Memsource - Detailed Review
Language Tools
Memsource - Product Overview
Memsource Overview
Memsource is a leading provider of AI-driven translation and localization technology, primarily serving global corporations and the language services industry.
Primary Function
Memsource’s main function is to automate, manage, and translate large volumes of multilingual content. This helps organizations provide their customers with content in the language they speak, facilitating deeper customer connections and faster business growth.
Target Audience
Memsource’s target audience includes global companies, particularly those in need of efficient and high-quality translation services. This encompasses a wide range of industries, with notable clients such as Uber, Zendesk, Supercell, and Vistaprint.
Key Features
AI-Powered Translation
Memsource utilizes patented AI technology to improve translation quality and reduce costs. It supports over 500 languages, 50 file types, and integrates with more than 30 machine translation engines.
Automation and Management
The platform automates and manages the translation process, allowing for the translation, integration, and distribution of content at high speed and accuracy. This includes features like Phrase Orchestrator, which customizes and automates localization workflows without requiring coding.
Quality at Scale
Memsource offers a fully automated machine translation solution that scores content and selects the best translation vendors for optimal results. This ensures high-quality translations even at scale.
Analytics and Reporting
The platform includes sophisticated analytics tools, such as Phrase Analytics, which enable users to build individualized reports and track performance against business KPIs. This helps in optimizing the localization process and making data-driven decisions.
Integrations
Memsource provides over 50 integrations, creating a central workspace that connects people, tools, and technology seamlessly. This integrated approach ensures end-to-end visibility and efficiency in the localization process.
By leveraging these features, Memsource helps organizations streamline their translation and localization processes, enhancing customer engagement and driving business growth.
Memsource - User Interface and Experience
User Interface of Memsource
The user interface of Memsource, a cloud-based translation platform, is characterized by its simplicity and intuitiveness, making it accessible to a wide range of users, including translators and project managers.Ease of Use
Memsource is known for its easy-to-use interface, which does not require a significant learning curve. The platform’s web editor and its functions, such as labels, concordance, and quality assurance (QA), are very easy to learn and use, even for new translators. This simplicity ensures that users can quickly get started without needing to read extensive manuals.User Experience
The interface is clean and not overcrowded with options, making it easy for users to focus on their tasks. Memsource allows multiple users, including translators and project managers, to access the same project simultaneously, facilitating real-time collaboration. This collaborative feature enhances productivity and ensures consistency in the translation process.Key Features
Cloud-Based
Memsource operates entirely in the cloud, allowing users to access projects, term bases, translation memories, and reference files from anywhere, without the need for software installation.Intuitive Tools
The platform includes features like translation memory, which automatically stores translations to prevent redundant work, and machine translation tools that help reduce translation costs and improve output.Real-Time Collaboration
Multiple users can work on the same project simultaneously, which is particularly beneficial for teleworking schemes and ensures that all stakeholders are on the same page.User Feedback
Users generally appreciate the user-friendly nature of Memsource. However, some users have noted that the browser-based version can sometimes be slow or unresponsive, particularly during tasks like confirming segments or navigating the QA section. Despite these minor issues, the overall feedback highlights the platform’s ease of use and the confidence it provides in keeping work safe and organized.Conclusion
In summary, Memsource offers a user interface that is simple, intuitive, and easy to use, making it a favorable choice for both individual translators and large translation agencies. Its cloud-based nature and real-time collaboration features further enhance the user experience, although there are some minor areas for improvement regarding performance. Memsource - Key Features and Functionality
Memsource Overview
Memsource, a leading translation management system, incorporates several key features and AI-driven functionalities that enhance the efficiency, quality, and management of translation projects. Here are the main features and how they work:Translation Memory and Term Base
Memsource utilizes Translation Memory (TM) and Term Base to ensure consistency and accuracy in translations. The TM stores previously translated segments, allowing translators to reuse them in new projects, while the Term Base manages terminology to maintain uniformity across translations.Machine Translation
Memsource integrates machine translation capabilities, which can automatically translate segments using various engines. The AI-powered feature, Memsource Translate, dynamically selects the optimal machine translation engine based on the language pair and domain of the content. This ensures higher translation quality and reduces the need for post-editing.Quality Assurance (QA)
The QA feature in Memsource helps identify and correct common formatting errors and other issues. It includes tools like “View Original” and “Preview Translation” to ensure tags and formatting are correctly applied. Additionally, the “Display Hidden Characters” option helps in detecting and correcting issues like multiple spaces and non-breaking spaces.AI-Powered Non-Translatables
