Welcome to “Building Localization from scratch”, the series where we speak to founding localization leaders about what it really takes to build localization departments from the ground up.
Our next interview is with Ilya Urzhumov, Interim Project and Process Manager at ALSO, Europe’s largest technology provider to the ICT industry, which is currently active in 31 European countries.
Ilya joined ALSO in 2024 after five years in the localization industry. He previously worked as a freelance translator, in a translation team specializing in large customers at RWS, and later as the lead German translator at Mollie, one of the largest fintech scaleups in Europe. Initially brought in as the German lead, he quickly evolved into the company’s Global Translations Coordinator.
💡“This was really laying the foundations that helped Mollie expand into 13 countries by now.”
This experience became the perfect springboard for Ilya’s current role. While Mollie had no systems in place at the beginning, ALSO already operated in 23 languages and had a TMS and internal systems in place when he joined.
Today, he is responsible for building and improving the translation process, overseeing the localization infrastructure (TMS, connectors, etc.), and coordinating with external providers.
The initial role and challenges
Ilya stepped into his new role at ALSO with several key challenges:
- Organizing the scattered, chaotic approach to translation.
- Raising localization’s profile within the organization.
- Getting buy-in from senior stakeholders.
- Streamlining systems to reduce bottlenecks.
The initial scope was broad, but simple: “Translations are too slow, make it better”.
He identified his main goals:
- Make the translations faster.
- Make the translations cheaper.
- Improve the quality as well along the way.
The real challenge was balancing these goals. Trade-offs are often unavoidable, and it’s up to Ilya to present them transparently to stakeholders, who need to understand whether they will be harmful or beneficial to their initiative in the long run.
💡“The mandate sounds easy on paper, but once you start working on it, it’s a lot of work, especially in recent times when budget is a massive topic. You’re always trying to automate translations, and sometimes you do have to push back and show that automated translations are not always the best idea.”
A tool recommendation
💡“It’s one of the most amazing tools I’ve found, especially when you’re just starting out.”
One of the resources Ilya recommends to fledgling localization program managers is CSA Research’s Localization Maturity Model. This data-driven tool is designed to help organizations assess their localization readiness across five competencies:
- Strategy
- Governance
- Process
- Organizational structure
- Automation
Ilya used the LMA to evaluate ALSO’s TMS and localization setup when he first stepped into his role, and still uses it today when planning the next steps.
A day in the life
Day to-day, Ilya doesn’t manage translation projects directly. He describes himself as a program manager rather than a project manager, operating at a more strategic level.
Around 60–70% of his day involves stakeholder management: talking to senior managers, listening to ideas, identifying issues and pain points, and developing solutions under pressure.
Instead of working within a centralized localization team, Marketing Project Managers are responsible for coordinating translations, design, and copy. He filters down updates and changes to project managers via Teams channels, where he can offer support and training when needed.
Staying supported without a localization team
Without a dedicated localization team, Ilya doesn’t have peers to fall back on for emotional and intellectual support, particularly when making strategic and technical decisions about things like TMS set-up.
To compensate, he relies heavily on external networks:
- Connecting with professionals at other companies.
- Following information sources like Slator.
- Conducting self-guided research, particularly around AI and its applications in localization.
Interestingly, Ilya finds this independence both a challenge and an advantage. He’s out there on his own, but he’s also free to explore and throw ideas around without constraint.
Involvement in key decisions
💡“I started off reassessing ALSO’s TMS. At the end, I basically evaluated the entire process that we had in place.”
This autonomy allowed Ilya to objectively assess the localization situation when he first joined, without any interpersonal pressure. He compiled a report for his higher-ups, which outlined the current state and opportunities for improvement.
After evaluating the existing TMS and conducting detailed comparisons of price structures, features and functionality, he convinced leadership to switch to a different provider. The new system is now aligned with future workflow expectations and is more scalable, flexible, and intuitive.
Ilya likes having the freedom to create customized workflows, but also notes that the system is now more complex. His next challenge lies in optimizing connectors and integrating the TMS with the broader infrastructure.
Measuring impact
💡“What helps is making it clear that localization itself does not convert. It helps convert, it’s a supporting function.”
While evaluating tools and structures is simple enough when you’ve got the expertise, measuring localization impact is far more complex
Results are rarely immediate, and attribution is difficult, especially with a combined localization and marketing function. Is success stemming from localization improvements, effective country marketing campaigns, or both? The many contributing factors make it hard to measure.
From Ilya’s perspective, localization sits in a gray area. It doesn’t drive conversions directly because it needs to be tied to something else, like marketing. But without localization, this company could not exist in multiple countries. Balancing measurable metrics with the broader business impact is an ongoing challenge.
Data: A shared language
Localization teams often rely on operational data, but this doesn’t always align well with broader business goals. For Ilya, bridging this gap is crucial.
To address this mismatch, Ilya is building a data dashboard for regional marketing managers, splitting insights into two categories:
Operational data:
- Wordcounts
- Costs per word
- Outsourcing costs
- Number of projects
Strategic data:
- OKRs
- Clickthrough rates
- Brand awareness
- Marketing funnel
- Touchpoints
This approach helps teams better understand the success metrics in a way that works for them.
Focus on the right things
💡“If you don’t have the full support of the entire company behind you and focus on stuff that is not really relevant for other departments, especially senior leadership, that’s gonna break you.”
Ilya describes himself as “data-driven”, but he’s also not afraid to get creative with his strategies for untangling data to uncover broader performance insights
Early on and under pressure to show movement quickly, operational results are easy and fast. Quick wins like monthly translated word counts are easy to measure, but don’t tell the full story.
Looking back, Ilya feels that he initially focused too much on the operational data and didn’t properly align with the business goals, which put him at a disadvantage.
Learning how to speak to senior leadership
Ilya’s number one piece of advice for rookie program managers is to learn how to speak business.
The fact that they can translate 30% faster doesn’t mean anything to senior leadership. What matters is presenting outcomes in a way that aligns with business priorities and decision-making.
Business speak doesn’t always come naturally, especially for those coming from agency or linguistic backgrounds, where the metrics tend to focus on productivity and cost. But if you want to get buy-in from senior execs, you need to speak their language.
What success in localization really looks like
Success in localization isn’t based on numbers; it’s based on business. Ilya’s journey shows that success doesn’t come from perfect tools or ideal structures, but from the ability to navigate ambiguity, balance competing priorities, and continuously adapt.
From organizing data and earning stakeholder trust to redefining how success is measured, his work highlights a core truth: localization only succeeds when it aligns with the goals of the business. Speed, cost, and quality matter, but only in the context of the bigger picture.
Perhaps the most important lesson is that localization leaders must operate beyond language. They need to think like strategists, communicate like business leaders, and translate not just content, but value
On the surface, success in localization looks like multiple languages, millions of words, and ever-increasing production speed.
But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that real success comes from alignment: speaking the language of the business, connecting your work to outcomes, and making sure localization is understood not just as output, but as impact.
This interview is the second in our “Building Localization from Scratch” series, where we sit down with 10 localization industry leaders to pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to build a localization department from the ground up.
Every hard-won lesson, workflow, and strategy from the series is distilled into our White Paper: The Blueprint for Founding Localization Managers, a practical guide for localization leaders building their function from the ground up.
📢The White Paper launches in June 2026. Register your interest here, and we’ll send it straight to your inbox when it’s ready!