2026 will be a pivotal year for many global companies. AI is maturing, new regulatory requirements are approaching, and communication workflows are becoming more complex, and faster, than ever. But one thing often fails to keep pace: how translation and localization is managed.
Many organizations spend significant budgets, and a lot of internal time, translating content every year. Yet they often lack a clear picture of what it truly costs in money, hours, and risk.
Here are five questions you should be asking ahead of 2026 to help you regain control, build better workflows, and use your language data more intelligently.
1. What do Translation Cost you Each Year, in Money and Time?
When discussing costs, the focus often lands on what shows up on the invoice, but that’s only part of the picture. The real cost includes both external spend and internal time, plus downstream costs when something goes wrong or gets delayed.
Some examples of what should be included in the total cost are:
- External costs (language partners, tools, systems)
- Internal time (coordination, review)
- Downstream costs when materials need to be reworked, are delayed, or put the brand at risk
Ask yourselves:
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What is our total annual cost, including all internal time spent on multilingual content?
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How long does it take from a finished source text until all languages are ready and published?
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How do these lead times affect our launches, campaigns, and projects?
Modern translation workflows aren’t about squeezing rates or rolling out ad-hoc AI solutions.
They are about:
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reducing manual work
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improving cost-efficiency across processes
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using AI and language data in smarter ways
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tying translation and localization directly to business value
2. How Much Internal Time Is Spent, and How Do You Value It?
The hidden cost in translation workflows is often internal time. Marketing, HR, product owners, legal teams, and local sales offices all step in to adjust the same texts. Versions are emailed back and forth, files are hunted down, and internal reviews get stuck in calendars.
Consider:
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How many people are involved in a typical translation cycle?
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How much time is spent on coordination, follow-ups, and manual requests?
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What does that time add up to in monetary terms over a year, and what could those people be doing instead?
For many companies, internal time is the most expensive part of the entire chain. But with clearer processes and the right tools, it’s possible to free up significant time without compromising quality.
3. Do You Have Control of Your Language Data?
AI isn’t a shortcut, it’s a way of working, built on data. To use AI effectively, you need to have control of your language data: what you have, where it lives, and how it’s allowed to be used.
Consider:
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What language data do we own today (translated content, term lists, glossaries)?
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Where is it stored, how structured is it, and who is responsible for it?
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Can it be reused, while meeting our security and confidentiality requirements?
Many organizations have valuable language data scattered across old files, inboxes, systems, and with previous vendors. That data is an invaluable resource, but only if it’s managed, cleaned up, and used intentionally.
Companies with a structured language data process can save time, reduce costs, and still maintain a consistent global tone of voice.
4. How do you work with data security and regulatory requirements?
As the technology evolves, new regulations and requirements are emerging. The EU AI Act, the new Machinery Regulation, and other forthcoming frameworks make questions around data, transparency, and accountability even more critical, especially for global companies.
Key angles to consider:
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Do we know what types of content can be handled in AI tools, and what cannot?
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Do we have shared guidelines for how generative AI may be used for language and content?
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Are Legal, IT, Quality, and Communications part of the same conversation, or working in silos?
When data security and compliance only enter the picture at the very end, innovation often slows down. If you involve the right people early, you can build workflows that:
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are efficient in practice
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meet both today’s and tomorrow’s requirements
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create confidence for both the organization and your customers
This is where your choice of partner matters. You need someone who understands language, technology, and regulation, and can explain it in a clear, practical way.
5. How do you ensure you actually reach global markets?
Finally, why do you translate at all? Not to produce more words, but to reach people: customers, employees, users, and partners, in their own language.
Ask yourselves:
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How do we measure the impact of our content across different markets?
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Do we dare to adapt the message, or do we settle for something that’s merely “correctly translated”?
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Do local teams have the ability to influence the content, or are they only asked to approve it after the fact?
A modern translation workflow should enable you to:
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scale faster into new markets
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maintain a strong, consistent brand and tone of voice across languages
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while still taking local needs and conditions into account
2026 will be a turning point: continue chasing squeezed supplier rates and ad-hoc AI solutions, or start treating translation as a strategic part of the global communication flow, to gain control, build better workflows, and use resources in a smarter way.
Want to continue the conversation about how you can take the next step? Get in touch, and we’ll look together at how your five answers look today, and where you want them to be tomorrow.
Annica Heuermann
Annica Heuermann: Dec 12, 2025 12:35:14 PM
