Alpha CRC focuses on growing Chinese market
One of the oldest continuous civilizations and, according to The Sunday Times, "the world's largest economy for 18 of the past 20 centuries", China is becoming a key market for localization companies.
Following a recent extended sales trip to the Republic, Alpha's International Sales Director Paul Mangell has identified three core strands to this intriguing market. "China is very interesting, especially due to its sheer size and the volume of information being produced over there," he comments. "Firstly, a huge number of UK and US businesses are entering China, the majority of which have a growing need for translation into Simplified Chinese on the mainland and Cantonese on the islands of Hong Kong and Taiwan. Secondly, a number of our own clients are establishing localization departments on the ground in China, with hubs developing specifically in Beijing and Shanghai. And thirdly a number of Chinese localization companies are looking to partner with experienced providers outside the country to supply translation into European languages."
Alpha's presence in Beijing and its experience of the Chinese market makes it perfectly placed to assist companies either entering China for the first time, expanding their in-country localization network or looking to source high-quality non-Chinese translation. "Our office in Beijing has been open for four years, and operates with a mixture of full-time in-house translators and a scaleable group of freelancers - it is managed by Hongnian Zhang, a localization professional with over 15 years' industry experience of the Chinese market," comments Paul Mangell. "We are also gearing up to meet a phenomenal growth in demand for our services in China by adding value and other localization services, including Project Management, DTP, Engineering and QA. There's no doubt that expanding into a new market can be daunting, but the good news is that we can help. In other words, if companies are contemplating entering China, setting up localization there or looking for a suitable partner, our message to them is simple: talk to us first."
Alpha CRC unaffected by SDL's Idiom purchase
Perhaps the largest event in localization's recent history - SDL's purchase of Idiom - sent reverberations around the industry, so how does it affect a service provider such as Alpha CRC? According to Strategic Accounts Director, Fernando Blasi, the answer is simple - it's business as usual.
"Everyone at Alpha noted with interest the impact of Idiom's purchase by SDL, especially as our history as an independent localization company means that we are very comfortable with both technologies," he comments. "We have managed major projects, involving millions of words, on both Idiom WorldServer and SDL's TMS and GXT platforms, and therefore found ourselves completely unflustered by the takeover.
"Overall, our experience is that nothing has changed," continues Fernando. "As an independent company we are not tied to any one supplier, and we are large enough to adopt technology and adapt to its changing requirements. Our perception is that clients are happy to utilize Idiom or SDL technology solutions but to use a different service provider, and where this is the case they welcome Alpha's independence and objectivity.
"There is no escaping the fact that any company embracing either Idiom or SDL technology needs to choose a reliable service provider. And with Alpha's status in the localization market they are guaranteed the best outcome: independent, high-quality and cost-effective localization solutions on whichever platform they choose," he concludes.
