Visionaries

INSIDER: What do you do to promote standards among your clients to address the globalization of business processes, e.g., guidelines for setting up international web support or ways to ensure that every department budget has a line item for translation/localization?

Cowan: Our clients possess a competing need for client customization and interoperable standards such as TMX.

Cowan: Our clients are a unique bunch. They possess a competing need for client customization and interoperable standards such as TMX. To support this, we regularly publish white papers and conduct educational seminars or webcasts to outline some of the emerging best practices we are helping deploy.

On a more direct basis, we have a global team of solution architects whose role it is to aid clients in designing the appropriate support model for their needs. This may be as simple as evaluating file formats or more comprehensive reviews of the benefits of adopting XLIFF. Finally, for those seeking a formal strategic evaluation, we offer consulting services to support them in their “build versus buy” analysis around technology and outsourcing/offshoring. This can include recommendations and support for deployment of a content management system (CMS) or an organizational realignment to improve the integration of creation and localization.

Lancaster: Translation efficiency … all comes down to process, people and structure.

Lancaster: Translation efficiency, both in terms of accelerated time-to-market and reduced cost and quality, all comes down to process, people and structure. The process is a key area of focus. SDL TRADOS technology is focused on improving process and providing a structured framework to work efficiently. It has become a standard in the market by delivering integrated Global Information Management (GIM) technology to around 90% of the professional translation market place, providing a standard integrated ecosystem of translation memory, terminology, workflow management and maintenance. To assist our partners, we also offer extensive certification programs for the software – which means that companies using vendors can be sure they not only have standard software, but that the users really understand it. As your readers are probably also aware, SDL was one of the key architects and promoters of TMX, and we are very supportive of XLIFF.

INSIDER: If you will permit me a U.S.-centric metaphor … if Lionbridge is FedEx and SDL is UPS, who is the DHL of this industry?

Cowan: Lionbridge is more like ADP, and SDL is now QuickBooks.

Lancaster: We have invested over USD $100 million into technology – technology which is helping to spur growth and allowing companies to get to market faster.

Cowan: Thank you for recognizing us as the leader in the industry, but I am not sure the analogy works. Ignoring the marketing buzz, FedEx and UPS are peers who provide identical logistics services. In contrast, Lionbridge and SDL have diverged. We are a provider of translation as a technology-based managed service, while SDL has stepped away from the services side of the industry and is now focused exclusively on growing its technology business. Different economics, different buyers, different markets.

An analogy we use internally is that we are ADP, offering a web-architected, enterprise-scalable solution, without per-seat charges, and SDL is now QuickBooks, offering department-level technology. Given this, it is hard to say who the third player is. There are a number of service and tool providers who, purely on the basis of revenue, can be considered number three but none of these have distanced themselves enough from the rest of the pack.

Lancaster: Lionbridge and SDL are very different companies. Lionbridge is a large services business providing significant manpower solutions for large companies that might want to outsource human-intensive functions such as legacy software development, product testing, engineering and manual translation. Indeed, translation services are now just one part of their strategy.

SDL is totally focused on the localization industry – and the provision of technology to accelerate the efficiency of managing global content. There will always be a significant human element in translation. However, our goal and vision as a business is to provide the industry with technology and – when required – complete, end-to-end solutions that have technology as a key component. We have invested over USD $100 million into technology, and we believe the penetration of this technology in the industry is helping to spur growth and to reduce the barrier of investment as the technology improves the efficiency of translation and allows companies to get to market faster.

INSIDER: How do you perceive IBM’s entry into globalization services consulting?

Cowan: What tech company would give their pre-release content or code to a potential competitor?

Lancaster: IBM – Welcome to the world of Global Information Management!

Cowan: New entrants like IBM and HP certainly reinforce the viability and attractiveness of our multi-billion dollar market. IBM has dabbled here before and we have worked with them on a number of joint engagements in the past. They are organized around verticals and packaged application deployments, whereas we are a horizontal managed service with deep language MT (machine translation) and TM (translation memory) language technology. We focus exclusively on making translation cost-effective, a phrase not often associated with IBM. While their brand and market reach are intimidating, we don’t see them as an immediate threat in the broader localization market. After all, what tech company would give their pre-release content or code to a potential competitor?

