Five reasons NOT to use separate TMS and CAT tools

不单独使用翻译管理系统(TMS)和计算机辅助翻译工具(CAT)的五大理由

2020-04-22 03:00 Smartcat

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Historically, many LSPs have been using TMS tools to manage translation projects and CAT tools to do the actual translations. In this article, we provide some arguments against this approach. When you start an LSP, computer-aided translation tools are one of the first things you want to use. The need for translation management systems, on the other hand, may not manifest itself early on — or it may just be prohibitively expensive for you. You have your folders, you have your Excel spreadsheet, what else do you need? Fast-forward a couple of years, and you start realizing the overheads of this makeshift approach. If the CAT tool you originally chose is not seamlessly integrated into a bigger solution that also includes a TMS, you are forced to look for a standalone TMS solution. The point we’re trying to make in this article is that using a separate TMS tool does not eliminate messy practices, it just makes them even messier. “Using a separate TMS tool does not eliminate messy practices, it just makes them even messier.” Let’s see why. 1. It’s inefficient and expensive This one’s a no-brainer. Both CAT and TMS tools are specialized solutions, and specialized solutions tend to cost a lot. Some tools, such as Smartcat, use a different monetization model and don’t have to — or chose not to — charge by the “seat”. But in general, you can easily make three- or even four-figure payments to own a combined solution. Let’s admit it, being forced to buy a software to manage another software is just silly. Why not simplify everything by using just one technology vendor? By combining all interrelated software flows between the CAT and TMS parts, the vendor won’t need to charge you twice the price for two closely related products. 2. It’s twice the onboarding effort When you have two tools with different UIs and user experience, you have to train your employees to use both. And then you have to do the same with your freelancers. It’s no secret for most LSPs that onboarding someone who works on the other side of the world is no walk in the park. Now multiply this by two. With just one tool, it’s not only the single user interface that will make the onboarding easier. It’s also the more intuitive and automated flow within different parts of the system. For example, if to make a payment you just have to accept a translation project, and the payables will be calculated automatically, it’s naturally much easier than manually transferring these calculations from the CAT tool to the TMS. 3. It’s twice the customization and maintenance costs The more you use a specific piece of software, the more areas for improvement you start seeing. Most tools — whether CAT or TMS — have customization options, but doing this for two tools means that you’ll have to spend more time looking into what each has to offer as far as customization is concerned. Besides, no system is devoid of flaws. As they teach in tech schools, the more complex a system, the more likely it is that something will go wrong. So when you have two complex systems side by side, and a bunch of connections between them to enable data exchange, — the probability of things getting messy more than doubles. 