The language industry has spent the last decade chasing technology.
Now it has to prove it can create value.
In this episode of Localization Fireside Chat, I sat down with Bruno Herrmann for one of the most grounded conversations we have had about where localization is actually going. Not where vendors want it to go. Not where AI marketing decks say it is going. But where real businesses, real buyers, and real suppliers are being forced to operate.
Bruno brings a rare perspective because he sits at the intersection of buyers, providers, and technology. He sees where expectations collide with execution.
And the collision is happening right now.
Over the past year, the industry has been forced to confront something uncomfortable. AI did not replace humans. It exposed weak systems, broken incentives, and fragile business models.
What Bruno points out is that many organizations rushed into AI with the same mindset they used for outsourcing. They saw it as a way to reduce cost rather than a way to increase value. That mistake is now being paid for.
The truth is simple.
Technology does not create value.
Alignment does.
When buyers, suppliers, and technology are not aligned around outcomes, all you get is friction, failed pilots, and broken trust.
One of the strongest themes in this conversation is the shift away from treating language providers as vendors. Bruno argues that this model is structurally broken. Vendors are paid to deliver outputs. Partners are incentivized to deliver outcomes.
That difference changes everything.
If your provider is only rewarded for volume, they will optimize for volume.
If they are rewarded for impact, they will invest in quality, process, and innovation.
This is why commoditization has been so destructive to the language industry. Per-word pricing trained everyone to ignore what actually matters: risk, regulatory exposure, brand integrity, customer experience, and market performance.
Bruno is blunt about it.
If you cannot articulate why you exist, no amount of technology will save you.
The most important question for any language operation today is not which tool to buy. It is why the function exists inside the enterprise in the first place.
Is it there to process content.
Or is it there to protect and grow the business.
That distinction determines everything from how you choose vendors to how you deploy AI.
What makes this conversation resonate is that it is not anti technology. It is anti delusion.
AI has a role. Automation has a role. But neither can substitute for strategic intent. Without that, you just scale chaos faster.
Bruno’s message is a challenge to the entire ecosystem.
If we want localization to be taken seriously by CFOs, CIOs, and CEOs, we have to stop selling words and start delivering outcomes.
That means shifting from transactions to partnerships. From cost to value. From hype to execution.
And that is the real future of language management.
Watch the full conversation
Localization Fireside Chat
Unscripted. Unbiased. Unfiltered.
https://www.l10nfiresidechat.com
Robin Ayoub 
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