The concept of a gadget that can offer translation services was introduced in 1945 in First Contact, a short novel by Murray Leinster. This idea caught the imagination of many sci-fi writers who would come later, eventually leading to Star Trek’s Universal Translator and Dr. Who’s TARDIS telepathic field. These devices automatically decode every source language known to man and render meaning through a time and location appropriate version of the target language.
Unfortunately, neither contraption is real.
Although the universal translator is not yet viable, translation technology has made great progress in recent years and the results of machine-generated translations have disrupted the industry to a significant extent.
As they say, “the future is now!”
Today, many of the world’s leading technology companies such as Google are working hard to create a fully automated, AI-based, real-time translator that can be plugged into various applications for an instant and accurate understanding of spoken and written words across the languages of the world.
Whether this R&D can translate into everyday reality remains to be seen.
We can offer this insight from Protranslating’s experience of 46 years in the translation and interpretation industry:
No matter how reliable machine translation becomes, the need for human expertise will persist if words are to come alive across languages with their meanings, contexts, tones, textures, purposes, and layers. There is no algorithm that can capture the incalculable and ever-shifting nature of human communication. This task can only be accomplished through a thoroughly human consciousness.
A 2017 press release by Gartner predicts that human-centric technology will drive digital business forward into the next decade:
Technology will continue to become more human-centric to the point where it will introduce transparency between people, businesses and things. This relationship will become much more entwined as the evolution of technology becomes adaptive, contextual and fluid within the workplace, at home, and interacting with businesses and other people.
Of course, language service providers must appreciate and embrace the benefits of translation technology available in the present and promised in the future. Until AI becomes inalienably integrated with humanity, however, a fully automated, accurate translation tool will remain elusive.
In simple terms, translation services that cater to industry 4.0 must integrate technology into all their systems and processes to assure their clients security, quality, and effective pricing.
Technology innovations that highlight security have earned Protranslating the honor of becoming the first SOC 2 Type II attested translation service in the market.
For the last three years, our agile development process has produced a Portal that has delivered to our clients the most protected and multi-layered security solutions on the market.
Built by professionals with security-related certifications, Protranslating’s Portal assures the security of data through privacy, confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Policies and controls are audited every year and are made available to customers. Daily penetration tests are performed to ensure real and continuous security monitoring. Annual vulnerability assessments and parallel disaster recovery tests are also conducted.
Role-based access control, IP protected permissions, security groups, real-time backups, client customizable data retention policies, and virtual desktop infrastructure for confidential and restricted environments guarantee that client data is encrypted and is available only from client-authorized devices. All data is encrypted at rest, in transit and in process.
All our networks are protected by firewalls and intrusion detection and prevention software. Even our encryption certificates are automatically regenerated every two months and have no more than a 3-month life span. Critical security patches are installed automatically. Strong password policies and session duration policies are in place. Every action taken on the platform is logged, monitored, and saved in read-only services which are monitored in real-time. Issues are addressed following classes of services that ensure the lowest possible risk level.
Quantitative and qualitative risk analyses are regularly performed, and we adhere strictly to global regulations about data protection. Being perfectionists, we have established standard operating procedures for absolutely every task performed on the infrastructure or during the software development life cycle. These are reviewed and approved annually or when they change.
We are passionate about using the latest technology to assure quality in whatever we do.
We hold ourselves and our work to the most extreme quality standards, exhibiting no more than a 3% software defect ratio.
We hold ISO 17001 and ISO 9001 certifications, through which the Company adheres to the highest standards in dealing with non-conformities, corrective actions, quality management, and quality assurance.
The integration of emerging technology into our workflows also benefits our clients.
Our agile and consolidated technology platform can be deployed in any geographic zone. Its lean approach to secure and reliable software solutions saves both our clients and us the precious resources of effort, time, and money.
For our internal team and vendors, Protranslating’s integrated portal is a novel translation platform that delivers the promise of a consolidated web interface for project management, translation workbench, translation memory operations, translation workflow management, finance-related functions, HR tasks, the pooling and management of vendor abilities and competencies, and customer relationship management.
We use cutting-edge activity tracking protocols that include emails, client feedback, and complaints. Our proprietary workflows that are both customizable and reusable optimize our processes. We offer full functionality through APIs and a blazing fast delivery with a 3-month lead time for even the heaviest minimal marketable features.
At Protranslating, we don’t believe in resting on our laurels.
Our continuous research and development initiatives keep us firmly fixed on our goal of remaining at the leading edge of our industry. We have some exciting technology innovations in the making for all our stakeholders.
Contact us to get the best possible integration of human expertise and 21st-century translation technology.
