Shure cuts translation costs by 50% and delivers global content 20% faster with Language Hub for Localization
“We went from English-only to a global-ready localization program in under six weeks. Intento helped us set up AI-first, requirements-based automation fast, so our linguists could focus on governance and brand fit instead of reworking raw output.”
— Eduardo D’Antonio, Director of Localization, Strava
Audio product
Shure needed faster, more affordable translations without sacrificing quality as they brought translation management in-house
They translate product and marketing content with the XTM Translation Management System (TMS)
Shure integrated XTM with Language Hub for Localization, allowing them to reduce costs, deliver translations faster, and maintain their quality standards
Moving from human translation to centralized machine translation with SME review
Shure had an established translation process for their product and marketing content but wanted to implement machine translation (MT) to reduce costs and delivery times while maintaining quality and moving translation management in-house.
Shure faced several translation challenges that impacted their operations:
- Product launch coordination: Translation review timelines had the potential to affect regional product releases when in-country reviewers balanced multiple responsibilities.
- Reviewer responsibilities: In-country team members contributing to translations also managed demanding roles in marketing, technical support, and market development. Their involvement in trade shows and other activities meant translation work competed with core business functions.
- Process efficiency: The workflow required in-country staff to review vendor translations thoroughly, adding significant work to their responsibilities.
“It was all about how we can speed things up, how we can maintain quality translations quicker while reducing overheads.”
Searching for a solution with centralized access to multiple translation engines
Shure’s transition to machine translation began in 2020 when they consolidated regional translation units into one unified localization team. Previously, each region worked independently with different human-translation vendors.
Shure relied on external vendors for post-editing while developing plans to gradually shift these responsibilities to internal employees and in-country reviewers. They maintained outsourcing for technical documentation due to limited reviewer resources. To ensure quality and track improvements, they created a custom post-editing workflow with quarterly measurements of correction time and effort.
Initially, Shure evaluated the basic MT options available through TMS, but found the translation quality didn’t fully meet their specific requirements. They also considered specialized MT providers but found the costs too high for their volume needs.
When they discovered Intento, the wide engine selection, robust security, and reasonable pricing immediately made it a no-brainer solution. Everything was available through a single integration of Language Hub with their XTM system, allowing them to efficiently translate all product and marketing content.
Getting flexibility, quality control, and access to over 40 MT engines with Language Hub
The Intento solution became a game-changer for Shure’s localization team—giving them complete control over translation quality while keeping their technical setup simple. It offered several key advantages:
- Enhanced MT capabilities: The team could apply the tone of voice controls and custom terminology through glossaries regardless of whether the MT provider natively supported these features.
- Detailed reporting: Comprehensive reporting on the Intento platform enabled Shure to track usage across content types, language pairs, and MT providers—giving them clear visibility into their localization operations.
- Flexibility: The ability to quickly switch between different MT engines allowed them to customize approaches by selecting the best-fit providers for each language pair and content type.
Achieving faster translations at lower costs without sacrificing quality
The implementation of Intento Language Hub exceeded Shure’s expectations, transitioning two months ahead of schedule while delivering phenomenal cost savings. Their data tracking revealed a surprising insight: in-country reviewers (ICRs) were making nearly identical numbers of corrections to both vendor translations and machine-translated content.
“We’ve paid the money, waited X amount of time, and actually, the ICR was making the same amount of corrections as in machine-translated content.”
By transitioning from vendor-dependent translation and post-editing to an in-house operation with Intento, Shure achieved remarkable improvements:
- Time efficiency: 35% faster completion of individual language projects, 49% reduction in per-segment processing time, and 20% improvement in overall project completion time.
Cost reduction: 50% decrease in translation costs by eliminating external vendor fees, optimizing MT usage, and reducing vendor management overhead.
Budget control: 96% of projects completed under budget in the first year, enabling predictable spending and strategic planning.
Shure has maintained quality control while significantly reducing costs. Their next goal is to further improve workflow efficiency by combining post-editing and quality assurance under internal staff to achieve consistent turnaround times.
Language Hub for Localization + XTM
Optimize XTM translations for higher quality, lower costs, and faster delivery
Integration Overview: Intento Language Hub seamlessly integrates with XTM’s Translation Management System, providing centralized access to 40+ MT & AI providers through a single connection.
Key Capabilities: Language Hub enhances XTM by connecting to a custom-built workflow for each language pair and content type, boasting best-fit translation models and adding glossary support and tone-of-voice controls. Comprehensive analytics track performance across all content types and languages, giving localization teams complete quality control with minimal technical complexity.
Business Value: Enterprises using Language Hub integration with XTM achieve significant improvements, as shown by Shure who reduced translation costs by 50% and improved overall project completion time by 20%—with 96% of projects completed under budget while maintaining their specific quality standards.