Lancaster: This is enormously positive move for the industry. IBM recognizing the need for globalization consulting means customers must be asking them for it. This means they perceive a need to provide help to their customers in delivering high quality, localized information flow across the globe. Welcome to the world of Global Information Management!

INSIDER: Tim Hunt of Lingotek claims that his company’s new Language Search Engine will replace today’s TM systems. How would you respond?

Cowan: This is precisely why we didn’t buy TRADOS.

Lancaster: Let's see what happens.

Cowan: There are so many innovative and exciting technologies. When we first saw Logoport, it was being developed by two engineers in Berlin. You never know where the next technology breakthrough will occur.

Our industry is entering its most exciting phase in a decade. There are many, many new approaches to utilizing the power of the web in our industry. Recognizing this, we have established the Lionbridge Fellowship Program to enable some of our best language technologists to feel the pulse of the industry. From their analysis, it is clear we’re on the cusp of an entire new generation of language technologies that link TM, search, and MT.

This is precisely why we didn’t buy TRADOS. We didn’t want to be anchored to a legacy architecture and be forced to raise prices each year in order to make our numbers. As new tools move from theory to reality, the real skill will be the ability to evaluate and integrate these various toolsets into one cohesive, web-based production platform. This is where our focus lies.

Lancaster: I am not aware of this company, or the claims they are making. Our total focus is on driving our strategy and helping corporations to be competitive in the fast moving global marketplace. Let's see what happens.

INSIDER: What are the top 3 trends in China right now vis-a-vis global information management? What should we expect over the next 2 years?

Cowan: (1) Global content development, (2) enabling the real-time enterprise and (3) SaaS deployment

Lancaster: (1) Brand consistency and (2) local language excellence.

Cowan: I think you meant to say, “What are the trends in China relative to Localization 2.0?” which encompasses far more than just information management. The trends we are seeing around global content development, enabling the real-time enterprise, and the deployment of SaaS (software-as-a-service) models extend far beyond China. India and Eastern Europe are also caught up in this global push to engage with low-cost centers for development of code and content, testing, maintenance, etc.

The reality is that such a migration can only be accomplished using a web-based platform. Issues around IP security, file transfers, engaging local resource communities, and centralized reporting are all addressed when the applications and content are dynamically maintained in a web environment. Security is handled centrally ensuring that sensitive files or TMs remain within the controlled system, not downloaded to unsecured desktops. In addition, local professionals can be connected in real-time and self-align their production to improve consistency and response time through IM (instant messaging) and other tools.

Lancaster: China is an exploding market with many Western corporations looking at how they can penetrate that market. At the same time, we are seeing more Chinese companies exporting to Western Europe and the USA.

Brand consistency and local language excellence are important to all such companies for the simple reason that they enable more effective trade. As such, this market growth will result in significant opportunities for companies that focus on helping companies deliver localized communication across global boundaries. As the leading provider of Global Information Management, we believe that SDL is ideally positioned to take advantage of the growth.

INSIDER: If I am a Purchasing Manager and new to global business, why should I choose Lionbridge’s “Localization 2.0” instead of SDL’s “Global Information Management” to meet my needs?

Cowan: It’s easy! Just look at the total cost of ownership.

Lancaster: SDL provides vendor-neutral, multi-vendor technology solutions that are scalable enterprise-wide and that meet the needs of the entire global supply chain. .

Cowan: If you are a Purchasing Manager, the decision is easy! Just look at the TCO (total cost of ownership). Lionbridge’s approach is lower. Both models use technology to engage translators, but in Lionbridge’s Localization 2.0 vision, the technology is provided for Free. Why would anyone use their scarce budget resources to buy translation software when it is available for free?

Our Freeway platform provides clients with a more robust TM engine and a comprehensive management portal that can scale to support the entire enterprise on-demand without having to pay for licenses. Because we deploy and maintain the system via the web, it adds nothing to the incremental cost of the services they procure. With no per seat charges or annual maintenance fees, this money can be allocated to cover additional languages or products or to deploy more critical applications like IP security or CMS.