4. It’s two support teams to talk to And, now that we’re talking about things going wrong, it’s of critical importance to have good support. For this reason, always check the developer’s G2 reviews to make sure that they won’t leave you hanging when you most need them. But, even with great support for your tools, with two of them, you might run into the classic blaming game of one tool’s developers pointing at the other’s. The thing is, the boundaries between CAT and TMS are sometimes so vague that it will really be impossible to tell whether an issue relates to one or the other. For example, if an invoice shows the wrong amount, is it because the CAT tool incorrectly counted the words, or because the TMS tool incorrectly applied the translation memory discounts? 5. Buying a system just to manage another system makes no sense Let’s face it, this ☝️ should be obvious. It’s just due to past practices and rooted-in inefficiencies that many LSPs continue doing it this way. Or, you could ask the opposite question: “Why buy a translation tool that requires something else to manage it?” In 2020, it is finally time to understand that the division into CAT and TMS, CAT and terminology management, TMS and Marketplace, and so on — all of these are a thing of the past. Today, you can have everything that you need to run your translation or localization team in one place. Whether it’s Smartcat or another translation platform is your choice to make — but please, don’t try to put one egg in two baskets.
以往,许多语言服务商(LSP)一直使用翻译管理系统(TMS)管理翻译项目,使用计算机辅助翻译工具(CAT)来完成实际的翻译。 本文不支持单独使用TMS和CAT工具并阐述了理由。 一方面,启动语言服务提供程序(LSP)时,计算机辅助翻译工具是您的首选工具之一;另一方面,您可能在前期不会对翻译管理系统有需求,或者对您来说,需求成本可能高得让人望而却步。您有文件夹,电子表格,您还需要什么?单独使用TMS和CAT工具只是临时之计,未来几年,你会开始意识到这种临时之计的高额成本。 如果您最初选择的 CAT工具没有融合包含TMS的更大服务中,您必须寻找独立的TMS服务。 我们在本文中想要说明的一点是,单独使用TMS工具并不能解决棘手的翻译实践问题,反而只会让翻译实践变得更加棘手。 “单独使用TMS工具并不能解决棘手的翻译实践问题,反而只会让翻译实践变得更加棘手。” 为什么呢? 1.效率低、成本高 很明显,CAT和TMS都是提供专业服务的工具,而专业服务往往意味着高成本。有些工具(如Smartcat计算机辅助翻译)采取不同的盈利模式,没有(或选择不)按“座”收费。但总的来说,您可以轻松地支付三位数甚至四位数的费用以获得一个综合性服务。 毋容置疑,为了管理一个软件而被迫购买另一个软件的做法确实很愚蠢。 为什么不只使用一个技术供应商来简化一切呢? 技术供应商可以合并CAT和TMS工具的所有相关软件流程,因此不需要为两个紧密相连的产品向您重复收费。 2.管理难度增加一倍 当您有两个不同用户界面和用户体验的工具时,您必须培训您的员工使用这两种工具。同样地, 您也必须培训自由职业翻译。 对于大多数语言服务商(LSP)来说,管理员工并不像在公园里散步那样简单,这已经不是什么秘密了。 难度加大一倍。 只使用一个工具时,它不仅拥有单一用户界面,简化管理程序,而且拥有系统不同部分中更直观和自动化的流程。例如,如果要付款,您只需接管一个翻译项目,并且应付款项将自动计算,那么自然比手动将这些计算程序从CAT工具转移到TMS要容易得多。 3. 定制和维护成本翻一番 您使用特定软件的次数越多,就会发现更多需要改进的地方。 大多数工具(不管是CAT还是TMS)都有定制选项,改进这两个工具意味着您必须花费更多的时间来研究每一个工具就定制而言必须提供的功能。 况且,任何系统都不是完美无瑕的。 正如技术学校教的那样,一个系统越复杂,出问题的可能性就越大。 因此,当你有两个并行的复杂系统,并且它们之间有实现数据交换的联系时,事情变得混乱的可能性会增加一倍以上。 4.要和两个支持团队交谈 而且,既然我们在谈论事情会出问题,那么获得良好的支持就显得至关重要。 因此,请务必检查开发者的G2评论,以确保在您最需要它们时不会让您失望。 不过,即使有两个工具对您的工具都提供了强大的支持,您也可能会陷入责怪的漩涡中,即一个工具的开发人员将矛头指向另一个工具的开发人员。 问题是,CAT和TMS之间的界限有时十分模糊,以至于的确不可能区分一个问题是否与其中一个有关。 例如,如果发票金额显示错误,是因为CAT工具计算单词数时出现了错误,还是因为TMS工具错误地应用了翻译记忆折扣? 5.购买一个系统只是为了管理另一个系统是没有意义的 面对现实吧!显而易见, 正是由于过去的做法和牢不可破的低效率,许多语言服务商仍继续采用这种方式——购买一个系统只为了管理另一个系统。 或者,您可以反过来思考: “为什么要购买一个需要其他工具来管理的翻译工具呢?” 到了2020年,我们终于应该明白,CAT和TMS,CAT和术语管理,TMS和市场等等的划分已经成为过去。 如今,您可以将一个翻译团队或本地化团队的全部所需资源集中到一处。 无论是Smartcat计算机辅助翻译平台还是其他翻译平台,您都可以选择——但请不要试图在两个篮子里放一个鸡蛋。

以上中文文本为机器翻译,存在不同程度偏差和错误,请理解并参考英文原文阅读。

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