Why are industry conferences so important for business growth?
ALM started attending translation industry events several years ago and we did wonder what benefit could be gained.
After the very first event, we came away armed with new ideas and inspiration allowing us to set strategic goals. Since then, we made the decision to attend one event every year. Industry events are great for bench marking where your business stands, give you ideas for evolution and build confidence and applies for all industries, not just the translation industry. It confirms that as business owners, our gut instinct and ideas are actually valid!
This year, ALM attended the GALA Translation industry conference in New York. The Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) is the world’s leading trade association for the language industry. Every translation company represented different countries from all parts of the globe. The three-day conference gave us an insight into some of the future trends in the translation industry especially in terms of translation technology. Machine translation and human translation were discussed at length, including the age-old argument about humans versus the machine. The conclusion? Human translation will always be needed for high profile projects and machine translation can help your businesses drive multilingual content out to your customers.
The discussions allowed us to prepare ourselves for the future to ensure that not only do we not get left behind, but we continue to offer our clients the very best services available. The conference was a mix of seminars, knowledgefests (where we formed discussion groups), short talks and networking. We met an interesting mix of people, from freelance translators through to industry gurus and some very old and well-known faces!
Industry conferences definitely help to push businesses forward in a positive way. We will also be attending this year’s ATC (Association of Translation Companies) conference in London later on in the year.
So what’s our advice? Get out there and network. You never know, it might be fun and you certainly won’t be left behind.
ALM Translations helps companies network with their customers in their own language. Whether it’s via websites, legal documents, brochures or business cards, ALM can help. In a global marketplace, why wouldn’t you employ the services of a professional translation company?
How can ALM help you push your business forward? Contact us today.