How DeepL and Articulate deliver high-impact, localized workplace learning

Skilling a global workforce is complex. At Articulate, the industry-leading platform for creating workplace training, we know this firsthand. Our customers include over 125,000 organizations that create online courses for more than 133 million learners across 187 countries.

Our team recognized that localizing online training was a significant challenge for our customers. We saw an opportunity to change the way this was done. But it would only be viable if translations were near human quality, happened almost in real time, and could be integrated deeply into our platform. After evaluating a number of solutions, we are thrilled to have selected DeepL API as our partner for AI translation within the Articulate platform. 

The problem with multilanguage workplace learning

A global workforce presents incredible opportunities but also comes with challenges. About one-third of employees are not native speakers of their organization’s main language, and many organizations don’t have the bandwidth or resources to translate training materials. In fact, one-third of employers don’t translate training at all. Many others must make tough decisions about which courses to translate and often under-translate their training library. 

The result? Teams grapple with skills gaps and misunderstandings, which often cause increased risks to the employee and the business. Onboarding, compliance, brand and product literacy, and soft skills training are top examples of disciplines that suffer when employees don’t have access to training in their native language. 

On the flip side, employees who learn in their preferred language are more likely to grasp concepts and feel more valued. The powerful benefit of preferred language training is higher engagement, productivity, and retention rates.

Why is localization difficult today? 

There are three core problems with translating training for a modern global workforce. 

1. Localization is time-consuming

Many Articulate customers tell us that it can take months to localize one course into one language. The process involves translation, validation and review, multi-language course distribution, and management and upkeep of those multi-language courses. Think about your own training library. If each course represents months of work to localize into a single language, how long would it take you to translate your entire catalog? Now multiply that for each language you’d like to target. You can imagine how overwhelming this was for our customers!

2. Building multi-language learning is harder than it looks 

You might wonder, “Can’t they just put it in a translation tool and get an instant result?” What course reviewers don’t often realize is that a cohesive, engaging course is more than a simple text document. It is a sum of many parts.

You see a media-rich course with practice scenarios, realistic voice-overs, explanatory videos, and descriptive diagrams, and don’t realize that each of those elements is just one piece of a complex translation project. Factor in several language targets, and working with multiple translators and stakeholders in each language, and the scale and complexity become massive. 

Each variable involved in translating your training program increases the risk of error. Often, those errors go unnoticed, which can have dire consequences for the business over time, depending on the type of training.

3. Multi-language project quality varies, which impacts performance

Whether our customers choose AI tools, human translators, or some combination of both, variable output quality is always a concern. Human translation quality, especially, can change from person to person or day to day. To further complicate things, human translators are rarely subject matter experts (SMEs) on the training topic, which increases the risk of translation errors.

Articulate selects DeepL API to streamline high-impact localized training for its customers

Given these critical considerations, we knew that a localization solution integrated into Articulate 360 would be a game-changer for our customers. It would allow course creators to break free from a cumbersome process that required multiple manual downloads and uploads; exhaustive communication with stakeholders, translators, and SMEs; and a significant margin of error. 

Moreover, we needed the right technology — built specifically around the needs of global enterprise businesses — to support the integrated workflow that our customers love. 

After evaluating several platforms, we selected DeepL because it’s recognized as an industry leader in machine translation quality. With DeepL’s API, we can offer our customers a transformational experience by integrating localization directly into their course creation workflow.

As of April 8, Articulate Localization, which uses DeepL API, is available to generate high-quality e-learning translations. With this new product, customers go from a months-long process to best-in-class translation, in-context validation, and easy multi-language course management that takes just days to execute. See a detailed demo of how the product works here!

Together with DeepL, we are adding real value for our customers by enabling them to translate training quickly with exceptional quality. Our partnership with DeepL lets us tailor DeepL’s technology to training localization, and our customers benefit from new features and model improvements as soon as they are ready.

—Simon Taghioff, Group Product Manager, Localization, Articulate

To learn more about what your business can achieve with the DeepL API, check out DeepL's upcoming webinar.

Immediate impact from the DeepL/Articulate integration

Though our integration with DeepL is still in its early days, together we are already generating significant value for our customers. Shirley Vera Rivera, Team Lead, Learning Specialists, at Lely told us, “With Articulate Localization, our translation timeline went from 3 weeks to less than 5 minutes; validation went from 3 weeks to 2-3 hours; and start-to-end localization went from 7 weeks to 3 weeks."

Still unclear on the incredible business value of this platform? I've spelled it out here:

Course localization goes from a lengthy chore to just a few clicks

With Articulate Localization, a course author can create training in 70+ languages in near real time — over 100x faster than previous solutions. This frees them up to build more training in languages their employees prefer. When teams around the world understand key initiatives, they can better contribute to revenue growth.

Improved output quality

With this new tool, customers can get validator feedback in the context of the e-learning course. That means that a language validator no longer has to look at text without understanding how it’s used. Now, they can see the source and target language side by side, and view course layout changes in real-time. They can import changes with a click—with no uploading or copying and pasting from other documents—which reduces the chance of manual error.

Streamlined workflows

Building Articulate Localization as a native part of the Articulate platform streamlines e-learning course management, too. Course creators can view, manage, and publish multiple language items quickly and easily as one item without having to leave Articulate. They can choose multiple languages to translate at the same time, edit across languages, and distribute to learners in a few clicks, enabling them to select the language they want.

Articulate and DeepL are taking learning global

Today’s globally distributed workforce needs global solutions. We knew we had to help customers with the time-consuming, variable quality, and cumbersome translation and localization process. Incorporating the DeepL API to create an integrated localization solution means that our customers can create training in language learners prefer.

For our customers, this shift is monumental. It improves quality, reduces the risk of errors and missed opportunities, and streamlines creator workflows to yield high-impact, transformative training. Shifting to dramatically faster, personalized training allows them to support revenue-driving initiatives. That’s the power of taking learning and development global.