Lancaster: SDL provides vendor-neutral, multi-vendor technology solutions. A large end-user corporation will normally utilize the services of many LSPs (language service providers). A key requirement they have is to deliver consistency of brand and content across their whole enterprise – not just across one division. Hence, managing global information is not simply about a client being able to upload their files to a single vendor portal and then receiving them back translated – this is just one small step in the whole process. All large LSPs have portals for uploading files these days. A GIM system provides the Publisher (of which there are multiple departments), the LSP (of which there are multiple vendors) and the Freelancer with a central system from they can all derive significant benefit. This means:

• All the players in the supply chain can share terminology, translation memory, quality assurance modules and author assistance for publishers.
• There are standard business rules, agreed pricing and transparent tracking across the supply chain.
• The customer owns the assets and maintains the freedom to use multiple service providers and to switch among them.
• The central system is hosted at a neutral secure location or at the client’s location, so information remains secure.
• The solution is scalable for the client. All large clients have at least one CMS system and often more than one translation department. Therefore, companies need the re-assurance that their investment is safe and that their chosen CMS system, perhaps designed specifically for a departmental service, can interact seamlessly with the overall translation supply chain to take advantage of (1) leveraged TM, (2) consistent terminology and hence branding, (3) automated workflow based on approved providers with agreed pricing, (4) accountability across the supply chain through central tracking and an audit trail, and (5) the knowledge that 90% of the translation community can plug in seamlessly to SDL TRADOS technology without any training or loss of leverage.

INSIDER: Will accreditation for localization service providers benefit your companies?

Cowan: We believe that we will need to maintain internal baselines and evaluation criteria far beyond the industry standards.

Lancaster: Yes. That’s why we recently introduced the SDL TRADOS Certification Program.

Cowan: Accreditation is a natural evolution in many industries. ISO, CMM (Capability Maturity Model) and other agencies have helped establish an objective baseline for performance among vendors in a variety of industries. We believe in such models and were an early adopter of ISO certifications years ago. We were also the first company to receive a CMM Level 5 certification for our Indian operation, the highest discipline awarded for software development.

Accreditation for language quality or processes is an admirable goal, but with the bulk of our industry still served by thousands of small business owner/operators, establishing an accepted baseline for evaluation and certification will prove challenging. In all cases, we believe that we will need to maintain internal baselines and evaluation criteria far beyond the industry standards in order to serve the needs of our clients.

Lancaster: Yes. As companies look to take advantage of global business opportunities, we believe that it is critically important that they work with reputable companies with accredited suppliers. This is why we recently introduced the SDL TRADOS Certification Program. We have been delighted with the adoption of this program, and our partners see it as a valuable way of differentiating their services from those of their competitors.

INSIDER: What are the top three issues that you’re hearing from customers nowadays?

Cowan: Our industry has been moving laterally for years, and the clients are demanding more. We are responding with the first real innovations for localization since the deployment of TM ten years ago. .

Lancaster: Very simply – how can they get their products to market faster and at lower cost?

Cowan: The top three issues reflect the pressures facing a customer’s entire enterprise: How do I leverage low cost regions? How will the web transform our business? How do we manage a global enterprise in real-time?

Everything we touch is transforming, accelerating and expanding globally as the internet matures. Content is now streaming on-line, eliminating the legacy language “tiers” that used to determine the priorities for localization. Such demand is driving everyone to look at automation, workflow and technology to enable real-time publishing globally. Clients look to us to not only support these efforts but to help lead them through the “make/buy” decisions regarding the adoption of new tools and processes.

For instance, look at how the web is enabling enterprises to network their TM assets to unlock additional leverage and drive greater consistency across a broader team of translators. Or take MT. It is viable, we’ve proven it, and clients need to understand how to incorporate it into their approach in order to achieve their broader goals. And we are hearing more push to leverage offshore resources in low-cost centers like China, India and Eastern Europe as part of the localization team in order to mirror the client’s own transition of their development efforts to these regions. Our industry has been moving laterally for years, and the clients are demanding more. We are responding with the first real innovations for localization since the deployment of TM ten years ago. It is a very exciting time.

