One of the most interesting presentations for me at this year's memoQ Fest in Budapest was the presentation by Kilgray's CEO Balázs Kis on the company's new product in beta testing, the TM Repository. The concept was actually discussed at last year's conference, but it has matured a lot since then and developed into a web-based application (based on Microsoft IIS, ASP and SQL Server) for sophisticated management of translation memory resources from any source. Here are two more slides that emphasize aspects which I find particularly useful:
The complete presentation slide set can be downloaded here, and I think the talk will eventually be made available on YouTube.
It's important to understand that this is not a memoQ add-on. It is a tool intended to manage TMX data from any translation environment without metadata loss and allowing mapping of attributes for other systems, data maintenance and much more. It could be used by LSPs and corporations with extremely large Trados data set, for example, and it offers version control for the data. I'm not aware of another translation environment tool that does this in an efficient way.
Organizations interested in learning more about this technology and how it might support their workflows should contact Kilgray.
Have you been following developments at TAUS? TAUS is focused particularly on MT, but the data is just as applicable to TM.
ReplyDeleteHi Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI've been reading about the TM Repository technology on Kilgray's website. As someone who has often pondered the comparative benefits of the "big mama" vs. multiple specialised TM approaches, TM Repository seems to be a very neat solution, since it effectively sidesteps the question altogether.
There is no mention of cost on the Kilgray site. This may simply be because the product is not yet out of beta. Or it may be because it's aimed purely at the enterprise end of the market and will be priced at a level that puts it beyond most freelancers' budget. But the features it offers sound like they could be equally useful to agencies/enterprises and freelancers with large amounts of TM data to manage.
I'm just wondering whether any indication was given at memoQfest as to whether this product would be open to and usable by freelancers? And any indication as to the likely price tag?
It is an intriguing solution, and I'm pleased that it is now released software, not beta any more.
ReplyDeleteIn its current form this is an ASP.NET application I think, not designed for desktop use. But there is indeed a need for individual-level TM management solutions, and I hope that Kilgray goes there too. This tool is aimed at the server market.
Lest anyone start bitching at our Hungarian friends for "ignoring" the needs of freelancers or "selling out", please consider that the strategy of making server tools good enough to beat SDL Trados in its key markets is securing the future for freelancers working with memoQ. Think about it. We get our toys, and if I have to wait a little bit while measures are taken to ensure that the toy shop stays open, I am OK with that.