Why a Translation Management System Isn’t Enough: Here’s What You Need for Successful Translation

The silhouettes of two people talking to each other are depicted in front of a bookshelf; this symbolizes translation management with a translation management system.

What’s a translation management system?

A Translation Management System (TMS) is software designed to streamline and automate the translation process.

It helps organizations manage multilingual projects, keeping workflows efficient across teams. It also provides tools like translation memory, glossaries or term databases, and workflow automation to increase productivity.

Many TMS solutions handle translation technicalities. However, they typically don’t address creating clear, consistent, and easily translatable source content for multilingual audiences.

What are the challenges of managing multilingual content in technical documentation?

Managing multilingual content in technical documentation presents a range of challenges that can affect translation quality, consistency, and efficiency. Organizations create, translate, and publish a lot of technical content. The more dynamic the content supply chain, the higher the risk of translation-related issues to spread and cascade across the content supply chain. This is why content governance is a must-have for enterprises.

Now, let’s break each challenge down and expand it to provide a deeper understanding.

Maintaining translation quality across different languages

Translation quality directly impacts the usability and reliability of technical documentation. Poorly translated materials lead to confusion, product misuse, or compliance issues.

Achieving high-quality translations across different languages involves:

  • Linguistic accuracy: Making sure that translated terms are precise and consistent with the intended meaning.
  • Technical accuracy: Checking that industry-specific terminology, measurements, and technical descriptions are accurately translated.
  • Cultural nuances: Adapting tone and phrasing to suit the expectations and communication style of the target audience.
  • Quality assurance processes: Employing tools like translation memory, style guides, and automated quality checks to catch errors early in the localization process.

Considering cultural nuances in your localization

It’s crucial to make sure that content localization aligns with the specific culture of each target market.

Localization goes beyond simply translating words. It guarantees that content feels natural and relevant to the specific culture of the target market.

Essential considerations include:

  • Adapting content for cultural norms: Using imagery, symbols, and references that resonate with the local market.
  • Adjusting formats and conventions: Adapting elements like dates, currency, and units of measurement to align with regional preferences.
  • Respecting sensitivities: Avoiding cultural missteps that could alienate or offend the target audience.
  • Collaborating with native speakers: Engaging translators who are fluent in the local language and intimately familiar with the culture to guarantee authenticity.

Managing translation costs without compromising on quality

Budget constraints are a common hurdle in managing translation costs, especially for organizations translating large volumes of technical content.

Challenges include:

  • Balancing cost and expertise: Choosing between human translation for high-stakes content and machine translation for less critical tasks.
  • Reusing content intelligently: Taking advantage of previously translated content and translation memory to reduce redundant work.
  • Efficient workflows: Streamlining the translation process through automation and integration with content management systems.
  • Scalability: Managing costs effectively as the number of target languages or volume of content grows.

Avoiding terminological inconsistencies 

Using a translation memory, make sure you always use correct terminology consistently across multiple projects.

Inconsistent use of terminology across projects can confuse readers and diminish the credibility of technical documentation.

Challenges include:

  • Lack of standardized terminology: Without a centralized term database for translation, different translators may use varying terms for the same concept.
  • Terminology drift: Over time, translations may evolve inconsistently across projects, leading to discrepancies.
  • Integration issues: Making sure that your terminology database is compatible with all tools used in the localization workflow.
  • Version control: Keeping terminology up to date and making sure that all team members are using the latest version.

The complexity of manual tasks and vendor coordination for project managers

Project managers face numerous challenges in managing localization, complicating the delivery of clear and accurate documentation.

These challenges include:

  • Manual tasks: Tasks like file preparation, formatting adjustments, and proofreading consume significant time and resources.
  • Vendor coordination: Managing multiple vendors, including translation agencies and language service providers, often results in communication gaps and delays.
  • Tracking progress: Monitoring the status of multiple projects across various stages without a centralized system can lead to bottlenecks and missed deadlines.
  • Quality control: Balancing speed and efficiency while maintaining translation quality requires a reliable system for oversight and feedback.

How does a TMS help streamline technical documentation?

A Translation Management System (TMS) is crucial for creating and managing multilingual technical documents easier and better.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of how a TMS contributes to a more efficient localization workflow.

Centralizing assets like corporate and translation memory

By keeping already translated content and your terminology in one place, a TMS helps make sure that translated content is consistent.

A TMS acts as a centralized repository for crucial translation resources such as terminology and translation memory.

