These are uncertain times for many in the language services and localization industry. There was a palpable air of concern and angst in Montreal. This is to be expected given all the changes that we face from so many directions:
- · Disruption of established government and trade policies
- · AI hype in general is threatening many white-collar jobs
- · Unrealizable expectations about the potential capabilities of AI technology from C-suite leaders that cannot be delivered
- · An emerging global economic slowdown after an already tough business year
- · High levels of economic and business uncertainty
The day after the
conference, I saw the following in my inbox from CSA Research:
I also saw an announcement for an upcoming webinar from
Women In Localization with the theme: Maintaining motivation during disruption,
which added the byline, "with
constant change, staying motivated can be hard." There is concern in the industry far beyond
the community present at GALA.
However, the keynote presentation by Daniel Lamarre, CEO of the Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, provided a memorable, uplifting, and inspiring message to the attendees. I rate it as one of the best, if not THE best, keynotes in all the years I have been attending localization conferences. His message was relevant, authentic, and realistically optimistic while speaking to the heart.
He is uniquely qualified to speak to a doomy, gloomy audience, as he also faces challenges and has risen from what seemed insurmountable odds. In response to pandemic shutdowns in March 2020, Cirque du Soleil suspended all 44 active shows worldwide and temporarily laid off 4,679 employees, 95% of its workforce. Annualized revenue dropped from over $1 billion to zero almost overnight. And today, Cirque has to work to remain relevant to digitally obsessed world where many youth have never experienced a circus.
He engineered a recovery, and by early 2023/2024, revenue had climbed back to the pre-pandemic level of approximately $1 billion, though growth is expected to moderate around this level for the next couple of years. Leadership stated the recovery exceeded expectations according to financial market observers.
For someone whose primary focus is to find outstanding artists from around the world, provide them with a regular living, and
curate entertainment that leaves the audience enthralled and inspired, he had a
clear understanding of the challenges that business translation professionals
might have in this age of AI madness. Somewhat similar to what his organization faced during the pandemic, when the possibility of large
audiences congregating to watch a magical musical circus-like performance in
45 cities across the world was an impossibility.
The heart of his message was about building the right mindset
as we face challenges, to break through, which he said begins with continual
investment in research and development and a strong focus on creativity. This
is very much the ethos of Cirque and pervades their overall approach and
culture. A summarized highlight of his message follows:
- · Creativity is foundational since it leads to innovation which in turn often results in market leadership.
- · Ongoing and regular reflection is essential to building creativity.
- · Deep curiosity and the questions that it generates are a building block to discovering successful outcomes.
- · While it is important to focus on the problem to get a clear definition of the challenge, it is even more important to focus creatively on possible solutions.
- · Investment in research and development (e.g., AI impact on translation-related processes) and organizational creativity is essential to finding your value-add in challenging times.
- · Debate is a foundation of evolutionary creativity, and a culture that encourages debate is most likely to find the best outcomes and the best ideas that are not possible with hierarchical mandates.
- · Finding a purpose is more likely to create successful outcomes than goals and objectives.
- · The best ideas will come from a clear mandate, debate, and a defined sandbox rather than through unstructured, frequent meetings with rambling, unfocused discussions.
- · He encouraged the audience to focus much more on communicating the value-add of the business.
I’m not sure I have captured the essence effectively, and as
they say, “you had to be there,” as he was successful in lifting everyone’s
spirits. His ability to build connections and empathy was indeed unique. He
closed by encouraging the GALA community to make more concerted and active efforts
to raise their profile and communicate LSP/localization value creation
characteristics in the marketplace aggressively, given the unrelenting AI hype.
Raising the LSP Industry Profile
This keynote triggered a recurring theme that attendees
raised across several sessions about finding a better way to describe the value
of service/product offerings to the marketplace. There were different opinions
and views on whether translation, localization, langops, or something else would
be the most effective professional self-descriptor to build a value-oriented communication
message.
I decided to do some basic research on this subject, via LLM,
and I have mixed feelings about the utility of the output, as it lacks insight
and understanding. I summarize the unedited responses from 3 different LLM
models (which all had very similar results) below:
GPT 4.1
Summary
Normalized Google Trends Frequency (2022-2025)
|
|
Avg Absolute Monthly Search Volume |
Normalized Monthly Searches 0-100 Scale 3-Year Mean |
|
Translation |
1,000,000 |
79.9 |
|
Localization |
200,000 |
40.1 |
|
LangOps |
2,000 |
5.2 |
Which term provides the greatest reach?
- Translation is by far the most recognized and searched term
globally. It is used by major platforms like Google, DeepL, and Microsoft
for their consumer-facing services, which reinforces its dominance and
public familiarity.
- Localization is important for industry professionals and
clients needing cultural adaptation and more sophisticated services, but it has a narrower audience.
- LangOps is emerging in industry circles as a concept for
scalable, AI-driven language operations, but its search volume and public
awareness remain very low.
Key Points:
- If your goal is maximum visibility and broad customer acquisition,
“translation” is the most effective term. It captures the widest audience, aligns with consumer
expectations, and is the default for everyday users seeking language
services.
- “Localization” is valuable for targeting clients who
require cultural adaptation and market-specific solutions, but it should
be used as a supporting term rather than the primary one.
- “LangOps” is best reserved for thought leadership,
technical blogs, or when targeting enterprise clients already familiar
with advanced localization operations.
