Technical Services
Since technology is what makes our shrinking world possible, it is increasingly present in the way that businesses communicate within and across all industries and international markets. As a multinational company enters a new market, it requires a local Web presence for its consumers, employees and business associates, as well as localized versions of its administrative software, its marketing collateral, operational documents, financial disclosures, training CD-ROMs ... the list goes on and on. V&L approaches each of these tasks with a team of specialized programmers, cultural experts and linguists. Through effective project management and the high caliber of our team, the overwhelming becomes simple and cost-effective for our clients.
For many multinational companies, the Internet is critical to doing business in the US and abroad. A Web site is no longer simply an on-line billboard, but has evolved into a critical part of a company's overall image and marketing strategy. Today's Web site allows a company to have dialog directly with its consumers, while facilitating commerce. At the same time, the Web also makes possible the instant dissemination of internal corporate communications and operational procedures. In fact, for some, the Web constitutes their entire business. Because this new medium has become so mission-critical for nearly every business, V&L brings its linguistic, cultural and technical resources to the process of localizing Web content for use in any of the world's markets.
For Web site translation, V&L is truly multilingual in two respects: in terms of the software and programming languages used in creating dynamic Web applications, and in terms of the 250 international languages supported by V&L. In terms of the technology involved, V&L engineers are proficient with everything from HTML programming, elaborate Javascript applications, database integration, Active Server Pages, Web-based animation programs, and more.
V&L offers speed and efficiency in its Web localization projects by working directly with pages and images as they appear on the Web. Our programmers download the pages for translation and deliver the modified pages to the client with directory links preserved for instant functionality in each target language. V&L's goal is to help you leverage your Web investments by bringing their full creative impact to new audiences in their native tongues, and with regard to their cultural differences. By mixing technology with linguistics, V&L's Web localization services quickly and efficiently support our clients in entering new markets.
In recent years, the international growth of software markets has consistently exceeded domestic growth. In fact, it has become commonplace for software companies to report international sales comprising a majority of their total sales. One key factor contributing to this growth is software localization, the linguistic and cultural adaptation of software, documentation and packaging to accommodate the requirements of specific international markets.
In any localization project, it is crucial that the localization company understands the software product. At V&L, we understand that our most important asset is our staff, a coordinated team of translators, editors, internationalization engineers and quality assurance technicians who handle the full gamut of language conversion issues. V&L also coordinates closely with each client's localization manager, software engineers, foreign market reviewers and technical writing staff to ensure:
- Accurate and consistent multilingual terminology across software and hardware platforms: Internationalized software, documentation and packaging provide a solid foundation for localization by anticipating culturally-dependent attributes such as date, time, currency, sorting order and an increase in word count for most languages. Internationalized documentation and packaging strive for concise, unambiguous, culturally-neutral text, sounds and images.
- Efficient translation and adaptation of the software user interface, documentation and packaging: V&L uses a comprehensive glossary, the foundation for localization, to ensure that terminology is consistent across the user interface, on-line help, documentation and packaging. V&L uses localization tools to assist in building glossaries, managing files and translation, as well as for quick comparisons of new versions to the older version to ensure consistency, functionality and overall quality.
- Verification of localized versions through rigorous quality assurance procedures in coordination with the customer's product development and foreign office staff. Software, help, documentation and packaging localization are synchronized, with frequent cross-checks for consistency and accuracy. Review is scheduled frequently during the localization process and is a cooperative effort between the V&L team and the client's team.
V&L has programmers available to work with nearly any programming language and/or utility, and can take on as much or as little of a localization project as necessary given the client's in-house programming resources. V&L's linguists and programmers are also available for on-site work with the client's in-house programming staff at the beginning of a project, to coordinate at certain stages of the project, and for delivery and testing.
Whether a project is a component of a larger software or Web localization job, or entails localizing content for an interactive kiosk or corporate CD-ROM, V&L has multimedia programmers that work with the industry's leading software packages. These include Macromedia Director, QuickTime, and a range of other applications. Whatever was used to create your multimedia product, V&L has the expertise to localize it seamlessly. Aside from its programming resources, V&L can also facilitate production and integration of new video, as well as translated audio content through its voice-over services. For more information, see V&L's Creative Services overview.
Graphic Design and Localization
Supporting Web site, software and multimedia localization, V&L's graphic design staff can modify existing logos and artwork for each target language. V&L prides itself on staying current with the prevailing, industry-standard versions of QuarkXpress, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, PageMaker, and other graphic design software packages. With these in hand, V&L can accommodate camera-ready translation of corporate publications or other material, including annual reports, brochures, manuals, multimedia presentations, packaging, newsletters, and more.
It is important to bear in mind that V&L always couples its technical proficiency with appropriate linguistic talent to ensure the highest quality product. Should your annual report center on the telecommunications industry, then the linguist assigned to your project will have telecommunications expertise and native fluency in your target language. By linking the highest caliber of linguistic talent with our skilled graphic design team, quality, accuracy and timeliness are guaranteed, even when the most sophisticated layouts and graphics are involved.
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