When I first worked with SAP back in the 1990s, the world of technical documentation looked vastly different. SAP Help wasn't the cloud-based resource we know today; it was actually downloaded and stored locally on our computers. Picture this: a hefty desktop computer sitting next to an even more substantial monitor, both taking up considerable real estate on your desk. What made things particularly interesting was that the help content was originally created in German, and then translated to English. More than once, I found myself staring at German documentation when searching for answers, simply because the English translation wasn't available.
The availability of AI-based Machine Translation from the SAP Translation Hub
When I first worked with SAP back in the 1990s, the world of technical documentation looked vastly different. SAP Help wasn't the cloud-based resource we know today; it was actually downloaded and stored locally on our computers. Picture this: a hefty desktop computer sitting next to an even more substantial monitor, both taking up considerable real estate on your desk.
What made things particularly interesting was that the help content was originally created in German, and then translated to English. More than once, I found myself staring at German documentation when searching for answers, simply because the English translation wasn't available.
Extracts of pages from ©Teach Yourself SAP in 24 Hours (Sams) by Danielle Larocca
What is MT On-the-Fly?
Fast forward to today, and SAP has revolutionized how we access and understand their documentation with the launch of ‘Instant Translation of SAP SuccessFactors Help Portal content with Machine Translation On-the-Fly’ (MT On-the-Fly).
This innovative feature, powered by SAP's AI-based Machine Translation from the SAP Translation Hub, now delivers real-time translations of SAP Help Portal content across 39 languages. The system seamlessly translates HTML-based English content, including Product Pages, Custom PDFs, and What's New Viewer topics… all at the click of a button.
The beauty of MT On-the-Fly lies in its intelligent approach to translation. While it's available for all SuccessFactors HTML documentation on the SAP Help Portal, it prioritizes existing human translations. When human-translated content isn't available, the system automatically fills the gap with machine translation, ensuring comprehensive coverage across all supported languages.
Automatic text conversion
The technology behind this solution – machine translation – leverages Artificial Intelligence and previously translated content to automatically convert text from one language to another. SAP Translation Hub's Document Translation service has been specifically trained to excel at translating SAP-related content, making it particularly effective for technical documentation. Organizations can access this capability either as a standalone service through SAP Translation Hub on the SAP Business Technology Platform, or through existing integrations, such as SAP Enable Now. It is available in the languages supported by SAP Translation Hub (valid SAP ID required).
Looking back at those early days of German-only documentation, it's remarkable to see how far we've come in making SAP's knowledge base truly accessible to users worldwide.
As a global company with hubs throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, the Americas, Australia, the Philippines, South Africa, the Middle East and Turkey, at EPI-USE Labs we speak a wide range of languages! To learn more about our global presence, visit https://www.epiuselabs.com/about-us.