As the global reach of Internet expands, the
translation market, valued at somewhere between $30-40 billion, is expected
to continue to grow at a staggering rate of 30 percent a year.
“This human translation market is one area of the Internet that is supposed
to explode, ” said Sunil Mirapuri, president of My Translator.com, an online
translating company specializing in Japanese/English translations.
My Translator.com, a division of Apex Network, Inc. made its online debut
last month wih expectations running high.
“In the coming months we are expecting US$3-4 million in sales. This shouldn’t
be a problem. In the next 3-4 years, we should be a $10-20 million company,”
said Mirapuri.
This high rate of return is warranted largely because of Apex Network,
Inc., a Japanese computing and networking company, has established a
number of deep ties with Japanese corporations and agencies. These agencies
have now requested a regular work system for translations.
“For translating we have the capacity of 10,000 translators through
different agencies, ” added Mirapuri. “Our idea is to take the Internet and
take the human translation problem and make it part of the work system. Our
program is highly automated: they would receive a cost estimate up front
for the work requested, and then it would be sent off to the appropriate
agency. Then this person would get a quote and be notified of the agency
handling their work. They will also be able to check their work in
progress.”
Payment can be made with a variety of state-side based credit cards,
international credit cards, and, of course, for larger corporate accounts,
My Translator.com will be utilizing a password/user name with billing on a
Net-30 term. But as Mirapuri has noted, the road to dealing with
Japanese customers will not always be as smooth.
“We accept Japanese and U.S. credit cards online through U.S. based banks,
which charge about 2 percent of the transaction, instead of the 7 percent
(or higher)
that is customary for Japanese banks. By accepting Japanese credit cards
through U.S. banks, we avoid paying these high fees. Japanese banks now
offer rates of 3 percent to large online shopping malls that are backed by the
major trading companies, and those lower rates should be the future trend
for e-commerce in Japan.”
However, with market analysis suggesting that 23 percent of Japanese have made
purchases online, there is a great deal of confidence in the future of
online translating. The company is currently working to expand its
translating services to French, German, Spanish and Chinese.
“The Internet is the most efficient marketplace in the world,” said
Mirapuri. “We will accept the documents in real-time for the entire
Internet community. This is a first: When the competition does come along,
we want to already have a percentage of the market.”