This feature uses artificial intelligence to recognize and automatically confirm non-translatable segments, such as numbers, formulas, code, email addresses, and currency. This saves time and costs by reducing the need for manual confirmation and post-editing of these segments.Automatic Linguist Selection
Memsource’s Automatic Linguist Selection uses machine learning algorithms to recommend the best translators for a project based on their past experience and domain expertise. This feature analyzes the content’s domain and matches it with linguists who have relevant experience, ensuring that projects are assigned to the most suitable translators.Workflow Automation and Project Management
Memsource offers advanced workflow automation and project management tools. These features enable real-time collaboration, automated workflows, and efficient project tracking. This streamlines the translation process, reducing manual intervention and enhancing overall project efficiency.In Context Preview
The “In Context Preview” feature allows translators to see the translated text in its final format, which is particularly useful for checking layout, formatting, and context. This ensures that the translated text fits perfectly within the original document’s structure.API Integration and Customizable Workflows
Memsource supports API integration, enabling seamless connectivity with other tools and systems. It also offers customizable workflows, allowing users to adapt the system to their specific needs and processes. This flexibility is crucial for integrating Memsource into existing workflows and systems.Linguistic Quality Evaluation
Memsource includes tools for linguistic quality evaluation, which help in assessing the quality of translations. This involves using historical performance data and quality scores to evaluate the need for post-editing, ensuring that translations meet the required standards.Conclusion
By integrating these features, Memsource leverages AI to improve translation efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the overall quality of translations. These functionalities make Memsource a comprehensive and effective tool for managing translation projects. Memsource - Performance and Accuracy
Performance
Memsource is known for its efficient and user-friendly interface. Here are some performance highlights:Speed and Responsiveness
Memsource is praised for its fast response times, even with medium-speed internet connections. The web editor, although slightly slower than the desktop version, is still much faster than some of its competitors like memoQ.Collaboration
Memsource supports real-time collaboration, allowing multiple translators to work on the same project simultaneously. This feature is particularly beneficial for team projects, as it enables simultaneous read and write access to translation memories.Workflow Customization
Users can set up and customize their workflows to some extent, although there are limitations around adding or removing steps once they are set up.Accuracy
Memsource has implemented several features to ensure high accuracy in translations:Language Quality Assessment (LQA)
Memsource has launched comprehensive LQA features that include customizable LQA profiles. These profiles allow users to set specific error types and severity levels based on content types, client style guides, or other genre-specific requirements. This ensures that translations meet the required quality standards, with detailed scorecards that provide a transparent overview of the assessment.Automated QA Checks
The platform offers automated quality assurance tools, including spelling and grammar checks, translation memory, and glossaries. These tools help in identifying and correcting errors efficiently.Error Framework
Memsource uses the DQF-MQM terminology framework to categorize and weight errors, ensuring a systematic approach to quality assessment. This includes categories such as accuracy, fluency, locale, verity, and design.Limitations and Areas for Improvement
Despite its strengths, Memsource has some limitations:Feature Set
Experienced translators often find Memsource lacking in advanced features compared to other tools like memoQ or SDL Studio. For example, it has fewer find and replace options, no equivalent to memoQ’s LiveDocs and Muses, and limited segment filtering capabilities.User Interface
The desktop editor has a fixed screen layout, which can be restrictive. Users cannot increase the size of certain panes or save custom layouts. Additionally, there is no auto-complete feature in the desktop editor, and tracked changes cannot be shown inline.Resource Management
Freelance translators may find it restrictive that they cannot upload their own translation memories or termbases directly into a Memsource project. They also lack control over certain features like tag display and autopropagation of segments.Conclusion
Memsource offers strong performance and accuracy features, particularly with its LQA and automated QA checks. However, it may not meet the needs of all users, especially those who require more advanced features or greater control over their workflow. Addressing these limitations could further enhance the user experience and make Memsource a more versatile tool for a broader range of translation professionals. Memsource - Pricing and Plans
Plans and Pricing Structure
Memsource Phrase TMS offers several plans, each with varying features and capacities.Freelancer Plan
- Seats: 1 TMS Seat, no Strings Seats
- Features: CAT features, quality assurance, document and software localization, translation memories and term bases, integrations with Github, Gitlab, Bitbucket, and more. 24/7 customer support is included.