Lancaster: Very simply – how do they get their products (content) to market faster and at lower cost? The detailed questions behind this issue are the following:

• How do I reduce the 50% of costs for coordinating the translation of my content? It is amazing to consider how many companies spend 50% of their efforts shuffling files, negotiating pricing due to increased volumes, managing the plethora of emails, generating purchase orders, checking file status, etc. This is all about effective project management that modern GIM systems should deliver.
• How do I manage an effective Translation Memory across my supply chain? Simplistically, this means increasing content re-use across divisions. However, the longer-term impact of this is to drive greater brand consistency, to reduce time-to-market, to drive greater process efficiency and, most importantly, to enhance customer satisfaction.
• How do I manage consistent terminology across my supply chain? Terminology is a critical element of a company's intellectual property. It should be controlled and shared across all service providers – not controlled by providers. SDL has many clients who use the SDL Multiterm solution to enable consistency of terminology within their home language – let alone across multiple languages.

INSIDER: What are the top 3 industry sectors that could really benefit from your Localization 2.0 / Global Information Management models in a big way, but which are not currently doing so?

Cowan: The Wireless Industry has become the new computing platform.

Lancaster: It’s about using technology to seamlessly connect all elements of the localization supply chain into an effective, go-to-market, competitive differentiator.

Cowan: Loc 2.0 is really about bringing the power of a global resource community to a project on-demand. With this approach, we are achieving “quality at source” and reducing cycle times through the power of real-time collaboration among our translator partners via our open, web-architected platform.

This responsiveness opens up localization to a variety of sectors where, in the past, resource constraints and cycle times precluded global deployment:

• The Wireless Industry has become the new computing platform. As mobile devices become the central information conduit for consumers, this segment will need to tap into on-demand translation support to engage with global subscribers. It is our fastest growing segment, with many, many tier 4 languages.
• Regulated industries like Life Sciences are also feeling the pressure. When an in-country review process takes four months, it is time for a change. Localization 2.0 moves these tasks to the web, provides status reports, and captures changes in a central repository allowing future translators to learn from these edits. Removing four months from a publishing cycle has real economic value to these buyers, and we are already experiencing this demand.
• The Consumer Sector, including on-line portals and retail, is growing dramatically as the data and infrastructure to support one-to-one consumer marketing expands. For firms like Yahoo!, eBay and RyanAir, the ability to instantly update offers globally, based on shifts in user demand and inventory, is driving the need for faster multilingual support.

Lancaster: Global Information Management is a growing market that delivers enormous value to all industries that transact business globally. Its fundamental premise is about using technology to seamlessly connect all elements of the localization supply chain into an effective, go-to-market, competitive differentiator. Specific industries that are already gaining significant benefit from this include Pharmaceuticals, Automotive and IT.

INSIDER: As your organization’s visionary, how do you specifically ensure that your managers build successful, global virtual teams within the company itself, as well as between your people and those of your clients? What specifically do you do to transfer your organization’s culture to new teams that you bring on board?

Cowan: The organization itself refines the vision.

Lancaster: Our senior managers are the culture – they set the culture, and SDL is now their business.

Cowan: I do this through a series of “hard” and “soft” communications. We operate under a series of common guardrails that define our commitments and expectations internally. We publish our “Big Five” objectives for the organization yearly and align regional and functional goals to these macro moves. We conduct monthly performance calls with 60 of our worldwide leaders to review status against our strategies and discuss barriers to our performance. All new employees attend a detailed orientation program during their first weeks with us that serve to indoctrinate them into our values, our culture, our processes, and even our internal “language.” They know what it means to be a part of Lionbridge, what will be expected of them, and what they can expect from their peers.

What is great about this model is that it becomes self-sustaining. For instance, I kicked us off in the direction of Localization 2.0, but now that the momentum is there, the organization itself is refining the vision. Each day I am amazed at how creative our team can be, and it is a thrill to watch this vision become real in the hands of our people.

