Is It Worth Automating in Localization?
The quick answer is most of the time of course.
Years ago, a client asked if it was worth automating their localization process. Instead of answering immediately, I asked how much time they spent each month on manual tasks. They said it took two weeks to prepare files, then two more weeks to copy and paste translations back in. An entire month lost to copy and paste. It was a no-brainer to automate.
Why It Matters
Automation removes repetitive tasks and lets you focus on real impact. It also eliminates errors caused by humans who manually copy and paste. Tools and connectors can integrate with your systems, automatically extracting and reinserting text. You save time and free your team to handle creative, strategic work.
Beyond time savings, automation can improve scalability. As projects grow in complexity and volume, automation ensures consistency and allows your team to meet tighter deadlines without sacrificing quality. Additionally, it helps standardize workflows, making onboarding for new team members much easier.
Key Takeaway
Ask yourself or your team: “How much time do I spend on manual tasks?” If it’s too much, consider automation. The investment often pays for itself quickly. Take small steps by automating the most time-consuming or error-prone processes first. From there, expand automation to other areas for even greater efficiency. Even when you don’t have engineering team that can do it for you. You can always buy out of the box solutions.