When was the SME Network formed?

The LISA SME Network (LSN) was established in Amsterdam on November 29, 2000. Although the original idea for a network aimed at small and medium-sized companies under the LISA umbrella had been discussed for several years, no concrete action had been taken until an exploratory meeting of interested companies organized at the LISA 2000 Washington Forum.

What is an SME?

SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) is standard Eurospeak for what is often referred to today as the "middle market" or Mittelstand. In the language industry, of course, everything is rather smaller than in most other industries, so what we call a "large" company would be no more than an average mid-size outfit in the majority of sectors.

To put things into perspective: the standard EU definition of SME is a company which:

• has fewer than 250 employees
• has annual revenues not exceeding €40m or total assets of €27m or less
• and which is independent (i.e. other companies hold no more than 25% of their capital or voting rights).

The definition of an SME adopted by the LISA SME Network is slightly more restrictive, but far simpler: annual revenues of less than EUR/USD 20m. However, this figure is subject to revision by the LSN members, for example to reflect changes in industry structures.

LISA SME NETWORK (LSN) Code of Conduct This Code of Conduct is signed by each Member of the LSN in order to be eligible for membership to the LSN Special Interest Group. By signing this Code of Conduct, each LSN Member undertakes to comply with all the articles defined below: To perform localization and translation work with experienced professionals able to provide quality work; To ensure that translation work is performed only by qualified translators translating only into their mother-tongue; To have and/or make available the necessary technical and logistical infrastructure to fulfill each task as outlined in the project; To adhere to the quality standards and processes defined by the LSN Project Leader; To ensure open and appropriate communication between the LSN Partners; To meet all deadlines as defined in project schedules and agreed between the LSN Project Leader and the LSN Partner; To respect the Terms and Conditions agreed between the LSN Partners involved in a project; To guarantee that all project-related materials remain strictly confidential; To give the customer all the assistance and service as defined by the LSN Project Leader; To respect and implement all decisions taken by the LISA SME Network that can affect this Code of Conduct.

What's the thinking behind the LSN?

The creation of the LSN reflects the shifting structures and changing composition of the LISA membership, with the LSN providing a powerful new forum for the new-style LISA. Originally restricted to a small number of larger companies on both the provider and the client side, LISA has now emerged as an association with a predominance of mid-size and smaller companies. Because of their very size, however, these smaller LISA members often don't have the resources to participate as extensively or regularly in LISA as larger companies, which may lead to a correspondingly lower level of benefits of LISA membership and representation in LISA's activities.

Similarly, many of the problems and challenges facing the LSN's natural constituency differ substantially from those encountered by LISA's larger members, and their business activities often have a very different focus to that of the larger international players.

The LSN gives these members a common platform where they can discuss issues, elaborate solutions, and present a joint—and more powerful—voice within the LISA community.

What is the LSN's stated mission, and what are its objectives?

At a general level, the LSN's mission statement is as follows:

"To provide its members with equal opportunities in meeting market requirements, and to offer customers a real choice."

The LSN's formal objectives are:

• To cooperate with each other on wider-scale projects by means of a Code of Conduct and a mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement
• To provide customers with tailor-made solutions by means of a unified approach
• To reduce operational expenses by means of increased purchasing power
• To increase its members' knowledge base by means of information exchange.

What does this actually mean in practice?

One of the driving forces behind the establishment of the LSN was the desire to give small and medium-sized LISA members a flexible opportunity to acquire greater bandwidth for their localization and translation services. Many of these companies specialize in a limited number of language pairs and/or domains, focusing on producing premium quality, rather than on the low-margin commodity end of the market. Increasingly, however, they are being asked by their clients to deliver services in other languages or domains. Membership in the LSN enables these companies to expand the scope and volume of their services through continuous or project-specific partnerships with other companies that are equally quality-driven – and just as importantly, with partners they know personally and can trust to deliver what their own clients demand.

The desire to maximize quality will be bolstered by the LSN Code of Conduct (reproduced at the end of this article), by a standardized Non-Disclosure Agreement, and by a Charter currently being drafted by the LSN Board.

What other activities is the LSN planning?

Firstly, the LSN plans to create a purchasing platform to enable LSN members to achieve economies of scale for sourcing tools, training and other support services.

Secondly, it plans to promote market awareness about the LSN and what it and its members have to offer, both within the LISA community and the global market for localization and translation services. Activities currently under consideration include features in market publications and presentations at LISA Forums and other LISA events. In the near future, sponsorship of LISA events by LSN members joining forces under the LSN banner is also a real possibility, giving them an opportunity to reach out collectively and cost-effectively to the target markets at large.

Finally, the LSN aims to establish a dedicated section of the LISA website offering:

• a secure bulletin board
• database hosting for information relevant to LSN members
• an information exchange platform, e.g. about conferences, tools, etc.
• an online membership application facility.

What does the LSN Board do?

At their Amsterdam meeting, the founding members of the LSN elected a Board to act as a steering committee and manage the affairs of the Network. The Board, represented by Renée Sztabelski, was also elected to the LISA Advisory Board at the Amsterdam GA. Ongoing Board activities include the organization of the LSN website and the purchasing platform, the drafting of an LSN Charter, including a definition of quality standards, the organization of an LSN presentation session and sponsorship of an event at an upcoming LISA Forum.

In general terms, the Board is responsible for day-to-day administration of the LSN, and acts as a focal point for prospective new members.

Who can join the LSN?

The founder members agreed on the following eligibility criteria for companies joining the LSN:

• LISA member representing a localization/translation company
• Revenues of less than EUR/USD 20m
• Signature of the Code of Conduct and Non-Disclosure Agreement
• Membership is also open to suppliers to the localization industry (tools, training, consulting providers etc.).

How much does membership cost?

At the moment, there is no cost to belong to the LSN. However, a membership fee will be introduced in the near future. The fee will be as low as possible and serves only to cover the costs of operating the LSN, including reasonable Board member expenses. The Board will present an expense report at the annual LSN meeting.

Aren't you creating what is essentially an "association within an association"?

Far from it. All LSN members are firmly committed to LISA, and we believe our involvement in the LSN will strengthen LISA, rather than weakening it. LISA stands and falls on the willingness of its members to play an active role in its activities, and the LSN will give smaller firms a greater opportunity to make a sustained contribution to LISA's long-term success.

Isn't there a risk that the LSN could end up as some sort of cartel?

Such a development would run entirely counter to the reasons why the LSN was established in the first place. Firstly, it's designed to be inclusive—not a club—and its activities will be open and transparent. Secondly, any business arrangements between LSN members will be made on the basis of privately agreed terms and conditions, and the LSN will have no more of a role to play in these partnerships or project consortia than LISA has within the industry as a whole.

Is the LSN a purely Western European initiative?

Not at all. The 11 founder members come from 10 different countries in three continents: Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Korea, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the USA. Bound by its commitment to be inclusive, open and transparent, the LSN welcomes new members from any country, and will actively make every effort to attract new members from all over the world.

The LISA SME Network is actively seeking new members from within the worldwide LISA community. Please contact a member of the LSN Board at one of the e-mail addresses below for an application form or further information:

• Renée Sztabelski, HiText s.a., renees@hitext.com
• Désirée van Driel, MTM-Multilingual Translations Management b.v., dvandriel@mtm-international.com
• Jean-Didier Boucau, s.a. Translate International n.v., jboucau@translate.be