Why Use Machine Learning Translation With Overseas Clients?

machine learning translation

One of the biggest barriers to working with overseas clients for many businesses is the language difference. Without access to reliable and high-quality translation services, businesses are unable to take on work from overseas clients. Hiring a human to translate things can quickly get expensive, and while a machine learning translation tool isn’t exactly cheap, it is a much more affordable option.

Below are just some of the benefits of using machine learning translation tools in conjunction with human oversight.

Cost

Accounting graduates in the US can increasingly expect to work with international clients, especially as translation services become more widely available to smaller businesses. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the field of accountants and auditors is expected to grow at a higher rate than most other occupations. With more accountants available, accounting firms are increasingly looking overseas for new business.

A large part of the reason they are able to do so is down to the low cost of machine-learning translation. While not a 100% reliable translation method, machine learning translation can provide accurate enough translation for accounting purposes. In fact, machine learning algorithms can be specifically trained to translate accounting related documents, which will be less complex than prose, for example.

Speed

Along with the cost savings, the other big advantage of using machine learning translation is that it provides results much faster than a person can. There are trade-offs for this speed, of course: a machine learning algorithm is never going to be as reliable as a human translator. However, because a machine learning algorithm can process even large documents very quickly, they are an excellent way of providing an initial translation.

If you have a large number of documents to translate, be they in French, Spanish, German or any other language, then using a machine learning translator is a great way of getting a first draft. You can then use this to ascertain the contents of a document and decide if it warrants translating by a human or not.

Volume

Not only can machine learning algorithms process individual documents very quickly, but they can also process batches of documents at lightning speeds. For businesses that have a large number of documents that they need to process at a time, machine learning translation enables them to process a lot more content a lot quicker.

For large accounting firms who have a number of overseas clients, the ability to process a greater volume of documents at a time enables them to achieve otherwise impossible levels of efficiency and profitability. It also enables them to process documents in another language with fewer human translators required to oversee the process.

Trainable Over Time

Much like people, machine learning algorithms are able to, well, learn. Over time, you can train a machine learning algorithm to process documents more accurately and more efficiently. Every time you have a human correct the work of a machine learning algorithm, the algorithm can track those corrections so that it knows what to look out for in the future.

This means that the longer you use a machine learning translator, the more accurate it will become. It also means that you will be getting more value out of any human translators that you hire because as well as correcting any mistakes in the work, they will also train the algorithm to perform better in the future.

A Long-Term Investment

Because your machine learning translation will become more accurate and therefore more useful over time, it makes a very sensible long-term investment. Once you have the system set up, you will be able to take on some work for overseas clients. This work might be basic at first, but as your algorithm becomes more sophisticated, you can start to look at feeding it more complicated documents.

Augment Human Translation

Machine learning translation is constantly becoming more accurate and more reliable. It isn’t quite as reliable as a human translator – nothing ever will be.  However, with machine learning translation now achieving such a high degree of accuracy, it provides an excellent means of taking a first pass at a translation before having a human correct any errors.

Machine learning translation provides businesses of all sizes with a potential means of exploring work that they would otherwise be unable to take on. For accounting firms and other businesses that mostly handle relatively simple and easily-translated documents, there are significant benefits to employing an algorithm to do your translating.

Whether you’re looking for machine or human translation, BeTranslated can help your business. We specialized in areas as diverse as business translation and IT translation, so there’s bound to be a service that suits you. Contact us today for more information or to get a quote.