• Straker’s integration into Slack has yielded transformative efficiencies for IBM
  • Straker’s AI technology now powers 50M+ words translated monthly at IBM
  • Tech has cut translation time from a week to 0.7 seconds

 

Special Report: IBM’s long-standing partnership with pioneering AI-powered translation company Straker has hit a major milestone, with the company reporting it has been able to drive seamless multilingual communication and slash translation times from days to seconds.

IBM has relied on Straker’s (ASX:STG) advanced AI-powered translation technology to support its vast global operations for a number of years, enabling the IT giant to consolidate its translation processes across multiple business units and geographies.

The collaboration evolved further when IBM adopted Straker’s integration into the cloud-based communications platform Slack. With over 300,000 employees operating in 170 countries, IBM faced a critical challenge in managing translations efficiently across multiple languages and time zones.

It relied on a complex network of manual workflows and local language service providers, causing delays and inefficiencies in communication and product launches.

By embedding the tech directly within Slack, IBM was able to eliminate reliance on fragmented, manual translation services, significantly improving workflow efficiency and communication speed across its global teams.

 

Faster, more accessible translations

Doug Mueller, IBM’s Program Executive for Worldwide Globalisation and Translation, said Straker’s technology has been instrumental in transforming the company’s approach to translation.

“The beauty of using Straker in Slack is that employees don’t need to learn a new system,” he said.

“They can translate and verify content directly in Slack. This reduces friction and makes translations faster and more accessible.”

 

‘Network effect’ benefits

Straker co-founder and CEO Grant Straker said the integration was part of a broader vision for the company.

“By investing in the Slack (and Microsoft Teams) channel we are opening ourselves to the benefit of the network effect of the Salesforce channel by being embedded, and proven on what we see as the next generation of organisational operating systems,” he said.

“It also removes the need for costly translation management systems, giving our offer a significant cost advantage for customers.”

More than 10,000 IBM employees now use Straker’s Slack app every month, translating 40 to 50 million words across global teams. The technology has enabled real-time multilingual collaboration, allowing IBM teams in different regions to communicate effortlessly.

Prior to the partnership, a 10,000-word document could take up to a week to translate due to manual processes and multiple approval stages. Now, the same translation request is completed in just 0.7 seconds.

Mueller says the efficiency breakthrough has removed a major bottleneck in IBM’s operations and teams can now scale product rollouts faster and communicate across global markets without delays.

“Slack’s asynchronous nature and the ease of use of the Straker integration is levelling. It boosts productivity and engagement across global teams,” he said.

 

Next milestone – AI translation agents

IBM and Straker are now setting their sights on the next milestone – deploying AI-powered translation agents in Slack. These agents will refine machine-generated translations, customise language for specific industries, and further improve translation accuracy.

“From development to testing, launching, and supporting products globally, we need solutions that eliminate friction and keep teams aligned,” said Mueller.

“Slack and Straker make that possible.”

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Straker, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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