TMS Challenges: Top 5 Reasons Why Companies Avoid TMS Migration Projects

TMS挑战:公司回避TMS迁移项目的5大原因

2021-04-06 02:50 Nimdzi Insights

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Report written by Yulia Akhulkova. Evaluating and migrating between translation management systems (TMS) is a lot of work and there are always reasons not to do it. It might be the fear of moving away from a familiar TMS, even if it isn’t fit for purpose, the impact on other teams and external stakeholders, or the prospect of the time, technical work, and costs involved. The number of TMS solutions on the market can also make the decision far from simple and straightforward. …But taking back control over a language tech stack is well worth the effort! Why? Re-evaluating your TMS not only enables you to address functional limitations, but it also provides an opportunity to reconsider your entire localization process. Like software developers, localization teams need to “refactor” their TMS regularly to avoid falling behind the curve. Equally, it’s important not to be afraid of new TMS technology. The range of options means that there will certainly be a solution, or a combination of solutions, that will meet your needs — we really are spoiled for choice! Source: Nimdzi Language Technology Atlas 2020 Often, companies acknowledge the need to upgrade their TMS, but that doesn’t necessarily make it happen any faster. Here are the top five reasons why TMS migrations are put on hold, and some advice on what to do to get them up and running again. 1. I don’t have the in-house expertise Even the most technically minded members of a localization team may feel that they’re not qualified enough to compare all of the different features, integrations, supported workflows, etc. available in a range of TMS solutions, let alone select the most suitable option. Some companies solve this by hiring a full-time engineer. But beyond just understanding TMS technology, does the new hire also understand the localization industry in general? Are they able to make the best decisions for the whole company and be trusted with implementing and optimizing one of the most expensive and important components of a globalization program? As a general rule, it’s best that any TMS selection or migration project be a team activity, involving members who know the industry and have experience with similar projects. You may find that at least some of the necessary knowledge already exists within your internal localization team, so it becomes more a question of supporting them in sharing their expertise and opinions and carrying out additional research. With this internal team in place, you then have the option of contracting an engineer for the length of the project instead of hiring someone full time. And it’s okay, too, if none of this is feasible. There are TMS experts who can help. 2. I don’t have time. There are too many competing priorities We all have experience around big projects being put on hold when the benefits — especially in terms of monetary value — aren’t clear. Estimating the positive financial impact of a TMS migration can prove challenging, and it’s not uncommon for this to be the reason why migration projects are put off for years. Everyone on the localization team may know the issue has to be dealt with, but without understanding the benefits, no one is really quite motivated enough to allocate the necessary internal resources. The key to overcoming this pain point is to carry out an in-depth analysis and understand the costs associated with the old system compared to the savings associated with a new solution. Typically, once the team sees how much the current TMS (or lack thereof) is really costing them, they’ll begin to understand the importance of the migration project. 3. It's too risky. I’ll get blamed if it fails TMS selection and migration projects are risky business. One major concern for many leaders is reputational damage: this type of project can be controversial as there’s rarely a solution that satisfies the needs of all stakeholders involved. External vendors will also need to ensure that projects can continue to be processed in adherence with established KPIs/SLAs. Of course, we should remember that the goal is not to make each individual stakeholder happy, but to find the best solution for the organization as a whole. Therefore, the key to a successful project is to prioritize results over office politics and people-pleasing. This isn’t easy and it’s the reason why many leaders choose to bring in outside help. By engaging with an external TMS expert, you increase your chances of success while reducing the risk of any backlash from stakeholders. 