The secret to satisfied clients (Part 4 of "Will technology save your company?")

At the end of the day, the focus has to be on customers getting the attention and support that they expect, production staff getting full guidance and back up for every project that they work on, and sales taking a consultative approach with clients and not overpromising.

We have always wondered what state would the industry be in today if companies had invested in localization expertise instead of endless systems, vendor mangers, ISO certification, etc.

We expect that clients would be more satisfied and more loyal overall. Also that fewer companies would be over-leveraged and continually looking for partners and cash infusions in their frantic efforts to grow.

Systems can never overcome the complexities of project management that an industry-experienced project manager deals with every day and neither should they be seen as a selling tool that trumps the advantages of an industry-veteran project manager who works closely with the client though every challenge.

Back to part 1 of "Will technology save your company?"

Your Thai projects are safe with Admerix

Considering the current events in Thailand, Admerix wanted to provide an update on the situation for Thai language projects.

Thailand's economy is still expanding with many businesses moving into this vibrant country. The future of the Thai consumer market is bright with a massive population of consumers and domestic consumption poised to soar. However, the outlook for the country’s security and political future--especially in Bangkok--continues to be less than optimistic.

Recently, several large localization projects have encountered communication and delivery difficulties. These instability and security issues have had many companies questioning whether their vital projects can be completed by vendors located within Thailand.

So how can you be certain your Thai projects will proceed on schedule and on budget?

The lure of the cloud (Part 3 of "Will technology save your company?")

There is also the irresistible lure of the “cloud.” Strapped vendors dream how high margins could be if they could get a cloud of super cheap (or even free) translators who would frantically collaborate on translation in real time in the same way as Wikipedia is edited.

The three-focus syndrome and the localization customer

The three-focus syndrome is one of the biggest traps that we see being laid for localization project managers in recent times. Understanding it can be the difference between a successful project and failure.

First, the customer asks about price, and is looking for the most "competitive" price that they can find.

Down-skilling project managers (Part 2 of "Will technology save your company?")

Project managers working in high-cost developed countries are a huge expense. The reaction to this is that experienced project managers have been “down-skilled.” Seen only as a cost to production, veteran project managers have been pushed aside as companies replace them with low-paid novices (sometimes even interns) who can be pressured into staying in the office all night trying to fulfill promises made by overzealous sales staff. The inevitable result is chronic poor performance and low quality. The resulting quality gaffes create further pressure to regiment the project process to make it more fool-proof.