- Capacity: Limited to basic product capacities.
Professional Plan
- Seats: Unlimited TMS Seats, 150 Strings Seats
- Features: All Freelancer plan features plus vendor management, language quality assessment, reporting and analytics, customizable translation workflows, integrations with Figma, Slack, and more, and customization for AI-powered machine translation.
- Capacity: Increased product capacities compared to the Freelancer plan.
Business Plan
- Seats: Unlimited TMS Seats, 150 Strings Seats
- Features: All Professional plan features plus custom metadata and branching for products, single sign-on, integrations with Drupal, Zendesk, Kontent.ai, and more, advanced translation memory capabilities, and unlimited MT profiles and glossaries.
- Capacity: High product capacities.
Enterprise Plan
- Seats: Unlimited TMS Seats, 150 Strings Seats (customizable)
- Features: All Business plan features plus access to all integrations including Adobe Experience Manager and Contentful, premium success plan, tailored onboarding, private communication channel, workflow audits, regular business reviews and statistics, and user role configuration.
- Capacity: Customized product capacities, with the ability to add additional capacity as needed.
Additional Capacity and Features
- Users can add capacity for various components such as Strings Seats, TMS Processed Words, Strings Managed Words, Machine Translation Units (MTUs), AI units (AIUs), Orchestrator Workflows, Deployed Models (Custom AI), and Phrase Portal Users.
Free Trial
- Memsource Phrase TMS offers a 14-day free trial with access to Enterprise features, except for integrations that require additional fees.
Billing and Payment
- The platform offers annual and quarterly billing cycles. Payment options include credit card, PayPal, and bank transfer. Default payment terms are Net 15.
Machine Translation Add-on
- For an additional fee, users can subscribe to the Memsource Translate add-on, which provides unlimited machine translation for post-editing from leading MT providers like Amazon Translate, Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, and Tencent TranSmart. This add-on includes features like MT Autoselect, MT Quality Estimation, and customizable MT Glossaries.
Memsource - Integration and Compatibility
Integration with Other Tools
Memsource integrates well with other translation management systems (TMS) and tools, such as Lilt. For instance, the Lilt connector allows for the import of translation memories (TMs) and term bases (TBs) from Memsource into Lilt projects, ensuring consistency across platforms. This integration includes automatic project synchronization and the mapping of segment statuses, such as marking confirmed segments from Memsource as confirmed in Lilt.
Machine Translation Engines
Memsource supports a wide range of machine translation (MT) engines, including Amazon Translate, DeepL, Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, and Rozetta Translate, among others. These engines can be managed and used directly within the Memsource platform, allowing users to upload, edit, and apply glossaries (custom terminology) across all supported engines. This feature simplifies the process of managing custom terminology and reduces the risk of terminology errors.
Glossaries and Term Bases
Memsource allows users to manage glossaries and term bases efficiently. Glossaries can be uploaded, edited, and used across all supported MT engines, ensuring consistent and brand-owned translations. This feature is particularly useful for maintaining uniform terminology usage across different projects and engines.
Workflow Compatibility
The integration features of Memsource are designed to work best with certain project workflow configurations. Users need to ensure that their workflow settings are compatible to avoid potential conflicts and ensure optimal functionality. This includes considerations for intermediary workflow steps and the mapping of segment statuses between platforms.
API Access and Automation
Memsource provides API access, which allows for the integration of its features into various business processes. This API access enables automation of localization tasks and ensures that all team members can benefit from high-quality, enterprise-approved machine translation. For example, integrating Memsource with BLEND allows for streamlined and automated localization processes, minimizing manual work and enabling rapid turnaround times for large volumes of content.
Compatibility Across Platforms
Memsource supports over 500 languages, 50 file types, and integrates with multiple machine translation engines. This broad compatibility makes it a versatile tool for global companies looking to manage their translation processes efficiently. The platform is accessible via web interfaces and can be integrated with other tools and systems to ensure a seamless localization workflow.
Conclusion
In summary, Memsource integrates well with various tools and platforms, supports multiple machine translation engines, and offers robust features for managing glossaries and term bases. Its compatibility across different platforms and devices makes it a reliable choice for companies needing to streamline their translation processes.
