required services in one external LSP.

Alpha CRC’s follow-the-sun project management also helps ensure that localization is progressing as expected, and keeps clients up to date at every milestone.

For information on the current vacancies offered far and wide at Alpha CRC, click here.