BIOS: Technology Means Business

New technology from Translation allows users to communicate in other languages at the touch of a button. The Computer Assisted Translation (CAT) software allows anyone wanting to write an e-mail in English to work with colleagues in France and Germany.

According to the company, simply 'pressing a button' will convert your e-mail automatically into your chosen language before sending. Similarly, incoming e-mails are translated into the user's own language or nominated language. The process is completely automatic and requires no special skill on the part of the user.

The new technology promises accurate, automatic translation of e-mails, documents and Web pages quickly, without the need to cut and paste or to change ways of working. The company aims to make organisations and individuals more successful by removing language barriers and by enabling more accurate and easier communication with speakers of other languages.

Ted Marshall, Managing Director, Translution said, 'Many people have tried Computer Assisted Translation services before and have been disappointed. With our offering, Translution has moved language translation software a giant leap forward in terms of ease of use and comprehension. We have developed unique technology that removes one of the main barriers to trade with countries whose first language is different from your own. This has not been done before successfully or commercially, by any company worldwide.'

The software had been designed to translate initially to and from English, German, French, Italian and Spanish, with further languages to follow. Within the next 12 months Translution plans to increase the number of languages available to it's customers to include Chinese and Arabic amongst others.

Two levels of product are available. The first, Translution Pro, is priced at £59.95 (inc. VAT, per year) and can be downloaded from Translution's Web site. Translution Pro is also offered on a free trial basis for 30 days. There is also a free restricted version, Translution Light, which is available for permanent use after users have tried Pro. The second, Translation Corporate, will be available early in 2006.

Translution Pro provides professional-quality automated translation of e-mail, Word documents and Web sites. It is designed for those with regular translation needs and for businesses of all sizes that wish to communicate instantly with overseas colleagues, branches, suppliers, distributors and partners.

Translution Light is a free restricted service which enables e-mails to be automatically translated but not the translation of word documents or Web-pages. The product is aimed, for example, at individuals who have friends abroad, those involved in properties overseas or tourists seeking accommodation.

'In the UK it's all too easy to think, when using the Internet, that the rest of the world communicates in English. They don't' said Mr Marshall. 'There is a huge potential market for this software. Web-based translation services currently provide more than two billion translations a month worldwide, but as yet none of them relate to automatic e-mail. Translution will fill this gap. This is the best translation software in the world today and has made living without language barriers a reality.'

The product includes proprietary technology developed in conjunction with Leeds and Wolverhampton Universities, which claims to improve the translation quality over that currently available from other sources of automated translation. The software includes a range of features that allow users to customise the product to meet their own translation requirements, such as the option to not translate certain words.