The Principle of Translation Management Systems

What is a Translation Management System?

A translation management system (TMS) is a central platform for controlling and managing translation management in an organization. A translation management system is used to create translation orders, assign these orders to service providers, and check the quality of the translations. A typical translation management system includes features relating to project management, translation memory technology, terminology databases, and computer-assisted translation.

Companies that operate in international markets need to make their content available in a variety of languages. From creation to publication, a text often traverses a highly complex process involving representatives of many different parties, from the company itself to language service providers through to translators. The more languages you add, the more complex it becomes to manually manage the necessary processes.

The entire translation process can be made much more efficient through the use of a translation management system, as such systems help to localize product and corporate communication in a faster, better, and more cost-efficient manner. Depending on the translation management system and translation volume, the savings potential is so great that the return on investment can often be reaped in as little as 18 months.

This white paper explains the basic functionality as well as the key modules of a translation management system. It also shows where the potential savings from translation management can be found and how a translation management system can leverage these savings.