ProZ.com, die weltweit größte Plattform für freiberuflich tätige Übersetzer, wird die wesentlich kleinere und erst 2014 gegründete Website TM-Town.com übernehmen. Das wurde im April 2016 zwischen beiden Unternehmen vertraglich vereinbart.
ProZ verschafft sich Zugang zu innovativer Technologie
Gemessen an der Zahl der registrierten Mitglieder ist ProZ hundertmal größer als TM-Town. Bei ProZ sind rund 600.000 Übersetzer eingetragen, bei TM-Town weniger als 6.000.
Es ist also nicht die relativ unbedeutende Mitgliederbasis von TM-Town, auf die es ProZ abgesehen hat. Im Mittelpunkt des Interesses stehen die von TM-Town entwickelten Werkzeuge zur automatischen Auswahl geeigneter Übersetzer.
Automatische Auswahl geeigneter Übersetzer durch terminologische Textanalyse
Bei TM-Town wird der vom Kunden hochgeladene Ausgangstext durch ein „Nakōdo“ genanntes System terminologisch analysiert und mit den ebenfalls online verfügbaren Translation Memories der Übersetzer verglichen.
Es werden dann nur die Übersetzer vorgeschlagen, deren frühere Arbeiten eine hohe terminologische Übereinstimmung mit dem neuen Ausgangstext aufweisen. Das soll den Auswahlprozess beschleunigen und objektiver gestalten.
Das Verfahren wurde zum Patent angemeldet.
ProZ und TM-Town werden unabhängig voneinander weiterbetrieben
Kevin Dias
Beide Websites sollen weiterhin unabhängig voneinander weiterbetrieben werden. Kevin Dias (ein in Japan lebender Software-Entwickler) und Nate Hill, die Gründer von TM-Town, bleiben im Unternehmen und sollen TM-Town in Vollzeit weiterentwickeln.
ProZ.com ist für sie „a match made in heaven for us“: „We can continue pursuing our mission with a partner who shares our ideals and values.“ Darüber hinaus dürften sich die beiden auch darüber freuen, dass sie mit ihrem kaum zwei Jahre alten Start-up jetzt bereits abkassieren können.
Nachfolgend die Pressemitteilung von ProZ.com:
World’s Largest Freelance Translator Community Obtains Additional Channel for Its Members to Promote Their Services
ProZ.com, Inc. and TM’s for Translators, LLC., today announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which ProZ.com will acquire TM’s for Translators, LLC., including its “TM-Town.com” website. The acquisition will enable ProZ.com, the world’s leading community for freelance translators, to offer its members an innovative new channel for obtaining more of the type of work in which they individually specialize.
At most freelancer websites, including ProZ.com, translators create profiles that describe their services and areas of expertise, and companies seeking to hire translators search those profiles for candidates. In contrast, in TM-Town’s patent-pending approach, a central agent (dubbed “Nakōdo”) characterizes translators’ areas of expertise by statistically analyzing the terminology that appears in work they have completed previously. When a new document needs to be translated, candidates with experience in the field can quickly be identified, through a process that involves comparing the “terminological profile” of the new document with that of documents previously translated by TM-Town translators.
Nate Hill
For outsourcers, this unique approach can reduce the time required to search for translators and evaluate their profiles. For translators, it makes it easier to find a particular kind of translation work, while decreasing the number of inquiries outside of one’s working fields. The approach also contributes to higher efficiency and quality of work, since translators working in their areas of specialization require less time to research new concepts and terms.
Importantly, novel mechanisms enable TM-Town to learn translators’ areas of expertise without the need to upload confidential client content.
“Kevin and Nate at TM-Town have built an innovative job matching platform that is both easy to use and technically advanced,” said Henry Dotterer, President of ProZ.com. “We are pleased to be able to offer a unique new marketing opportunity to our members as a result of this acquisition. We look forward to supporting Kevin and Nate as they further develop their promising service for translators.”
Kevin, founder of TM-Town, commented, “Joining ProZ.com gives us an opportunity to bring our unique tools and services to the world’s largest translation community. We are looking forward to continuing to improve our technologies, while serving the freelance translators and translation buyers of the world on a much greater scale.”
The two sites — ProZ.com and TM-Town.com — will continue to exist separately. By acquiring ownership of a company serving the same customers, but with a different and complementary technology and approach, ProZ.com puts itself in a position to offer a more comprehensive service. In the short term, a joint membership will be offered at the two sites. Over time, additional possible synergies will be explored.
The strong privacy and data confidentiality policies of both sites will remain in effect.
More about ProZ.com
Founded in 1999, ProZ.com is home to the world’s largest community of freelance translators. Companies that require translations can use the site’s directory to find translators or translation companies at no charge. In addition, translators working on jobs have a structured means (called “KudoZ”) of obtaining assistance from colleagues on challenging terms. Many other services are provided for translators, including discussion forums, in-person and virtual meetings, the “Blue Board” database of translation outsourcers with reviews, and more.
ProZ.com is based in Syracuse, NY, USA, and has additional offices in La Plata, Argentina and Kharkov, Ukraine.
More about TM’s for Translators and TM-Town
Established in 2014, TM’s for Translators, LLC., is the owner and operator of TM-Town.com. The company’s mission is “to create a better translation world through technology and specialization.” Created by Kevin Dias with Nate Hill, the site serves translators by providing tools that they can use to manage their linguistic assets while obtaining the opportunity to meet clients whose translation needs precisely match their areas of expertise.
ProZ.com, die weltweit größte Plattform für freiberuflich tätige Übersetzer, wird die wesentlich kleinere und erst 2014 gegründete Website TM-Town.com übernehmen. Das wurde im April 2016 zwischen beiden Unternehmen vertraglich vereinbart.
