akaTrans vs. Phrase Localization Platform

The system is well suited if you also run Trados or any second system. As the system is very expensive and the use of MTUs is rather complicated to understand the best thing is to run most larger projects through Trados or any other CAT tool and then to import it. Large projects are expensive in Phrase Localization Platform so I would recommend it if you have small projects and have enough capacity to carefully check the terminology as the data pulled from the term base is inconsistent. The same applies to the find replace feature which can work great.

• The QA tool it provides is practical and always handy.
• Instant QA feature can save time at the end of the process.
• The possibility to decline a job directly from the platform instead of having to contact the client by email.

• In the case of EN to JA translation, we enter text and then convert it to get the correct final text (word or phrase) which uses correct Chinese character(s), as there are often multiple Chinese characters with the same reading but different meanings. When those conversion options are displayed, it is usually possible to change our selection among them by hitting the Tab key, but in Memsource, hitting the Tab key makes us leave the text conversion and move to the source segment, so we must make sure to use arrow keys to choose the right conversion option when using Memsource.
• When there are tag elements used in the source text, the tags must exist in the target text of course, but the tag order also must be the same. The tags cannot be moved around in the segment, which causes problems in the case of the Japanese language, because the word order differs between EN and JA.
• In the Japanese language, Italics are basically not used, so there must be no texts between the tags which specify Italic font. But then the segment cannot be confirmed and the job status cannot be changed to "Complete".

I use and manage an Academic edition (approx. 15 students) and the corporate license (10 users). In both cases, the features are easy to find, set and use. My students and my translators understand the dynamics of the platform easily and get used to them quickly.

It is designed to be a lean system, but that means that things are clustered in weird groups and a lot of trial and error is involved getting the settings right. If something goes wrong first level support is very quick and has very fast answers which are quite typical of first level support and essentially equate to asking you if you have switched it off and on yet. Anything more involved is challenging for support to address.

We rarely use support, but most questions were answered in a timely fashion, although we didn't exactly find them satisfactory. That's mostly the fault of the software and not the Support team because we asked for things that Memsource couldn't do.

Incentivized

Memsource has a very good user interface that people can quickly learn and start using. Also, its analysis features are top class which helps me provide a detailed estimate to my client based on the file particulars. It has a QA feature that helps me do a very high-quality check before I send out my translation to the client.

• Positive impact as I have been able to recruit and reach more and new clients.
• As it is easy to use, I provide high quality translations for my clients.
• Using TM and Search ensures consistency and my clients appreciate my good work with the help of Memsource.