“Translation” is the term
with the greatest and widest reach for LSPs seeking to increase visibility and
attract a broad customer base. It is the industry
standard, the most searched, and the most recognized by both consumers and
businesses. Using “translation” as your primary keyword will maximize your
discoverability and support value-driven messaging for the widest possible audience.
Claude Sonnet 3.7 Summary
Search
Term Frequency Analysis
The Google Trends data shows significant differences in
search interest across the three terms. "Translation consistently maintains the highest search interest, with values ranging from approximately 80-85 on the relative search interest scale (0-100). "Localization shows moderate interest, with values between 30 and 35, while LangOps demonstrates minimal interest, with values hovering around 2-3.
Translation
"Translation" consistently dominates the
search landscape with approximately 2.5 times more search interest than
"localization" and about 40 times more interest than
"LangOps." This term has maintained its strong position throughout
the three years with a slight upward trend.
Localization
"Localization" maintains a consistent
moderate interest level, showing some fluctuation but generally staying within
the 30-35 range on Google's scale. While significantly lower than
"translation," it still demonstrates substantial search volume that
has remained stable over the three years.
LangOps
"LangOps" shows minimal search interest, consistently
remaining below 5 on Google's scale. Despite being positioned as "the
future of scalable, efficient, AI-powered localization" and "the next
evolution of localization," it has not gained significant traction in
search behavior.
Building Value-Oriented Messaging
To build
strong value-oriented messaging:
1.
Lead with "translation" in
primary marketing materials, website headers, and SEO strategy to maximize
visibility and reach.
2.
Differentiate through "localization" by
explaining how your services go beyond basic translation to include cultural
adaptation, which adds significant value.
3.
Introduce "LangOps" as an advanced concept for
enterprise clients, positioning it as the strategic integration of language
services into business operations.
4.
Bridge the terminology gap by explaining how
translation evolves into localization and ultimately into LangOps as part of a
maturity model for global businesses.
Perplexity Pro Summary
This output is essentially the same as the data already
provided above, as it probably draws its answers from these models. However,
this summary seems to be more accommodating of the potential of LangOps, quite
possibly because of the extensive use of the term AI in its descriptive
materials. They also analyzed each term and its implications in more detail.
Strategic
Term Selection for LSPs
Which
Term Provides the Greatest Reach?
For an LSP seeking to increase visibility and reach a
broader customer base, the choice of terminology is strategically important:
"Translation" would provide the widest
potential reach due to its universal recognition. It's the term used by major
platforms like Google, DeepL, and Microsoft[query], indicating its mainstream
appeal.
Advantages:
- Highest search volume and recognition
- Understood by both technical and non-technical audiences
- Already associated with established tools and services
Disadvantages:
- Highly competitive space
- May position services as commoditized
- Doesn't communicate advanced capabilities beyond basic translation
"Localization" represents a middle ground,
with growing recognition and the ability to communicate more sophisticated
services.
Advantages:
- Communicates a more comprehensive approach than
basic translation
- Established industry term with growing recognition
- o Aligns with current industry trends for 2025
- Suggests cultural adaptation and market-specific
expertise
Disadvantages:
- Lower search volume than "translation"
- May not capture the attention of clients seeking basic translation
services
"LangOps" offers cutting-edge positioning but
with significantly limited reach.
Advantages:
- Positions the company at the forefront of industry evolution
- Communicates AI integration and advanced capabilities
- Potential to attract forward-thinking enterprise clients
- Lower competition for the term itself
Disadvantages:
- Very limited search volume and recognition
- Requires explanation to most potential clients
- May alienate clients seeking traditional service
Perplexity Conclusion
For LSPs seeking to maximize market reach and build
value-oriented messaging, "translation" remains the most effective
foundational term due to its universal recognition and substantial search
volume. However, a strategic approach that leverages all three terms at
appropriate stages of the customer journey will likely yield the best results.
As the industry continues to evolve, LSPs should
monitor the relative popularity of these terms and adjust their terminology
strategies accordingly. The rapid growth of "LangOps," despite its
currently smaller search volume, suggests that forward-thinking providers may
benefit from early adoption of this terminology when targeting enterprise
clients seeking comprehensive language solutions.
Ultimately, the most successful terminology strategy
will align with both current search behaviors and the evolving direction of the
industry, positioning LSPs at the intersection of what clients are looking for
today and what they'll need tomorrow.
AI in Enterprise Localization Panel
I was also involved in an interactive panel organized by Johan Sporre with Britta Aagaard, Gaëtan Chrétiennot, Georg Kirchner, and Konstantin
Savenkov, who auto-summarized the session with GPT shown
here. We discussed misconceptions, opportunities,
and the changing role of humans.
Here is the auto-summary:
🔹 AI is not just a better
translation tool. It’s a set of technologies that require the right setup,
people, and processes to work.
🔹
Many AI deployments in the enterprise are not delivering ROI. Localization is
one of the few areas where AI shows clear value—but only when applied with
care.
🔹
Clients now care about language in a new way. That opens the door to
conversations we couldn’t have before—across IT, marketing, and other teams.
🔹
The real work is not about chasing new buzzwords. It’s about understanding
complexity and helping others navigate it.
🔹
Our role is changing—from translation providers to solution architects, guiding
AI through data, process, and purpose.
Also, a shoutout to Marina
Pantcheva, who gave an instructive and entertaining presentation, which somehow managed to make Cleaning Dirty TM sound fun.
Congratulations to Allison Ferch and the GALA team for holding a
successful and substantial conference in such difficult and tumultuous times.
