This week we are very happy to introduce you to Brian Murray, who is talking about Custom Machine Translation this week at the Tekom Trade Fair at Stuttgart, Germany.

Our ongoing ‘5 Questions’ series will give you a better insight into the thoughts and ideas of the people at KantanMT. Please feel free to add your questions in the comments section, if you would like them to be answered by Brian.

1. What’s your role at KantanMT?

I help Language Service Providers and translation service providers understand how Custom MT services at KantanMT can benefit their business. I pull out all the stops and ensure that our clients and industry associates enjoy a high-quality experience right from when they first hear about KantanMT to the time they sign up and set up MT accounts on the platform.

2. What according to you is the most marketable technology right now?

Any technology that complements and improves the customer’s everyday life can be a highly marketable technology. I think more and more we are seeing that the end benefit of a product is related to simplifying a process, thus freeing up more of our personal schedule, and giving us more free time for other pursuits.

3. What according to you is the least appreciated piece of technology?

Can I say my fridge? Is that even considered a technology at this stage?! It’s always been there to keep my food edible and I have always taken it for granted. But it’s like clean water –  we don’t think about it, until we don’t have access to it anymore. If you ever had power outage for a day or so, you’d start to appreciate the importance of your fridge!

4. What interests you the most in the world of automated translation?

During my discussions with professionals in the translation industry, I always find it interesting how they find ingenious ways of using Machine Translation, even when their Translation Memories aren’t initially up to scratch – quantity wise. It’s a problem that a lot of LSPs face, particularly when they have been given a large project out of the blue by their clients. Of course, in these cases, using MT becomes inevitable. I think it’s cool how they can use not only glossary files but also monolingual data to mimic the style of the target language.

At KantanMT we have launched KantanFleet™, which allows users to take advantage of pre-built, domain-specific engines built by the team at KantanMT. So even if our users don’t have any TM files, they can get up and running straight away and then personalise their engines as they build their TMs over time. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist a plug-in here, but I find that translation providers find KantanFleet extremely useful, and if anyone would like to talk to me about this feature in more depth, I would love to chat with them – just mail me at brianm@kantanmt.com).

5. If you could be any fictional character, who/ what would you be, and why?

I was never big into comic books but I am still waiting for someone to invent GoogleMan or InternetMan. Actually…wait… We will call him Web Man!

Imagine having all that infinite knowledge and access to algorithms to figure out your path in life! You would be invincible! Who knows maybe I will see something like it in my life, that’s not weird is it?!

KantanMT notes that, Caldwell Tanner has already created some of the Internet Superheroes like the Google Man, FaceBook Man, Reddit Man, Huff Post Woman, Amazon Man, and their somewhat lesser cousin – Google Plus Man. But, we are very excited about Web Man!

Brian will be at the Tekom Conference on November 8-10. Meet Brian Murray, Louise Irwin, Mihaly Lakatos and Brian Coyle to discuss the innovations in the field of MT and the benefits of incorporating MT in your workflow. We are bringing the real Irish Guinness experience to #Tekom16 and also giving away an Apple Watch, so meet the team for a drink and a casual chat this week.

About Brian Murray:

brian-murrayBrian Murray is a Business Development Executive at KantanMT. He joined the company after completing a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Management from DIT, Dublin. Brian assists translation agencies across the globe to better understand how Custom Machine Translation fits into their workflow, helping them find the solution that best suits their needs.

Follow him on Twitter: @kildarebrian.