Interview with Noel Finnegan on Technical Communication in Translation Programs

This time, we talked with our Enterprise Sales Director, Noel Finnegan, who will be attending the tcworld conference 2016 in Stuttgart. Noel together with Gerry Lynch (CSO) and Wojciech Froelich (CTO) will be representing our company at the conference. We have started counting down the days till the event, which is on November 8 – 10.

While waiting for the upcoming event, Noel shared with us some translation insights and his feelings about the upcoming tcworld conference in Germany.

Can you briefly explain your areas of expertise?

Noel Finnegan: Currently, I serve as an Account and Sales Director with the global language services provider (LSP) Argos Multilingual. I’m a veteran of the translations services industry and I have held positions in vendor management, operations and sales. I have worked over the years with many of the major global LSP’s so I have a deep insight into the models and methodologies employed by LSP’s to support their clients international content deployment needs.

Argos Multilingual is preparing for the tekom annual conference, dedicated to international providers in the industry and software field. What are your expectations of the tekom/tcworld conference?

NF: My expectations would be two-fold:

• Meet with and gain a better understanding of clients/prospects needs as they try to address in the most effective way their global content challenges
• Showcase and articulate the services that Argos Multilingual brings to the work of technical communications.

Based on your own experiences, how can technical communication effect the quality of translations?

NF: Technical Communication can impact the quality of translations in many ways and here are just a few examples of the top of my head:

• Poorly written content impacts negatively on its localization to other languages.
• Needlessly adds cost which has a multiplier effect the more languages required.
• Well written and well-structured content can save an immense amount of money in the downstream later stages.
• Ensures the correct understanding of the messaging within and thus the proper rendering of this messaging in other languages.
• Enhances the product image and client reputation.

What is one piece of advice you can give to companies new to translations?

NF: One piece of advice I would share with companies entering translations for the first time is to ensure their source content is written with other languages in mind. This means keeping the messaging simple and concise and using a reputable translations services provider and not just a broker (of which there are many who don’t do the industry any favours). 

If you have further questions please don’t hesitate to contact Noel: