This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
High quality business software is expensive to create, and can bring in major profits for a company that makes a high-selling product. Look at Microsoft, for example. The company creates one version of Windows and sells it to every user they can for the next several years. Even if your business isn’t as popular as Microsoft, and your software isn’t the next Windows, it makes sense to offer it to as many customers as you can, and that’s why you should consider having it translated.
Is Translation Worth It?
There’s a simple way to figure out whether having your software translated is going to be worth the effort or not. First, determine if there are any countries or locations that would benefit from yoursoftware in a noticeable way. Are there foreign competitors that already have the market cornered, or are you offering something unique? Investigate and decide if you will have many customers in an area interested in buying your offering or not.
Now get in touch with a good quality translation service and ask them to quote on localizing your software into the new language. With that figure in mind, divide your current overall profits from your software by about four, and assume that’s what you will earn from the translated version. If the amount is vastly higher than what it will cost you to do the translation, then it’s likely a good move. If it isn’t much higher, then you need to consider how long you’ve been selling the software. If you just launched it, you know you are going to earn more money over time, and it could still be a good investment in the future. If you’ve been selling the software for a few years, you probably shouldn’t invest in the translation.
Work with a Quality Supplier
If you decide that it makes sense to have the software translated, you’ll have to track down a high-quality provider. The provider needs to have experience in translating software, which requires additional work and procedures to translate effectively. The best providers will know how to give you the results that you want without changing the look or the feel of your software much. This is valuable when you want to localize your software and start selling it as quickly as possible.
Consider having your software translated into another language or two, if the investment makes sense. Most big software providers offer several language versions, because doing so offers them increased potential profit over time, for a comparatively minimal investment.
