Ugly numbers
Here is a repeat of some news from the other day but a little more in plain english for us non tech types
July 22, 1997
COREL SLASHES TRANSLATION TIME
By STUART McCARTHY
Technology Editor
Corel Corp. has developed a translation product it says can automate most of the laborous task
and cut months off the process.
Corel Catalyst is also the first product created at Corel's Ireland facility which is home to most of
the European translation work the company does.
"It's the first time we've had a product from over there and they're quite excited,"said Corel
spokeswoman Carrie Bendzsa.
Catalyst is designed to dramatically speed the process of "localization" -- creating a foreign
language version of a software product for various markets.
Corel CEO Mike Cowpland has previously said that translation of Corel's major software takes
months and can cost up to $500,000 per language for each product.
"Until now, say for something like WordPerfect, translation can take four to six months," said
Bendzsa.
"We've had situations where we're bringing out a localized version of a product at the same time
we're bringing out the next version of the English product here."
Corel distributes its software in more than 17 languages to 70 countries.
Catalyst "cuts about 80% of the work," according to Bendzsa and that can cut the translation time
down to one or two months.
"If you can shave four months off getting a product out to market, the savings can be tremendous,"
Bendzsa said.
It also means a company can bring out its foreign language versions much closer to the original
English language version and keep them all wrapped within a 12-month release cycle or even
shorter, as the industry demands faster releases and more updates to remain competitive.
Bendzsa said Catalyst won't be released through channels, but is available directly from the Dublin
office.
Hopefully it adds a little more to that bottom line. |