This centralization helps teams to:

  • Maintain terminology consistency: By using a shared terminology database, translators use standardized terms, minimizing discrepancies across projects.
  • Use previously translated content: A translation memory stores segments of previously translated content. This allows translators to reuse exact or similar matches in new projects, reducing both time and cost.
  • Facilitate collaboration: Centralized assets make it easier for teams across locations to access up-to-date resources, fostering alignment in all target languages.
  • Improve quality assurance: Consistent terminology improves the clarity and reliability of technical documentation, improving the experience for multilingual audiences through increased readability and less confusion.

Automating manual processes: reducing errors and saving time

Manual tasks in the translation process, such as text extraction, formatting, and project tracking, can be error-prone and time-consuming.

A TMS introduces workflow automation to:

  • Streamline repetitive tasks: Automating processes like file conversion, text segmentation, and language assignment reduces the workload for project managers and translators.
  • Minimize human error: Automation ensures accuracy in tasks that may be prone to mistakes when performed manually, such as maintaining consistent formatting across multiple documents.
  • Increase scalability: Automated workflows make it easier to handle larger volumes of content and different languages, especially as organizations expand into new markets.
  • Improve project management: Many TMS solutions provide immediate updates on project status, allowing teams to track progress and address potential delays efficiently.

Providing visual context: helping translators understand content in its intended layout

One of the challenges in technical documentation is making sure that translators understand how the content will appear to the end user.

A TMS addresses this by:

  • Offering visual previews: Translators can see how their work will be displayed in the final document or interface. This reduces misunderstandings and improves translation quality.
  • Preserving design integrity: Using a TMS, translators can work within the document layout. This helps to make sure that the text fits properly and aligns with the overall structure, especially for formats like user interfaces or product manuals.
  • Supporting multiple file types: Many TMS solutions are compatible with different file formats, making it easier to manage diverse content types, from XML to InDesign files.

Reducing support issues through high-quality translations

High-quality, clear technical translation plays a significant role in reducing support costs.

Miscommunication in translated materials can lead to:

  • Increased customer inquiries: Poorly translated instructions or unclear terminology can frustrate users, resulting in more support tickets.
  • Product misuse: Inaccurate documentation can lead to errors in product setup or usage, which may harm customer satisfaction and brand reputation.
  • Higher operational costs: Addressing preventable support issues through phone or chat support increases localization costs unnecessarily.

By investing in a TMS, organizations make sure that their content is accurate, clear, and culturally relevant, reducing the need for support interventions. 

This not only saves money but also improves the customer experience, fostering trust and loyalty.

Supporting long-term business development outcomes

A TMS contributes to business development by:

  • Improving efficiency: Streamlined workflows and centralized resources help organizations deliver translated product content faster, accelerating time-to-market for new products in global markets.
  • Improving brand perception: Clear and consistent translations establish the organization as a trustworthy partner, making it easier to win over potential customers.
  • Facilitating entry into new markets: By simplifying the localization process, a TMS helps organizations adapt their technical documentation for international audiences, enabling smoother expansion into new markets.

Essential features of a Translation Management System

Terminology database and style guides

A terminology database helps enforce consistent terminology, while a style guide defines tone, inclusivity, and voice — critical for global content.

Integration with content creation tools

Seamless integration with content management systems (CMS) and authoring platforms reduces workflow disruptions.

An example is, many Translation Management Systems integrate directly with platforms like WordPress, enabling content localization directly within the CMS.

Immediate translation memory updates

By taking advantage of previously translated content, organizations save time and maintain consistency across multiple projects.

These are the tools you need as a TMS user

While a TMS is indispensable for managing translations, it doesn’t provide a complete solution for multilingual content marketing. Why? Because TMS users often rely on a suite of complementary tools to address gaps in areas like quality assurance, performance monitoring, and source content optimization.

However, with solutions like Acrolinx, users can access these critical capabilities in a single platform, reducing the need for multiple tools, and providing content governance.

Quality assurance tools

Consistency and adherence to brand guidelines are crucial in maintaining a unified brand voice across multiple languages. Content quality assurance tools make sure content aligns with brand guidelines.

Traditional quality assurance tools help with:

  • Terminology consistency: Checking that approved terms are used correctly.
  • Tone and style alignment: Checking that the tone matches the target audience’s expectations, whether it’s formal or conversational.
  • Error reduction: Identifying spelling, grammar, and formatting issues before publication.

With Acrolinx, these tasks are handled seamlessly:

  • Acrolinx scans content in real-time, making sure it meets your brand’s tone, terminology, and style guidelines.
  • Quality assurance powered by AI eliminates the need for separate tools, saving time and improving consistency across all translated materials.

Analytics platforms

Analytics tools monitor translation quality and content performance, providing insights into the performance of translated content.

These tools help:

  • Measure translation quality: Using metrics like readability, scannability, and alignment with target market preferences.
  • Monitor engagement: Tracking how multilingual audiences interact with content, helping refine content localization efforts.
  • Assess ROI: Understanding the impact of translated content on customer acquisition, satisfaction, and business development.