Memsource - Customer Support and Resources
Support Options
Memsource, as part of the Memsource Group, offers several support channels to ensure users can get the help they need efficiently. Here are the main support options:Documentation and Resources
Memsource provides extensive documentation, including user guides, tutorials, and FAQs. These resources are designed to help users self-serve and find answers to common questions quickly.Community and Forums
While the specific website provided does not detail community forums, Memsource’s integration with other platforms and its user base suggests that users can often find support through community interactions and shared knowledge.Email and Ticketing System
Although the specific details are not provided in the sources, it is common for translation management systems like Memsource to offer email support and ticketing systems for users to submit and track their support requests.Additional Resources
Memsource offers several additional resources to enhance user experience and productivity:Quality Assurance Tools
Memsource includes automated QA checks, spelling and grammar checks, translation memory, and glossaries to ensure high-quality translations. These tools help translators maintain consistency and accuracy in their work.Machine Translation Integration
Memsource supports integration with various machine translation engines, which can help reduce translation costs and improve efficiency. This integration also includes the ability to use custom machine translation solutions and terminology databases.Offline and Online Accessibility
The platform is available both online and offline, providing flexibility for translators, especially those working in areas with poor internet connections.Training and Webinars
While the specific sources do not mention webinars or training sessions directly for Memsource, it is common for such platforms to offer webinars, training sessions, or online courses to help users get the most out of the software. These resources would typically be announced through their website or communication channels. In summary, Memsource provides a comprehensive set of support options and resources, including detailed documentation, quality assurance tools, and machine translation integration, to support its users effectively. Memsource - Pros and Cons
Advantages of Memsource
Memsource, now part of Phrase, offers several significant advantages, particularly in the context of cloud-based translation management:
Cloud-Based Accessibility
Memsource is a cloud-based system, which means you don’t need to install any software to access your projects. This allows translators and project managers to work from anywhere, at any time, as long as they have an internet connection.
Ease of Use
The interface is simple and intuitive, with a minimal learning curve. This makes it an excellent tool for new translators to get started with computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools.
Collaboration
Multiple users can access the same project simultaneously, facilitating real-time collaboration and efficient project management.
Free for Translators
Memsource is free for translators, which can be a significant advantage for individuals looking to use CAT tools without incurring costs.
Automated Features
Memsource includes automated quality assurance (QA) checks, such as spelling and grammar checks, translation memory, and glossaries. These features help streamline the translation process and ensure quality.
Workflow Customization
Users can set up and customize workflows to some extent, although there are limitations on adding or removing steps once they are set up.
Disadvantages of Memsource
While Memsource offers many benefits, there are also some notable drawbacks:
Performance Issues
The web-based editor can slow down with larger projects, causing typing lag. The desktop version has more functions but still lacks certain features like segment filtering using regular expressions.
Limited Advanced Features
Experienced translators might find Memsource’s simplicity lacking, as it does not include features like auto-suggest options or the ability to define specific QA rules. Additionally, users cannot upload their own translation memories and term bases directly into the translation environment.
Workflow Flexibility
Unlike some other tools, Memsource’s workflows are less flexible once set up. Users cannot remove steps or add new actions as easily as they might with other platforms.
Editor Limitations
The web editor does not display changes made within the editor itself; changes can only be seen in a small panel. This can be frustrating for some users.
Overall, Memsource is a practical and accessible tool that is well-suited for many translation projects, especially for those who value ease of use and cloud-based accessibility. However, it may not meet the needs of more experienced translators or projects that require more advanced features and workflow flexibility.
