SDL debuts BeGlobal cloud-based translator

Language translation specialist SDL has unveiled automated real-time translation software for enterprises delivered via the cloud.

The company has been working on an on-demand translation tool since acquiring Language Weaver this summer. The first fruit of the acquisition is BeGlobal, which SDL claims is the first cloud platform for real-time automated translation.

"SDL is tech driven and we have patented the first words-to-numbers statistical-based algorithm," said Swamy Viswanathan, vice president of products and marketing at SDL.

BeGlobal is designed to help organisations engage with customers by offering a central hub to communicate in any language in real time. BeGlobal should be able to help companies enhance real-time social content with multi-lingual support.

“Enterprise has previously controlled the speed of engagement with CMS [content management systems],” SDL chief executive Mark Lancaster told V3.co.uk.

“But [business] customers are more proactive now and CMS is not moving at the speed of the market.”

Viswanathan added that BeGlobal uses a REST API so that it does not displace existing infrastructure when deployed.

The software aims to offer a customisable quality of service, like analytics and reporting, differing from Google Translate, which embeds the technology in its own applications.

The Touchpoint user interface in BeGlobal allows users to create a configurable set of translation options. Users can select the required language and destination, and tweak translation settings.

SDL could not supply estimates on potential cost savings, but claimed that operational expenditure can be greatly reduced because customers do not have to run offices with human translators.

However, Lancaster acknowledged that BeGlobal cannot rubber stamp all channels of communication between a business and its customers, and that some situations needed human interaction.

BeGlobal is offered as a subscription service from Tuesday.