Lancaster: I believe that the key is to retain senior general management staff and people who have been brought up with the company. Then you support them with lots of communication, meetings, appropriate incentives and process. It is worth noting that the average length of service for the 100 or so general managers/directors across 30 countries in SDL is more than 7 years! They have been brought up with the company, and we value them enormously. They are the culture – they set the culture, and SDL is now their business. If you are able to retain and grow senior management, it is fantastic for them, as well as for your customers and shareholders .

INSIDER: How will the open source development model continue to affect your business over the next few years?

Cowan: Open source holds great potential within our industry.

Lancaster: We don’t expect any change over the next few years.

Cowan: Open source holds great potential within our industry. Each day we are approached by entrepreneurs who want to collaborate with us as they develop language technology through an open source effort. One area we are pursuing where we see immediate applications of open source models is enabling charitable programs to reach their multilingual constituencies. By providing such agencies with a free content system and access to translation tools and resources, we can dramatically expand their language coverage, improving access to their information and services.

The other side to open source is the effect it is having on our client base as they seek to adopt, compete with, or collaborate with open source systems in their own organizations and products. These systems still require user interaction and as such, the need for localization is still present, though the decision-making organizations to coordinate these efforts may be more fragmented. In fact, many open source efforts that originally attempted to localize their application through an ad hoc process have returned to us for professional localization.

Lancaster: Open source has been around for many years, so we do not expect there to be any change to the contribution it makes to our business over the next few years.

INSIDER: What has been your biggest challenge in running your businesses over the last 2 years? What will it be over the next 2 years?

Cowan: I wrestle with the same issues as our clients.

Lancaster: Educating the market – we are pioneering Global Information Management.

Cowan: On a strategic level, I have been wrestling with the same issues as our clients, namely low-cost centers, web-based transformation, and managing a real-time enterprise. My approach has been one of “disciplined creativity” where we explore a variety of new avenues, test and evaluate them, and then select the most promising initiatives for rapid investment and deployment. That is my job as a leader, and I take it seriously and yes, it does keep me up at night.

On a more tactical level, certainly the integration of BGS (Bowne Global Systems) has been our biggest effort as we doubled in size, retained and developed our staff, and continued to serve our customers in the face of dual systems, different cultures, and new leadership structures. We have come through this in an incredible way with 100% client retention and a much healthier organization than either entity was independently. It has gone magically thanks to our global teams.

Lancaster: I think our largest challenge has been educating the market about the capabilities and solutions that Global Information Management provides for a business. We are pioneering this in the industry, and I have to say that the adoption in the last year of GIM technology has been very satisfying.

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Rory J. Cowan is Chairman, President and CEO of Lionbridge. Prior to founding the company in 1996, he was Executive Vice-President and Member of the Management Committee for R.R. Donnelley & Sons. He was also CEO of Stream International, a multi-billion dollar division. Cowan joined R.R. Donnelley in 1988 as Senior Vice-President of the Documentation Services Group and later became Group President. Prior to Donnelley, Cowan was President and CEO of CSA Press. In addition, Cowan was Chairman of Interleaf until its sale to Broadvision; Chairman of FairMarket until its sale to eBay; Chairman of NewsEdge Corporation until its sale to Thompson; and sat on the Board of Webline until its sale to Cisco.

Cowan currently serves on the Invoke Solutions Board of Directors. He is on the Board of the American Electronics Association (AEA) and chairs its India Work Group Committee. Cowan received his A.B. and M.B.A. from Harvard University.

Mark Lancaster founded SDL in 1992 after identifying the need for business to enter global markets rapidly and cost-effectively, with the anticipated growth and hence complexities of managing global content. As Chairman and CEO of SDL, Lancaster is responsible for the strategic development of the business. Prior to SDL, he was International Development Director for Ashton-Tate and a Program Manager at Lotus Development Corporation. Lancaster has degrees in both Electrical/Electronic Engineering and Computer Applications/Architectures. He is a co-founder of LISA and can be reached through his Personal Assistant, Nikki Pollard at NPollard@sdl.com.

Editor’s Note: For an in-depth, executive interview with Mark Lancaster, read Mark Lancaster: Process and Technology Are the Name of His Game.