Being at the ATC Conference was fun. Lots of things learned and many new people met. I believe that this is one of the most important points when you go to conferences, learning and sharing. Those events that enable it are a success, you have them all in your mind.
I presented “New Business Models for the Translation Industry” (almost 700 views in 2 weeks!) which tried to challenge the status quo and propose new business models that enable Language Service Providers (LSPs) evolve, or even not die in the future. Any industry that does not adapt itself and addresses the needs from the customers will risk its future positioning. Newcomers and disruptors will take the lead and others will be forgotten.
It was interesting to see the reaction from freelance translators to the last slide, which intends to start a debate about the future, to see if a 0.00 price per word could exist in this industry. Of course, I’m not stating that freelancers won’t be paid, or that machine translation will take the lead, but rather that LSPs and other companies shall try to find innovative ways to generate more revenue. Much more than now, which will ultimately be benefical for all the translation and localization value chain.
It’s obvious that good translations have an impact on sales. Good human translation is more important than ever. And more content is to be translated. The future is yours, you choose.
