Localisation Standards –
A Competitive Advantage ?
Damian Scattergood
“Only adopt a Standard to gain
competitive advantage
for your business”
Damian Scattergood 2003
STAR Technology Solutions
Standards Today
• Producers:
•
Implemented ad hoc: Html 4.x, 5.x, XLIFF 1.0, 1.x. TMX.
• Large Tool Vendors:
•
Say they do, but implement partially what they want.
• Smaller Vendors:
•
Implement partially to gain business from others.
• So everyone is as good/bad. No sustainable advantage.
STAR Technology Solutions
If standards were cars
•
•
•
•
•
•
Great ROI
Great acceleration 0-60 rates, will get you there faster.
Fuel Consumption is great, much cheaper.
Focused on specific functional ‘Value’.
So the industry fails to gain any real benefits.
We all focus on short term value.
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Competitive Advantage
• Michael Porter on Competitive Advantage
• The fundamental basis of above average profitability in the long run
is sustainable competitive advantage.
• Two basic types a firm can possess:
•
•
Low cost.
Differentiation.
• Three Generic Strategies to achieve competitive advantage.
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Generic Strategies for Competitive
Advantage
Lower Cost
Differentiation
City Jet
Broad Target
1. Cost Leadership
2. Differentiation
Ryanair
Narrow Target
3a. Cost Focus
Aer Lingus
3b. Differentiation
Focus
GE
© Micheal Porter
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Key to Competitive Advantage
• Must be sustainable.
• Must deliver long term measurable results.
• Must match a specific strategy.
• Lets look at an example…
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Why STAR Choose XML
• Competitive Strategy:
•
•
•
To be most efficient vendor,
Delivering Volume translations.
Delivering excellent Quality
• Translation Process at heart of system.
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Inside STAR
• XML : core of system.
• File Filters create XML Store.
• XML Delivers…
•
•
•
Generic file store
Easy Access
Secure format
File Filters
XML Store
• Translation Process is same for all
(Transit XV)
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How STAR Maintains Standard
• New File Types.
• Create new filter to adapt.
•
•
•
•
•
•
New Format
Process Delivers:
Background store the same.
Work process the same.
So quality remains high.
Efficiency as easy to process (scalability)
Volume a factor only of capacity.
STAR Technology Solutions
File Filters
XML Store
STAR Competitive Advantage
• Differentiated Focus
•
•
•
•
File Filters
Volume
Efficiency
Complexity Handling (File Filters)
Specialised Staff Focus
• Technology costs
•
•
Not the cheapest
Which matches strategy as Porter
says.
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XML Store
How do you choose a Standard?
Standard
XML
Martif
TMX
XLIFF
TMX
HTML
XLIFF
HTML
Tools
Trados
Transit
Catalyst
Passolo
SDLX
Vendors
Vendor
Vendor
Vendor
Vendor
Vendor
Which to choose in a complex world?
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How to choose your Standard
• Decide your Competitive Strategy…
STAR Technology Solutions
How to choose your Standard
• Decide your Competitive Strategy…
• Which shortlists the STANDARD…
XML
TMX
X
XLIFF
HTML
• XLIFF is technically excellent, but does not match my competitive
strategy.
STAR Technology Solutions
A Better Car Sales Approach
•
•
•
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What is the overall competitive strategy?
Do you want to be the fastest producer is the world? (Cheapest, Quality)
What are you trying to achieve?
Focused on specific Business “Requirement”
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How to choose your Standard
• Decide your Competitive Strategy…
• Which shortlists the STANDARD…
• Which shortlists the tools…
X
Trados
Transit
Catalyst
X
Passolo
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SDLX
How to choose your Standard
•
•
•
•
Decide your Competitive Strategy…
Which shortlists the STANDARD…
Which shortlists the tools…
Which shortlists the vendors/translators…
Vendor
X
Vendor
Vendor
XX
Vendor
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Vendor
Your final choice…
X
XX
XX X
XML
TMX
XLIFF
HTML
Trados
Transit
Catalyst
Passolo
SDLX
Vendor
Vendor
Vendor
Vendor
Vendor
From the shortlist
Select the most cost effective solution
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The cost of a standard
Content Producer
PM
ENG
Vendor
FTP
ENG
Translator
FTP
QA
Trans
How do my competitors organize themselves in this space?
Improvements:
Impacts:
Desired Goal
Scalability
Consistency
Cost Improvements
New tool
Training
Process changes
Cost impact
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Summary
• Adopt the standard that is right for you…
• To gain competitive advantage for your business.
•
•
Decide your competitive strategy.
Choose the matching Standard, Tools and Vendors that
fit your strategy.
STAR Technology Solutions
Contact:
Star Technology Solutions Ltd.,
Docklands Innovation Park,
128-130 East Wall Road,
Dublin 3
Phone: +353-1-8365614
http://www.star-ts.com
[email protected]
STAR Technology Solutions