Acrolinx integrates these capabilities into its platform by:

  • Providing detailed reports on content quality and improvement areas, making sure that translation quality aligns with business objectives.
  • Connecting content performance to translation efforts, providing a clearer picture of how multilingual strategies contribute to overall success.

Tools to improve the translatability of source content

The clarity and quality of source content directly influence the efficiency of the localization workflow and the quality of translated content.

Specialized tools for improving translatability help:

  • Simplify language: Making content easier to translate and adapt to other languages.
  • Reduce localization costs: Well-written source content minimizes the need for extensive edits during translation.
  • Improve consistency: Making sure a standardized tone and structure is used across all source materials.

Acrolinx simplifies this process by improving source content at its core:

  • Acrolinx reduces the complexity of the localization process by making sure source content is aligned with translation quality standards.
  • Its AI engine identifies and suggests improvements for clarity, conciseness, and scannability.

Why Acrolinx is the all-in-one solution for TMS users

Unlike using a patchwork of separate tools, Acrolinx consolidates these essential functionalities into one content governance platform:

  • Comprehensive quality assurance: Checks tone, style, grammar, and terminology in real-time.
  • Insightful Acrolinx Reporting: Provides helpful data on content quality and engagement to monitor progress and demonstrate ROI.
  • Source content optimization: Make sure your content is clear and translatable from the outset.

By using Acrolinx, TMS users simplify workflows, reduce tool dependency, and achieve better results.

It’s the ultimate companion to a TMS, making sure that all aspects of translation management and content creation are handled efficiently and effectively.

How Acrolinx helps translation management

Acrolinx isn’t a TMS, but it supports the content supply chain by improving content at its source, fostering smoother and more efficient translation processes.

Here’s how Acrolinx improves translation management:

Improve content clarity and consistency to make it suitable for translation

One of the most significant challenges in the localization process is making sure that source content is clear, concise, and consistent.

Ambiguities in the source text lead to translation errors, increased localization costs, and delays.

Acrolinx addresses these issues by:

  • Providing immediate guidance: Writers receive immediate suggestions for improving clarity, grammar, and tone.
  • Standardizing terminology: Acrolinx makes sure that writers use approved terms consistently, which simplifies the work of translators.
  • Improving readability: Content optimized for readability isn’t only easier to translate but also more engaging for multilingual audiences.

By improving the quality of source content, Acrolinx reduces misinterpretation during translation and improves the overall translation quality.

Provide tools for exporting and importing terminology into TMS platforms to create a closed terminology loop

Terminology management is critical for maintaining accuracy and consistency across translated materials.

Acrolinx facilitates this by:

  • Exporting terminology: Acrolinx allows organizations to export their terminology into TMS platforms, ensuring alignment across systems.
  • Importing terminology: Organizations can also bring in existing terminology from their TMS to achieve consistency during content creation.

This closed-loop system makes sure that terminology is consistently applied from content creation to translation and back again, avoiding manual tasks and improving workflow efficiency.

Make sure that source content meets standards for translation quality to reduce localization costs

Content that follows translation quality standards requires fewer revisions during the localization process.

Acrolinx helps organizations achieve this by:

  • Identifying potential issues: The platform highlights idioms, jargon, or culturally sensitive language that might not translate well into other languages.
  • Streamlining localization: Clear and well-structured source content reduces the time and cost of adapting materials for global markets.
  • Improving scalability: By improving content quality upfront, organizations can scale their localization efforts more effectively as they enter new markets.

Improving the translation management process for international audiences

By integrating Acrolinx into their workflows, organizations:

  • Reduce manual tasks: Automating content optimization helps achieve faster and more consistent results.
  • Improve translator productivity: Translators can focus on linguistic nuances instead of resolving issues in poorly written source text.
  • Deliver better global experiences: High-quality translations lead to clearer communication with international audiences, fostering trust and engagement.

Acrolinx improves how organizations manage their translations, offering smart content governance to create high-quality, translatable content.Want to see how it works in action? Join our recurring product demo webinar and discover how Acrolinx elevates your translation workflows!

Are you ready to create more content faster?

Schedule a demo to see how content governance and AI guardrails will drastically improve content quality, compliance, and efficiency.

A headshot image of Hannah.

Hannah Kaufhold

is a Content Strategist and Global Product Marketing Manager at Acrolinx, with over ten years experience in content strategy and content creation. They hold a Master’s degree in linguistics. Hannah has a strong interest in controlled languages and terminology and is passionate about diversity and inclusion. In their free time, they enjoy spending time with their family and reading.