Is Technology Harming Your Business?

Dec. 21, 2011 - PRLog -- In recent years advancements in technology have enabled many tasks to be completed automatically, saving both time and money. Whether it is robots in production assembly lines or software that can translate a document in seconds there is a solution to everything. Or so it seems. It is now possible to have tasks done for you in no time at all but do they all really save you time and could it be harming your business?

There is a place for the use of such technologies and a recent review of language translation software by the BBC showed they worked very well indeed in less formal circumstances but it was less than perfect and in some languages such as Chinese as it failed to work at all. It is okay for conversation where the gist is enough to get by but for businesses could using this type of software be counterproductive?

Geoffrey Bowden of the ATC (Association of Translation Companies) stated following a study for BBC News:

"It may be the translator becomes more of an editor, but I think we've got a long, long way to go before translation software competes with real people”.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8575526.stm

Although the results were good there are many scenarios where words will be unfamiliar to the software and dialects and slang were just not recognised at all.

Barry Power of Power Business Communications, a professional translation agency, added:

“There are certain instances where software cannot translate accurately enough like legal documents or where company names are being used. For many of our clients it could be harmful to their business if the translated document was not spot on. We use native speaking translators so both parties who require translation services know it will be 100% correct”.

He added: “As a company trying to offer their  translation services to foreign speaking clients, it shows you care about their business if you take the time to translate properly which involves a comprehensive understanding of the context of the translation”.

So maybe if you are communicating in a less formal way you can use software as it will get you close enough but if you are a business trying to convey a professional image then it is essential to make sure it is right. So thankfully, technology has a way to go before it replaces humans.

http://www.power-translation.co.uk/

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Power Business Communications are a Translation Agency in London, Brighton and Southampton With 20 Years’ Experience in Professional Language Translation Services.