Pros and Cons of Localization Outsourcing

Many businesses have to localize their products or websites. Depending on the scale of your business, you can choose between hiring your own translators or outsourcing them.

In-house localization has many pros, like the degree of control over projects or lowest costs, but it can also be the least efficient if you need to do it only once in a while.

With outsourcing, companies have less control, but it is much easier for them to scale up work.

They can also use every service you want, even translation services in Edinburgh while working in Los Angeles.

Here, you can find some information about the pros and cons of outsourcing localization services. Below you can read all about scalability, simplicity, or budget issues. Read on and decide what’s best for you and your business!

Advantages Of Localization Outsourcing :-

Costs :-

This is the most obvious reason for choosing localization outsourcing. If you work with translators directly, they will charge you according to their experience, language skills, and the complexity of the text.

So, when you want to translate a website or an app with long texts, you have to pay a lot to get the job done.

On the other hand, outsourcing companies are much cheaper because they usually use translators from developing countries where costs are lower.

Time :-

Working with different freelancers takes time and planning. You need to find a translator who fits your requirements and accept their rate. Plus, you need to receive a translation and check it for any mistakes.

The entire process may take more than a week. But if you outsource translation services, it comes much quicker and more efficiently.

Simplicity :-

If you decide to outsource translation services, there’s no need to build a brand-new department that will take resources from other departments.

You don’t need to hire new staff members or invest in office spaces and furniture. Also, you don’t have to search for potential candidates or train them someone else will do it for you.

Your employees should work on their core competencies instead of worrying about localization issues – this brings you more profit and better results faster!

As you can see, there are many advantages of localization outsourcing but there are also some disadvantages which we will discuss in the next section of this article.

Disadvantages Of Localization Outsourcing :-

Lack of Control :-

As we mentioned above in this article, outsourcing companies have a team of dedicated professionals who are responsible for every stage of the localization project.

They use their own resources and technology, which means that these companies have more control over your projects than you do.

It can be frustrating for those businesses that want complete control over their projects, but it is one of the major reasons why SMBs prefer outsourcing services in the first place!

Lack Of Expertise :-

Even though outsourcing companies offer amazing customer service through their project managers and account managers, they often lack the necessary knowledge that is industry-specific.

If you want to localize any online business model or product into another language, you need to understand all industry terms and know how to write them accurately in another language.

If not, it can cause big problems during the whole process and even affect your business reputation!

Sometimes localization is just a matter of changing words without knowing what they mean in another language while other times it is about cultural sensitivities and avoiding any possible mistakes in writing or terminology.

Even though outsourcing companies can provide you with some amazing prices, they are often not as flexible as in-house teams.

That means that you have to stick to their deadlines and some quality assurance measures. If you want to give your project the same attention and quality assurance, then it makes more sense to just hire a fully dedicated in-house team.

In most cases, outsourcing companies are not able to provide you with such a service due to a lack of resources.

That is why it is important to understand what you are buying and how you are going to use it. But if you want a fast and easy solution for projects that do not require much attention, then outsourcing companies will be the best option for you!

Conclusion :-

There are many reasons to outsource localization services, but the most important one is saving time and money.

If you want to localize your business or product, you can save a lot of money by using outsourcing companies rather than working with independent translators.

Also, you will have more time to work on your core competencies and focus on your business goals. However, there are also disadvantages. If you want to have deeper control over your projects, then you may want to consider hiring your own in-house team.

But no matter whether you outsource localization services or localize them yourself, the most important thing is to understand why you are doing it.