The translator portal that boasts 170,000 professionals and over 30,000 projects per year launched its corporate solution offering last month. ProZ.com Connect seeks to replace the siloed, proprietary, and woefully out-of-date Excel spreadsheets or random databases that form the basis of vendor management at thousands of translation agencies around the planet. It replaces them with a single instance, multi-tenant, more-likely-to-be-updated online repository of freelancer data. Think salesforce.com for the supply chain managers responsible for resourcing translation projects:

• A series of filters allows LSPs to identify how many translators meet the requirements of a certain project and ask for bids only from them, instead of the traditional spray-and-pray approach that attracts lots of low-cost but unqualified bids.
• Companies can flag their favorite translators and write comments about a professional’s performance after working with them.
• Different managers at one company — or even in different companies — can then share these translator evaluations.
• And not least of all, translators will be relieved that they need to update their résumés and contact info in fewer places.

We think the e-mail handling, which affords logoed emails from outsourcers, is a good way for recognized companies to let community members know who is looking for them. That’s because, in a sea of opportunities, busy translators make blink-speed decisions about which offers to open and respond to, or not.

• Charter members. Lexi-tech International and two dozen other “charter” firms piloted the system to provide live feedback during beta testing. Thus the system comes blinking into the light of day primed with users — and more importantly with the first set of bells and whistles requested by commercial adopters already implemented.
• Getting started. The free trial is limited to two weeks and three projects, whichever ends first. This is enough to whet your appetite, but seems a bit skimpy to us. To use the system, companies will start at USD$660 per year, but that is still only one seat and a very limited number of projects. Large organizations should request an unlimited 30-60 day trial, but it won’t be free. The companies actively using the service today paid annual charges that range from US$1,800 to $15,000, although it can go higher.
• The fine print. The entry-level offering is too limited for most LSPs, but Professional, Enterprise, and Universal packages extend the offering’s tiered pricing structure. To get past the trial, most companies will need to commit approximately US$2,000 per year to get 80 projects over 12 months. However, this is still just one user. Adding users and projects to the deal drives the price upwards, with the unlimited Universal license running to US$10,000 per year or more. Custom integration further adds to this base cost.
• Old Kidd on the block. Mike Kidd, ex-Trados and ProZ’s new VP of Sales & Marketing, looks to have 100-150 companies paying for the service this year, and has already signed up 30 against that target. At least one Global 1000 company participated in the pilot. At least one government supplier is also already using the system. The biggest check written so far came from a large LSP. With interest from providers, enterprises, and governments, the system shows promise as far as commercial viability.

We are pleased to see Connect because it represents the best of the web, right here in our favorite cottage industry. There will be other translator networks to challenge ProZ.com, but for now this application sets a high bar for community and efficiency. The fact that it costs real money shouldn’t be a surprise, so long as the cost is matched by real benefits. The language business is coming of age.