In a global economy, do you really want to limit your customers to one language?

The world is getting smaller all the time. Well, not really. Actually, it is getting larger but the perception is that it is getting smaller as we continue along the path to a global economy. Accordingly, the world now does business in 100's of languages and certainly, wherever you live you are exposed to more and more each day.

If you are a business, are you prepared to meet the demands for translation and can you afford the cost? Can you afford not to? A few years ago, those would be difficult questions but not anymore. The combination of TAG and translation services provides anyone with a cost effective solutions.

An important aspect of the making translation a seamless process involves intercepting a request and determining the sender's language from their regional settings, translating the text to the appropriate language returning that translation. Here TAG only acts as a facilitator.

If you operate a business anywhere in the world where people speak more than one language why not use TAGs to generate translations. We have often found that restaurants will post their menus outside and often at least one of us can speak the local language. However, when in eastern Switzerland none of us were ever going to figure out Rumantsch. A conveniently placed TAG on the menu would certainly have been a benefit.

While tourists would benefit from this type of application of technology, you don't have to be a tourist to see the advantages. At last count, here in Toronto, the population is represented by about 148 different nationalities and perhaps even more languages if you consider the different dialects. Is there a better showcase for the technologies of TAG and translation? What industry, business or agency wouldn't benefit from this technology?

Here in Canada we have two official languages. In Switzerland, they have four and many countries have even more. So without even considering the tourist industry, there is already a substantial need for translation locally and everywhere.

Although translation engines are getting better all the time, right now you would not want to leave things to chance. Therefore, for the time being, you would still want create separate information stores and websites to accommodate each of the languages you would choose to support. Now if you are just starting out that can seem like a daunting task and it is unless you are a business that is already catering to multiple markets and that work is done.

Although there are no features of TAG that perform translation, combining it with translation may become a key to TAG's success. Just as many websites offer a multiple language support, businesses can exploit the functionality of TAG to do the same. After a period, people reading TAGs may come to expect to get a translation and make choices based on it. For those who depend on the tourist industry it is sure to become a necessity.

For large multinational corporations, this is really a no-brainer. For those who already have their documentation translated and online, TAG simply provides access and represents a no-cost return on existing investment. As an example, McDonald's could place the same TAG on the packaging of their Big Macs worldwide. Regardless, if you were in Moscow or Beloxi, you could get pertinent information in your own language.

Even if you are not in the Fortune 500, using TAG as a gateway to translated information makes sense. In fact, the benefit to small businesses may be even greater. Since they lack the recognition of larger companies, they often have to work harder to come up with better ways to compete. Agility might give them an edge here, since a small business could implement a TAG strategy in the time it usually takes a corporation to get the item on the agenda.

This is an especially good opportunity for companies both big and small to take advantage of the language skills of a diverse workforce. It should also be considered an opportunity for those people with language skills.