Blackbird is a general-purpose integration platform (iPaaS) with strong AI and CMS connectors, suitable for organizations that already use or plan to use simple enterprise automation across multiple business domains.
BeLazy, in contrast, is a localization-first project centralization platform. It uses other platform data to abstract away differences between translation management systems and business management systems or trackers, and other related translation industry tools. This allows BeLazy not only to move projects around different platforms but to synchronize them in real time. This results in a centralized solution that works alongside project managers and handles tedious multiplatform tasks.
While Blackbird offers broad flexibility across business domains, BeLazy delivers targeted reliability for localization workflows. For cases where orchestration beyond localization is needed but a full enterprise iPaaS may be excessive, BeLazy is compatible with lightweight automation platforms such as Make.com or n8n.
What is Blackbird.io?
Blackbird.io is positioned as an automation backbone for the language technology industry. It provides an integration platform as a service (iPaaS) with a no-code/low-code workflow builder, making it possible to connect APIs and orchestrate business processes across systems. More recently, Blackbird has referred to itself as a content transformation platform, emphasizing enterprise-scale integration of content management, translation management, and AI-driven services.
Blackbird’s strength lies in its flexibility: users can design highly customized workflows using public APIs. It also offers a strong set of AI-related connectors, making it appealing to organizations looking to experiment with large language models or other AI services. At the same time, its approach requires familiarity with underlying technologies and APIs, and is best suited for organizations with engineering expertise. Blackbird competes in the same category as other iPaaS vendors such as n8n, Workato, and SnapLogic, but differentiates itself through connectors oriented toward enterprise content and translation management systems.
What is BeLazy?
BeLazy is a localization project centralization platform. Its design philosophy is different: rather than offering a general-purpose integration canvas, it provides a centralization hub tailored to the translation industry. BeLazy is task-oriented: — whenever a localization process can be described, BeLazy manages it.
The platform goes beyond public APIs, also integrating through internal APIs and, when necessary, UI-level automation. This ensures parity between what users can do manually and what can be automated, usually saving license costs. Importantly, BeLazy abstracts away differences between translation and business management systems through its own and secure APIs and webhooks, meaning that organizations can change or add systems without rewriting automation.
BeLazy was developed as a middleware solution for any localization project designed with a deliberately simple UI: one dashboard, one interface, and a complete view of everything that matters.. It provides control and automation simultaneously: tasks are automated wherever possible, but oversight and intervention remain straightforward when exceptions occur. BeLazy is particularly strong at handling the non-standardized data and irregular workflows that often characterize localization projects.
Main similarities between Blackbird.io and BeLazy
Both platforms:
- Connect tools in the multilingual content production chain.
- Allow organizations to configure workflow rules to reflect business or localization requirements.
- Allow the extension of translation management systems with AI.
- Address multiple use cases beyond project automation, such as CRM or business system integration.
Main differences between Blackbird and BeLazy
While both platforms address automation in the translation industry, their approaches differ significantly.
Blackbird is an iPaaS platform, belonging to the category of digital process automation software. Its value lies in its generality: it allows highly configurable workflows to be built across multiple enterprise systems. However, this comes at the cost of complexity. Most successful deployments require engineers or technical specialists who understand APIs, system capabilities, and workflow design. Analyst firms such as Forrester have observed that the promise of low-code platforms enabling “citizen developers” to implement digital process automation is often overstated. In practice, most deployments of iPaaS platforms are driven by experienced professionals, rather than business users. (Source: Forrester Wave™: Digital Process Automation Software, Q3 2025 report) This is not unique to Blackbird but applies to the entire category. Organizations considering iPaaS for translation automation should keep this in mind when assessing the resources required to implement and maintain such systems.
BeLazy, by contrast, was built specifically for localization. It does not aim to replace enterprise orchestration but to solve the recurring problems of translation workflows: managing messy input, ensuring interoperability across the supply chain, plugging in the different tool types used in the translation industry and abstracting differences between systems. Its automation logic reflects years of fine-tuning with translation-specific vendors, and its exception handling ensures a workflow does not break when data is incomplete or inconsistent. BeLazy supports multiple roles through different user-facing options: project managers can continue to work in their familiar systems with support from the BeLazy Chrome extension, while program and operations managers can access normalized reporting either within BeLazy or through integration with business intelligence platforms, combining data from localization projects with data from the systems that are being localized.
In which cases is Blackbird a better option than BeLazy?
Blackbird is a strong choice when an organization wants to manage automation across a broader enterprise context, not only localization. Its workflow designer makes it possible to connect translation to content, finance, HR, or IT systems in a single platform, and its AI connectors make experimentation with advanced AI scenarios straightforward.
For companies already using iPaaS solutions, or with solution engineers dedicated to designing workflows, Blackbird provides a familiar and extensible environment. Similarly to many translation management systems, Blackbird also offers many content management system integrations, so if an organization wants to keep their off-the-shelf integrations in one system, they can either choose a translation management system or they can choose Blackbird.
In which cases is BeLazy a better option than Blackbird?
BeLazy is better suited when the focus is human or automated localization . It is particularly relevant for:
- Organizations seeking out-of-the-box comprehensive project management integrations with disparate translation and business management systems such as Phrase, XTM, memoQ, Crowdin, Smartling, Lokalise or Plunet, XTRF, Protemos.
- Teams that want to insulate themselves from differences between systems, so that changing TMS or BMS platforms or acquiring companies that use a different tool stack does not require re-implementing automation.
- Workflows designed for naturally irregular input, incomplete metadata, and expected exceptions—the system is capable of anticipating and incorporating them, rather than treating them merely as possible points of failure.
- Scenarios where project managers need a single point of oversight and centralized control across multiple external platforms and automated processes.
- Teams where the customer may not want to give API access to their systems, or where paying for API usage may be prohibitive.
- Teams that only want to build integrations to their custom systems only once, in a metadata-driven way, and reuse them across different TMS and BMS systems.
BeLazy’s APIs and webhooks also make it possible to extend workflow automation further. When organizations need conditional triggers or interactions with systems outside localization, BeLazy can be complemented by tools such as Make.com or n8n. This provides flexibility and can improve the overall total cost of ownership, particularly for cases where Blackbird’s full enterprise platform would be more than what is required.
What are the top 3 use cases for using Blackbird and BeLazy together?
In principle, the two platforms can be combined:
- BeLazy can automate project creation, project and vendor management and exception handling, while Blackbird handles downstream refinement workflows, and integrations with financial and other systems.
- BeLazy can serve as the generalized interface to translation and business management systems, while Blackbird manages content flows from supported enterprise CMS platforms.
- BeLazy can provide structured data pipelines, while Blackbird connects AI components into the workflow.
However, it is worth noting that for the last two cases, organizations often use lighter automation platforms such as Make.com or n8n alongside BeLazy, as these can offer similar functionality for specific triggers or AI interactions, with potentially lower total cost.
In which cases we don’t recommend using Blackbird and BeLazy together?
In most cases, BeLazy alone can handle localization workflows without the need for Blackbird. While both platforms are powerful, their overlapping capabilities mean that using them together is rarely necessary. Instead, pairing BeLazy with lightweight orchestration tools like Make.com or n8n is often more efficient for customization. Using both BeLazy and Blackbird together only makes sense in specific scenarios, such as:
- Enterprise-wide orchestration needs: When the organization manages not only localization but also broader business processes across departments.
- Centralized AI integration layer: If the company prefers to use Blackbird as the hub for AI services, rather than depending on specialized providers like Intento, Custom.MT, or built-in AI features within certain TMS platforms.