Memsource - Comparison with Competitors
Comparison of Memsource and Other AI-Driven Language Tools
Memsource Unique Features
Memsource is distinguished by its advanced AI-powered features, such as the Machine Translation Quality Estimation (MTQE) and the Non-translatables feature. The MTQE allows for the estimation of machine translation quality before any post-editing, helping linguists prioritize lower-quality outputs and potentially saving up to 7% on post-editing costs. The Non-translatables feature uses AI to recognize and automatically confirm segments that do not need translation, such as numbers, formulas, code, and email addresses, across over 200 language pairs. This feature is particularly useful in saving time and costs during the pre-translation process. Memsource also offers a wide array of CAT tools, including translation memory management, terminology management, and quality assurance. It supports over 400 languages, 50 file types, and integrates with 25 machine translation engines, making it a comprehensive platform for global companies.Alternatives: MemoQ
MemoQ is another popular CAT tool that stands out for its high-quality translations and specific features. It includes a term base that alerts users to new words and allows for simultaneous text replacement across multiple documents. The LiveDocs feature provides monolingual or bilingual reference materials, and The Muse predicts the next few words as you type, based on translation memories and Live Docs. MemoQ preserves contextual information in both languages, making translation memory searches more precise. However, it is only available on Windows OS, has a steep learning curve, and sometimes experiences bugs and stability issues.Alternatives: Phrase
Phrase, though often confused with Memsource due to a similar name, is a different platform. Phrase focuses heavily on automation and offers features like In-Context Preview, which shows how translated content will look once published, and LQA Assessments, which provide a comprehensive breakdown of content quality. Phrase supports over 500 languages and offers more than 50 integrations. It provides 24/7 support and learning resources for translators. However, some users find the terminology and project management features to be basic, and the user experience could be more intuitive.Alternatives: Matecat
Matecat is a free, enterprise-level CAT tool that supports over 200 languages and 80 file formats. It includes features like MyMemory, a shared translation memory, and Cross-Language Matches, which use other languages as reference points for translation suggestions. Matecat also offers automated linguistic quality assurance checks in 75 languages via LexiQA. However, it has concerns regarding the security of private information and compatibility issues with certain browsers and file sizes.Market Presence and Customer Base
Memsource has a significant market presence with a 0.28% market share in the Translation and Localization category, serving 672 customers, primarily in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. In contrast, Phrase has a smaller market share of 0.04% with 94 customers, mostly in the United States. In summary, while Memsource stands out with its AI-powered features and comprehensive support for various languages and file types, alternatives like MemoQ, Phrase, and Matecat offer unique features that might better suit specific needs, such as high-quality translations, automation, or free enterprise-level tools. Memsource - Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about Memsource, particularly in the context of its AI-driven language tools, along with detailed responses:
What machine translation engines are available in Memsource?
Memsource offers access to several machine translation (MT) engines, including Amazon Translate, Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, and Tencent TranSmart. This variety allows users to choose the best engine for their specific translation needs.How does Memsource manage glossaries for machine translation?
Memsource allows users to manage glossaries directly within the platform. This means you can upload, edit, and deploy your custom terminology across multiple MT engines without having to leave the translation management system. This integration helps ensure consistent and brand-owned translations.What are the new Language Quality Assessment (LQA) features in Memsource?
Memsource has introduced comprehensive LQA features that include customizable LQA profiles. These profiles allow users to set the severity and types of errors flagged, implement pass/fail thresholds, and set rules based on content types or client style guides. The LQA process assesses translation quality using the DQF-MQM terminology framework and provides a detailed scorecard that can be shared with translation providers.How does Memsource’s AI select the best translation engine?
Memsource’s Language AI includes a feature called Machine Translation Autoselect, which automatically chooses the best-performing engine for each translation based on context, language pair, and content type. This AI technology evaluates performance data from over 30 leading MT providers to ensure the optimal engine is selected for each job.What is Phrase NextMT, and how does it improve translation quality?
Phrase NextMT is a TMS-ready machine translation engine developed by Memsource. It leverages your translation memory fuzzy matches to increase translation quality by up to 50%. This engine uses your translation memories and glossaries to achieve the best possible quality translations.How does Memsource’s pricing work?
Memsource has recently introduced a simplified pricing plan where customers get access to the entire platform for a single monthly subscription. This plan includes all platform capabilities, such as TMS, software localization tools, workflow automation, AI machine translation, and advanced analytics. The pricing is usage-based, allowing customers to easily access more capacity as their needs grow.Can I access detailed usage data with Memsource?
Yes, Memsource provides easy access to your usage data, offering greater transparency regarding the capacity and usage you need to meet your goals. This feature is part of their new pricing plans, which aim to give customers more control and visibility over their usage.How does Memsource ensure collaboration during the LQA process?
Memsource’s LQA features are designed to be collaboration-friendly. Reviewers can add notes or descriptions to specific issues within the LQA assessment, which linguists can see and respond to. This allows for clear communication and feedback between reviewers and linguists, enhancing the quality of the translations.Does Memsource offer any free plans or trials?
No, Memsource does not offer a free plan or trial. However, you can explore detailed pricing information and compare it with other translation management systems to find the best fit for your needs.What kind of support does Memsource offer for different content types?
Memsource allows users to set different rules and severity weightings for errors based on content types. For example, marketing texts might have different requirements than legal texts. This flexibility ensures that the quality assessment aligns with the specific needs of each content type.