Terminology Lock-In

Terminology Lock-In is the degree to which a client's brand vocabulary, product names, and approved translations live inside one localization platform's glossary and translation memory rather than in a portable asset the agency controls. Every approved string compounds the lock: a glossary of 4,000 terms with reviewer sign-off across eight locales is expensive to rebuild and cheap to keep. Agencies that treat the glossary as client-owned IP (exported, versioned, documented) can move a retainer between platforms or renegotiate pricing from strength; agencies that let it accumulate inside a single vendor's memory own nothing and are effectively reselling. Lokalise routes copy through custom AI profiles that enforce brand terminology and tone, and DeepL's glossary system does similar work at document level, which is exactly why the glossary, not the subscription, is the asset worth auditing at renewal.