Our customers‘ interest in cloud-based solutions remains unabated, which is why we at berns language consulting are regularly undertaking market analyses in the field. By now, this area of business has become equally important both to experienced tool creators and young companies. While industry veterans mostly see the cloud as a complement to their core products, newcomers such as Text United generate synergies and new solutions.
Flexible and multifunctional
What exactly can the cloud offer in the field of language technology? It goes without saying that cloud-based systems offer greater independence from operating systems and locations, easier collaboration and greater savings through installation-free operation and flexible licensing models.
Additionally, manufacturers of cloud-based CAT tools strive to meet the needs of the customer with a single system. They not only combine translation memory with terminology management and translation management, but also attach a high level of importance to business intelligence and seamless interfaces, such as web content management systems and e-commerce tools.
And there’s more: cloud-based solutions offer a good starting point from which to expand the cooperation potential between customers and translators. This can be achieved both through crowdsourcing and professional translation services and may allow to grab a slice of the market which is still firmly in the hands of traditional LSPs. Text United, an emerging company which is still relatively unknown in Germany, is doing exactly that.
Text United – a CAT tool with its own translation agency
Founded in 2009 with its headquarters in Vienna and a development team in Sarajevo, Text United manages translation projects for companies and organizations using its very own CAT tool. A monthly, volume-based subscription service already includes a certain translation budget. This business model provides a welcome cost transparency and clear functional structures depending on the selected subscription level. When setting up a project, the client has the option of having the translation performed internally or outsourcing via Text United to their pool of professional translators.
The design of the browser-based CAT tool is extremely simple, which facilitates intuitive operation on the one hand but inevitably limits the spectrum of functions on the other. In particular, the glossary component cannot keep pace with the sophisticated term databases of established competitors. However, Text United offers a number on very exciting integration options: off-the-shelf interfaces to BitBucket, Dropbox, GitHub or HubSpot suggest that the company’s target clients are high-tech IT companies and start-ups.
The developers also came up with a nifty idea for translating websites: for small changes in the source text, the website is graphically displayed in the so-called Overlay Translation Editor within the tool, and then translated. It is also possible to set up automatic notification if the content in the source language is updated.
Like many vendors of cloud-based applications, Text United allows for traditional desktop use in addition to the online solution, which is visually and conceptually similar to popular office applications, such as Outlook. This can come in handy if offline work is required, for example, because of the poor internet connection. Both the browser version and the desktop version can be tested free of charge after registering.
Many options, personal choices…
Text United understands that modern companies with agile development processes want the flexibility to decide on a case-by-case basis how translation projects are handled. With Text United, companies get a platform that lets them choose whether they want to manage translation projects themselves or let the professionals working behind the scenes take charge. This business model, the neat website integration and the many interface options to other cloud data services make Text United an exciting provider that’s worth keeping an eye on..
Pictures: blc, Text United
