Too many companies treat language as something to deal with later, when it's already a problem. But according to Kareem Ennassag, Technical Director at the LangOps Institute, localization should be baked into your strategy from the beginning — not retrofitted in panic mode. In this episode of Bridging the Gap, Kareem joins Marta G. Coloma and Jan Bílek to break down why that shift matters, and how teams can think in terms of LangOps to future-proof their content, systems, and growth plans.
📝 The highlights 🔗
Start small, but start early 🔗
You don’t need to go global in 20+ languages from day one. Kareem shares that what matters most is readiness. Even preparing your product to be translated into just one language can help uncover structural challenges early and save years of costly fixes. Most teams wait too long, then find their systems are too rigid to adapt.
LangOps ≠ tooling 🔗
It’s easy to confuse LangOps with a toolset. But Kareem insists it's a mindset: how you think about language from day one affects everything else — from how your database is structured to how content moves across teams. The goal? To avoid building systems that assume English (or any language) as the only logic. Localization isn't a final layer: it's a structural consideration.
Real advice for small teams 🔗
Not every startup can hire localization managers right away. But Kareem points out that the resources are out there. Education in the field is accessible: you can start by joining free LocLunch meetups or researching the most common localization pitfalls by industry. It’s about making time to understand the stakes early on to avoid problems later.
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📚 More on the blog 🔗
Having a LangOps mentality starts with awareness across your whole team. If you don't know how to make that a reality, check out these tips by localization consultant Michal Kessel. Small steps make a difference!
🚀 About Localazy 🔗
Localazy is a complete localization platform that helps companies prepare, launch, and scale global content with automation, high-quality translations, and streamlined workflows.
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