Phrase Localization Platform vs. Smartcat

I like Memsource because when I am not home and I don't have my laptop, I can borrow a computer, log in to my Memsource account and I'm ready to begin translating. I can even download the source files and check the TM and glossary there. It's not necessary to download the software and lose time on that.

ABBY SmartCAT is truly a universal solution that can fit any type of organization from freelancers flying solo, to small team of translators and large translation agencies. Anyone who wants to establish themselves as a professional translator can benefit greatly from the CAT tool that SmartCAT offers absolutely free of charge, while teams will surely appreciate the collaborative features that make it possible to work simultaneously with other translators, proofreaders, editors and QA experts on a single project.

• The synching of the desktop app with the online app is great and very helpful.
• It is easy to look for all segments containing a specific term and correct them in a batch.
• Suggestions of other segments where a certain term already appears are very helpful.

Incentivized

• Segmentation.
• Translation overall quality.
• Customer service.
• Pricing.

Incentivized

• 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".

• Performance has been an issue initially. Sometimes it takes longer for some things to load and it can be frustrating.
• UI seems a bit confusing at times. For example, I don't understand why I need to have a translator's profile when I'm clearly a project manager.
• Their support team can take a long time to reply which often crucial for urgent projects.

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.

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.

I regularly use the two other products and appreciate Smartcat including more features than MateCat, such as storing of projects and contact with agencies and clients.

Incentivized

• 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.

• Translation memories and CAT tool help us ensure maximum consistency in our translations which is always appreciated by clients.
• Team collaboration made it easier for us to grow our business and take on bigger projects, which brings us more revenue.
• Payment solution helps us save money on wire transfer fees which is always great when working with multiple freelancers.