TMS Customer Satisfaction

Transcription

1 TMS Customer Satisfaction How Users Rate TMS Solutions and Their Vendors By Benjamin B. Sargent and Rebecca Ray March 2015

2 TMS Customer Satisfaction By Benjamin B. Sargent and Rebecca Ray March 2015 Copyright 2015 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America. Published by: Common Sense Advisory, Inc. 100 Cambridgepark Drive Cambridge, 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., 100 Cambridgepark Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140, , info@commonsenseadvisory.com. See for usage guidelines. Trademarks: Common Sense Advisory, Global Watchtower, Global DataSet, DataPoint, Globa Vista, MarketFlex, Quick Take, Technical Take, and TMS Live are trademarks of Common Sense Advisory, Inc. All other trademarks, product names, logos, and brands 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 TMS Customer Satisfaction i Table of Contents Topic... 1 Executive Summary... 2 Findings... 3 Deployment Scenarios for LSPs and Translation Buyers... 3 Generational Analysis Shows Increasing User Satisfaction... 5 TMS Customer Experience Improving Steadily... 5 Third-Generation TMS Exhibits Two Different Satisfaction Profiles... 7 Market Penetration and Net Promoter Scores for Individual Systems... 9 Results Return on Investment High for All System Types Product Attributes Highlight Readiness for Large-Scale Deployment Attribute Ratings Indicate Growing Strength of Cloud-Based Solutions Importance Ratings Show Reliability to Be Top Concern Differences in Usability Perception by Job Function Cloud Class Easily Wins in Usability Ratings Project Manager Role Tops the Priority List for Usability Factors Gauging the Responsiveness of TMS Providers Native Cloud Applications Take Center Stage Recommendations Evaluate Moving to a Native Cloud Application Worksheets for Evaluating the Jump Assessing Cloud-Based Resource Layers Assessing Cloud-Based Application Integration Create a Transition Plan Related Research Appendix Demographic Details of LSP Respondents Demographic Details of Buy-Side Respondents Origin of Survey Respondents About Common Sense Advisory Future Research Applied Research and Advisory Services Figures Figure 1: LSP and Buyer Respondents to Survey... 3 Figure 2: Buyers and LSPs Show Similar Time in System Patterns... 4 Figure 3: LSPs Are More Likely to Purchase a Second TMS or Replacement System... 4 Figure 4: LSPs Deploy TMS Faster than Translation Buyers... 5 Figure 5: TMS Generations Show Steady Progress in User Satisfaction... 6 Figure 6: System Classes Closely Follow Generational Analysis... 7 Figure 7: Primary TMS of 2014 Survey Respondents Figure 8: LSP and Buyer NPS Results for Selected Systems Figure 9: ROI Satisfaction for TMS Generations Copyright 2015 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc. March 2015

4 ii TMS Customer Satisfaction Figure 10: LSP versus Buyer Satisfaction for TMS Product Attributes Figure 11: LSPs and Buyers Express Divergent Needs for TMS Attributes Figure 12: Usability Satisfaction for TMS Generations by User Role Figure 13: LSPs and Buyers Rate Importance of Usability in TMS Solutions Figure 14: LSPs and Buyers Assess Vendor Attributes across TMS Generations Figure 15: Company Size Breakout for LSP Respondents Figure 16: Buy-Side Users by Industry Figure 17: Buy-Side Respondents by Company Size Tables Table 1: Generational Analysis for TMS System Classes Used in This Report... 8 Table 2: Number of Respondents for Systems in Each Class (N=601)... 9 Table 3: Results Calculation for Likert-Scale Data Collection Table 4: Worksheet for Assessing Cloud-Based Resource Layers Table 5: Worksheet for Assessing Cloud-to-Cloud Connections Table 6: Functional Areas and Associated Job Titles for LSPs (N=346) Table 7: Buy-Side Users by Functional Area (N=116) Table 8: Survey Respondents by Country of Company Headquarters (N=463) March 2015 Copyright 2015 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.

5 TMS Customer Satisfaction 1 Topic Translation management system (TMS) software orchestrates the tasks and resources involved in large-scale translation activities. To date, little research has been available on the level of satisfaction among decision-makers, practitioners, and end-users of TMS solutions. In October 2014, CSA Research surveyed 688 enterprise and supply side users, asking them about a range of customer satisfaction topics, including issues such as return on investment (ROI), product performance, and vendor interactions. These issues form an index of customer satisfaction, which will drive decisions about investment in the platform these companies decide to buy or use in the future. In the analysis, we highlight the differences between LSP and translation buyer responses. This research will help decision-makers evaluate their current platform and prepare for the future. Technology vendors will be able to compare their own survey results with the data from our independent collection. In this report, we cover: Executive Summary. We present a high-level digest of the major findings from the survey data and our analysis. Findings. We describe respondent demographics and identify the systems used, how long ago they were purchased, length of deployment, and user enthusiasm (Net Promoter Score) for each major platform. We also explain how the four generations of TMS offerings fit into the classification system used for analysis in the Results section. Results. We explore customer satisfaction by system class, including return on investment factors, product attributes, usability, and vendor responsiveness. Recommendations. With the strong showing from native cloud applications, we provide guidance on making the jump to cloud-based systems, including two worksheets for evaluating organizational readiness and progress. Related Research. We list previous research related to TMS solutions and vendor selection. Appendix. We provide additional demographic information for buyer and LSP survey respondents. Copyright 2015 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc. March 2015

6 TMS Customer Satisfaction 31 About Common Sense Advisory Common Sense Advisory, Inc. is an independent research firm committed to objective research and analysis of the business practices, services, and technology for translation, localization, and interpreting. With its research for both Global Leaders and Industry Providers, Common Sense Advisory endeavors to improve the quality and practice of international business, and the efficiency of the online and offline operations that support it. To find out more about our research and how to become a member: us info@commonsenseadvisory.com. Visit Call Future Research Common Sense Advisory seeks interviewees from the community of people involved in building business applications for international use. If you would like to be interviewed or have clients who would like to share their experiences, please us at info@commonsenseadvisory.com. We anonymize participants and hold all information in the strictest confidence. Applied Research and Advisory Services This report and other Common Sense Advisory research into the best practices of business globalization serve as the foundation for our Applied Research and Advisory Services including International Customer Experience Assessments, Vendor Selection, Localization Business Process Audits, Globalization Excellence and Optimization Assessments, and Globalization Roadmaps. us at info@commonsenseadvisory.com for more information. Copyright 2015 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc. March 2015