On the International Translation Day, 30 September, I read the recent ProZ report by Henry Dotterer and Jared Tabor about the changing face of our industry and the human response to technological innovation. (https://www.proz.com/industry-report/2019_human_response). According to the authors of this report, the translation industry changes can be categorised into three areas: Automation, Intimacy and Scale.

Automation includes technological changes such as translation management systems, AI and machine translation.

By Scale we mean the ever-increasing size of LSPs, freelance databases, broader quality spectrum and the sheer amount of source content. It is worth noting that the increase in scale favours specialisation, a trend that most translators embrace.

The one I find most interesting is Intimacy. In this automated and machine-embracing world “many clients are leaning towards direct contact with freelancers and knowing who is translating their content” in the interest of quality.

A recent example comes from the hotel guest acquisition platform Siteminder. Their Head of Localization, Matthias Borngrebe, says that he works with a pool of 15 translators and copywriters. Asked to describe their outsourcing approach, Borngrebe said that they “don’t work much with ‘anonymous’ translators from agencies. Working directly with freelance translators makes it easier for us to ensure quality.”

Freelancers are being called on to understand the clients and markets they are serving more intimately. As this intimacy increases, those who cultivate soft skills and who are business savvy are the ones who will come out ahead. For many freelancers, work with direct clients can prove both (mutually) satisfying and economically attractive.

It seems that advances in technology actually bring people closer and make us want to develop a closer relationship.

Is this your experience as well?