When a company operates in many markets, their content must reflect the local language, cultural nuances, and organisational structures.
A Translation Management System (TMS) is a common enterprise tool for this.
A TMS is an online system with access to technology, translators, proofreaders, and project managers. It helps reduce both the workload and the mental load of translation management - so all parties can focus on their work.
However, it can be configured or set up in different ways, some more user friendly than others. How do you know which setup is right for your company? And how to choose a system that works for you?
In this article, we discuss three factors that can help you decide: Features, flexibility, and fit.
Features: Does the TMS have the features you need?
The foundation of the TMS is the system itself; the infrastructure, such as an overview of your projects, access to a pool of language professionals, and easy ordering of new projects and real-time monitoring of project status.
Features are specific functional elements that enhance usability or performance but are not sold independently. Features support differentiation across product tiers or can be sold as add-ons.
Together, the foundation and the features make up your customised localisation solution.
Features come in different shapes and sizes. Each company may have their own way of categorising them; the following categories are based on the LanguageWire setup:
Project management
Good Translation Management Systems adapt to your operating model. Some organisations want their internal teams to run everything; others want full, managed support.
A flexible TMS should allow for both:
Your team runs the process: Bring your own translators or in-country reviewers (validators).
TMS project managers run everything: Define your project and deadline, and let the TMS handle the rest: assigning the right linguists, tracking progress, and delivering final files.
Check if the TMS you’re looking at offers all the key project management features you might need, such as workflow automation, file management, progress tracking, vendor assignment, permissions, reporting and messaging.
The more options you have, the easier it is to scale without rethinking your entire localisation operation.
Products
A TMS may offer extra infrastructural components such as an interface in which you can carry out machine translations or an editor making it easy to review translated content. At LanguageWire, we label these ‘products’. LanguageWire TMS for example offers Smart Editor, an AI-powered tool for translating, validating and refining multilingual content. It enables you to use in-context previews, tailored machine translation, and built-in quality checks to ensure fast, consistent, and high-quality results across all channels.
Integrations & connectors
If you need to plug the TMS into your CMS, CRM, or PIM system, then check that the TMS has an API or connector to make this possible.
Integrating your system into the TMS allows you to stay in your own system and order translation projects there.
An example: Our LanguageWire website is built in Umbraco. We have a Connector installed, so we can go into a blog post (like this one) in Umbraco and click the ‘translate’ button. We pick languages, deadlines, and type of translation, and the order is completed without ever having to leave the CMS.
Translation services, linguistic tools, and experts
A TMS usually includes a range of services you can order on demand, such as creative translation, machine translation, and subtitling.
There are also many features designed to work with translation services to produce quicker and better results. These are automation and quality enhancing tools that can be used together with services for faster or better aligned results such as:
Termbase: a list of industry vocabulary built by you, accessible to all translators and validators
Translation Memories: where previous translations are approved, saved and re-used across different assets to save time.
AI Quality Assurance: uses AI to edit your content and flag potential issues to direct human attention to the right places.
Flexibility: Can the TMS adapt to your organisation?
As you explore TMS options, the number of features and workflow possibilities can feel overwhelming. That’s precisely why flexibility matters.
Your ideal TMS should:
Let you add or remove services without friction
Adapt workflows as your needs evolve
Support both simple and advanced setups
In short: a rigid TMS will slow you down; a flexible one will allow you to move quickly, even when priorities or teams change.
Build the service mix that fits you
Fit: Does the system align with business maturity and growth stage?
This is often the hardest question to answer: How do I explain to my manager what we need - and how do we know which TMS “fits” us?
Choosing the right TMS depends on where your organisation is today and where you’re heading.
Ask yourself:
Are we centralising localisation for the first time?
Are we scaling rapidly and need more automation?
Do we need governance and consistency across many markets?
Do we need to integrate everything into our CMS or PIM?
Do we require managed services or full internal control?
A TMS should never force you into a model that doesn’t match your maturity. It should enable gradual evolution and change with your growth.
Final thoughts
Choosing the right Translation Management System is ultimately about understanding what your organisation needs today and in the future.
Features ensure you have the right tools and services.
Flexibility ensures the system adapts to your ways of working.
Fit ensures the solution aligns with your maturity and growth stage — without lock-in or friction.
If you evaluate these three areas clearly, you’ll be able to choose a TMS that not only solves today’s challenges but also supports your long-term localisation strategy.
Learn more about LanguageWire's TMS
