We are heading towards a new era of computing. That was the sentiment Satya Nadella delivered in May when he treated us to the first public demo of Skype Translate. Microsoft claims that Skype Translate will herald a more personal, human time for computing, where we finally bridge geographic and language barriers using computer technology. For those familiar with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, this could be our equivalent of the babel fish for universal translation. More poignantly, for Microsoft Dynamics professionals this could be the enabler for a more collaborative and globally interactive community.    

Skype Translate and Dynamics

Today, Skype has more than 300 million connected users each month, and more than 2 billion minutes of conversation a day passing through it’s messenger, voice and video platform. Interestingly, it’s the software we use at Conspicuous for communications that warrant more immediacy than email and more intimacy than a call. It’s a great tool with the ability to reach PCs, tablets, smartphones and TVs anywhere in the world. And with around 20% of our placements being international professionals, we see Skype Translator becoming pivotal in our overseas Dynamics jobs offering. It may also impact the Dynamics AX, NAV and CRM professionals we support. Dynamics AX and NAV, for example, began in Denmark and still have strong Scandinavian roots. Having been demoed in German to English, we are hopeful that Skype Translate will support lesser-known languages too. The extent to which it does may dictate how useful it is for Dynamics professionals. Another barrier may be connectivity. However, once 4G is available everywhere and WiFi networks are more consistent, we could see an amazing shift to more multi-sensory business communications. Also be thankful, as its installation doesn’t require a small fish to be fed into your auditory canal to feed off brain signals. It’ll come with a simple software update.

We’ll develop faster

In short, our industry relies on the talent of overseas businesses and professionals. The capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics products are almost boundless, and the more extensively we can share and learn from a higher volume of people in the community, the more developed our industry will become. Translate services may just help serve up a bigger portion of the potential Dynamics ecosystem. To follow this conversation, join us on Twitter and LinkedIn where we’ll be picking up and responding to any comments.