The Greatest Localization Show on Earth?

Transcription

1 The Greatest Localization Show on Earth? Delegates and Prospective Attendees Voice Opinion on Industry Conferences By Donald A. DePalma and Renato Beninatto

2 The Greatest Globalization Show on Earth? By Donald A. DePalma and Renato Beninatto ISBN: ISBN: Copyright 2003 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc., Lowell, Massachusetts, United States of America. Published by: Common Sense Advisory, Inc. 100 Merrimack Street Suite 301 Lowell, MA USA No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Permission requests should be addressed to the Permissions Department, Common Sense Advisory, Inc., Suite 301, 100 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA , , info@commonsenseadvisory.com. See for usage guidelines. Trademarks: Common Sense Advisory, Global Watchtower, Global DataSet, DataPoint, Globa Vista, Quick Take, and Technical Take are trademarks of Common Sense Advisory, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Information is based on the best available resources at the time of analysis. Opinions reflect the best judgment of Common Sense Advisory s analysts at the time, and are subject to change.

3 The Greatest Globalization Show on Earth? i Table of Contents I ve Got a Limited Budget. Which Conference Is Worth Attending?... 1 How We Uncovered True Feelings about Conferences... 2 Who s Who in the Localization Conference Space... 2 Vendors Edge Out Clients in Attending Conferences... 7 Respondents Complain about Too Many Conferences... 8 Potential Delegates Respond to Solicitation... 9 Respondents Network and Get Educated at Conferences And Now for Best Conference, May I Have the Envelope, Please? LISA Tops Dissatisfaction List for Client and Vendor Delegates Alike The Cost of Conference and Travel Keeps Many Away They May Hate LISA, but They re Going Anyway Before You Write That Letter to the Editor, Here Are Some Caveats Conferences Will Not Improve by Themselves Organizers Must Deliver the Value They Promise Vendors Need to Find a New Way of Interacting with Clients Speakers Must Toe the Conference Line Conferences Will Get Better If Clients Participate A Final Word About Common Sense Advisory Future Research Figures Figure 1: Few Have Luxury of Attending More Than One or Two Conferences... 3 Figure 2: Most Respondents Were Delegates at One or Two Conferences Last Year... 8 Figure 3: Clients Prefer Localization Institute; Vendors Favor LISA Figure 4: Both Clients and Vendors Determine LISA Is the Weakest Link Figure 5: The Worst Conference Promises to Draw the Most Attendees Tables Table 1: The Universe of Localization Conferences... 6 Table 2: Most Respondents Hear about Conferences via Table 3: Networking and Information Drive Delegates to Conferences Table 4: What the Best Conferences Do Right Table 5: What the Worst Conferences Do Badly Table 6: Cost Tops the List of What Keeps People Away from Conferences Table 7: Even If Attendance Were Free, Attending a Conference Costs Big Bucks Copyright 2003 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.

4 ii The Greatest Globalization Show on Earth? Copyright 2003 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.

5 The Greatest Globalization Show on Earth? 1 Topic I ve Got a Limited Budget. Which Conference Is Worth Attending? If you could take only one thing to a deserted island, what would it be? In this party game you get a choice of one and only one thing to take with you forever. It forces you to determine what you value most or cannot live without. We felt that this hypothetical exercise very much resembles the market for localization conferences in today s economy. As corporate budgets disallow all but essential expenditures, decision makers find that they have funds for just one, maybe two conferences, if any at all. In this budget-strapped milieu, many localization managers apportion their scarce conference budgets across a range of events. They ask themselves not Which translator event is best? or Should my boss go to CSN Expo or LISA? but rather, Given so many conferences, which one or two should we attend? This apples-to-oranges comparison drives many decisions (see Figure 1). However, even without the question of budgetary constraints, we thought that a winner-take-all best and worst survey would be enlightening. We asked our survey respondents what they think about the localization-related conferences being held this year. Our goal was to find out what people want and which organizer best delivers on those demands. To be sure, the results won t surprise you, especially if you have attended any conferences in the last few years. Respondents told us that: Conferences serve a useful purpose. Respondents leave their offices for hotels in distant cities to network, hear about best practices, and gain useful practitioner knowledge. They crave relevant topics and good speakers across a range of technology and business issues. Suppliers of localization technology and services, though, delight in meetings where they can find lots of potential clients. But they cost too much and often don t deliver the goods. Whether our respondents worked for a buyer or seller of localization, they told us that conferences cost too much. Sales pitches masquerading as plenary presentations and archaic topics disappointed client attendees. Vendors objected to conferences with light client-side attendance. Copyright 2003 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.