4. What if I break the supply chain? The prospect of rebuilding the web of integrations and patches that have grown around the familiar solution can be quite challenging for both internal and external stakeholders. The TMS migration gets more complicated when one vendor supplies both the TMS and linguistic services. And, then, the challenge becomes even more daunting if the majority of translation jobs are small such as, for example, in a continuous localization workflow. Fortunately, most vendors will be happy to lend their expertise. But while supplier companies usually have qualified solution architects for you to learn from, they may not always be the most unbiased advisors. There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to consolidating the localization supply chain, but these need to be weighed within the unique context of each organization. So, a TMS migration project should be considered as an opportunity to consolidate and simplify the localization supply chain. 5. It’s really difficult to get stakeholder buy-in Technology is just the beginning. If you’re planning to select and deploy a new TMS, there will be cultural and organizational hurdles to overcome. This is why it’s important to identify and include all relevant stakeholders from the very beginning. One effective strategy is to start by conducting interviews or organizing focus groups. This approach enables you to gather vital feedback for the project, while also introducing the change across the organization. Preparing the team for change is just as important as defining the change, so don’t leave out this vital step. Having read through these top five reasons, how many do you identify with? And don’t worry if it’s all five — you’re not alone! Sometimes the time isn’t right for you to embark on such a demanding project or teams aren’t ready to invest in innovation. However, companies who have carried out successful TMS migration projects all say the same thing — they wish they had started sooner.
报道由尤利娅·阿库尔科娃撰写。 在翻译管理系统(TMS)之间进行评估和迁移是一项大量的工作,而且总是有理由不去做。它可能是害怕远离熟悉的TMS(即使它不适合于目的),对其他团队和外部涉众的影响,或者所涉及的时间,技术工作和成本的前景。市场上TMS解决方案的数量也可以使决策远非简单直白。 …但是夺回对语言技术堆栈的控制权是非常值得的! 为什么?重新评估您的TMS不仅使您能够解决功能限制,而且它还提供了一个机会来重新考虑您的整个本地化过程。与软件开发人员一样,本地化团队需要定期“重构”他们的TMS,以避免落后于曲线。 同样,不要害怕新的TMS技术也很重要。选择的范围意味着肯定会有一个解决方案,或解决方案的组合,将满足您的需求-我们真的是被宠坏的选择! 资料来源:Nimdzi语言技术图谱2020 通常,公司都承认有必要升级他们的TMS,但这并不一定会让它发生得更快。 以下是TMS迁移被搁置的五大原因,以及如何重新启动和运行TMS迁移的一些建议。 1.我没有内部的专业知识 即使是本地化团队中最有技术头脑的成员也可能会觉得他们没有足够的资格来比较一系列TMS解决方案中可用的所有不同特性,集成,支持的工作流等,更不用说选择最合适的选项了。 有些公司通过雇佣一个全职工程师来解决这个问题。但除了了解TMS技术之外,新员工是否也了解本地化行业的总体情况呢?他们是否能够为整个公司做出最好的决定,并被信任来实施和优化全球化计划中最昂贵和最重要的组成部分之一? 作为一个一般规则,任何TMS选择或迁移项目最好是一个团队活动,要有了解该行业并具有类似项目经验的成员参与。您可能会发现,在您的内部本地化团队中至少已经存在一些必要的知识,因此这就变得更多的是一个支持他们分享专业知识和意见以及进行额外研究的问题。 有了这个内部团队,你就可以选择在整个项目期间雇佣一个工程师,而不是雇佣一个全职的工程师。如果这些都不可行也没关系。有TMS专家可以帮忙。 2.我没有时间。有太多相互竞争的优先事项 我们都有过这样的经历:当大项目的收益--特别是在货币价值方面--不清楚时,就会被搁置。估计TMS迁移的积极财务影响是很有挑战性的,这也是迁移项目被推迟数年的原因。本地化小组的每个人都知道这个问题必须处理,但在不了解好处的情况下,没有人真的有足够的动力去分配所需的内部资源。 克服这一痛点的关键是进行深入分析,了解与新解决方案相关联的节约相比,旧系统相关联的成本。通常,一旦团队看到当前的TMS(或缺乏TMS)确实给他们带来了多少成本,他们就会开始理解迁移项目的重要性。 3.风险太大。如果失败了,我会受到责备的 TMS选择和迁移项目是风险较大的业务。对许多领导者来说,一个主要的担忧是声誉受损:这种类型的项目可能会引起争议,因为很少有解决方案能满足所有涉众的需求。外部供应商还需要确保项目能够继续按照既定的KPI/SLA进行处理。 当然,我们应该记住,目标不是让每个单独的涉众高兴,而是为组织整体找到最佳的解决方案。因此,一个成功的项目的关键是将结果优先于办公室政治和取悦他人。这并不容易,这也是许多领导人选择引入外界帮助的原因。 通过与外部TMS专家进行接触,您可以增加成功的机会,同时降低风险承担者的任何反对的风险。 4.如果我断了供应链怎么办? 对于内部和外部涉众来说,重建围绕熟悉的解决方案发展起来的集成和补丁网络的前景可能是相当具有挑战性的。当一个供应商同时提供TMS和语言服务时,TMS迁移变得更加复杂。然后,如果大多数翻译工作都很小,例如在连续的本地化工作流中,挑战就会变得更加艰巨。 幸运的是,大多数供应商都乐意提供他们的专业知识。但是,尽管供应商公司通常有合格的解决方案架构师供您学习,但他们并不总是最公正的顾问。 当然,巩固本地化供应链有优点和缺点,但这些需要在每个组织的独特环境中权衡。因此,TMS迁移项目应该被视为巩固和简化本地化供应链的一个机会。 5.很难得到利益相关者的认同 科技只是一个开始。如果您计划选择和部署一个新的TMS,将有文化和组织障碍需要克服。这就是为什么从一开始就确定并包括所有相关涉众是很重要的。 一个有效的策略是从进行面谈或组织焦点小组开始。这种方法使您能够收集项目的重要反馈,同时在整个组织中引入变更。 为变更做准备与定义变更同样重要,所以不要遗漏这一关键步骤。 读完这五大理由后,你认同其中几个?如果是五个也别担心--你不是一个人! 有时候,你不适合进行这样一个要求很高的项目,或者团队还没有准备好投资于创新。然而,那些进行了成功的TMS迁移项目的公司都说了同样的话--他们希望自己早一点开始。

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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