The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2020 - 33

GEEKSPEAK

BY JOST ZETZSCHE

What Are Translation-Specific Tool Providers and
Developers Doing to Assist Translators During COVID-19?

n light of the current situation, it
was suggested that I write something
connecting technology with our allconsuming health crisis. None of us can
predict what things will be like when this
column goes to print, but it's safe to say
that our lives will not have returned to
normal-whatever "normal" is now.
I really liked the idea, so I asked the
same question of the technology vendors
themselves. (Since I had to limit myself, I
asked only computer-assisted translation
tool or translation environment tool
providers and developers.) This is the
message I sent:
I'm working on an article about what
vendors of translation-specific tools are
doing to respond to the coronavirus.
Clearly, these are very, very difficult times
for all of us, personally and professionally.
I'm aware that you may see a significant
decrease in sales in the next few weeks and
maybe months as much of translation life
slows down. Still, this is a good opportunity
to reach out to translators with offers
specifically geared toward this crisis,
including training, digital meetings, and
other kinds of engagement. What you are
planning in this regard?
You won't be surprised to hear
that virtually all vendors replied to
outline their efforts. I'll list them here
in alphabetical order. (I edited the
answers to cut text that seemed too
promotional or offers that listed special
sales of existing products. Also, nearly
all respondents mentioned that staff
members are working remotely while
ensuring the operation of all services and
necessary uptimes required.)
Please keep in mind that the timelines
for these offers might have changed since
the initial responses were received, so
make sure to consult the websites listed. I
just wanted to provide a snapshot of how
vendors responded to the gravity of the
situation to offer support to translators and
interpreters during a difficult time. It's just

another example of how our industry is
pulling together to do what they can.

■

Provided local and international
organizations and software
development companies that are
fighting COVID-19 with free server
licenses during the crisis.

■

Provided free server licenses for
non-governmental organizations
and life science companies that are
fighting COVID-19 and dealing with
crisis communication.

ATRIL
www.atril.com
ATRIL has been trying to help our
customers and partners face this difficult
situation. For example, in China, where we
partner with a large number of universities,
we've equipped university staff and students
with free DVX3 Pro licenses so they can still
study and learn while being at home.
For translators who are already using
DVX3 but need an additional license
for another computer during this crisis,
we're providing them with temporary
activation codes.

MEMOQ
www.memoQ.com
The top priority of memoQ is ensuring
a safe and remote working environment
for our employees, as well as providing
our users with professional solutions and
supporting life science companies during
the pandemic. To this end, we have:
■

Published an e-book to support
the switch to home offices:
https://bit.ly/memoQ-home-office.

In addition to these initiatives, memoQ
organizes virtual events to further
develop their users' project management
skills and provide both memoQ and nonmemoQ users with valuable information
on how to improve their translation and
localization workflows.

SDL
www.sdltrados.com
The skills of the professional translation
community are in high demand at the
moment. As such, SDL has taken the
following actions:
■

Provided free access to machine
translation for health science professionals
(see xl8.link/SDLHealthcare)

This column has two goals: to inform the community about technological advances and encourage the use and appreciation of technology among translation professionals.
www.atanet.org

American Translators Association

http://www.atril.com http://www.memoQ.com http://www.sdltrados.com http://xl8.link/sdlhealthcare https://www.bit.ly/memoQ-home-office http://www.atanet.org

The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2020

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