Overview of the industry
The translation industry has enjoyed consistent growth over the last decade, even during the global economic downturn of 2008. Acquisitions of translation companies saw consolidation of the market and the emergence of large providers who were able to dominate smaller competitors. This, however, did not deter a flurry of new start-ups coming into the market, which is , perhaps, because of the relative ease of starting a translation agency : the basic requirement for a translation agency is a coordinator to outsource work to freelance translators. Even so, greater initial investment in technology has become increasingly necessary to compete in the market as has the demand for a kind of ‘product bundling’ approach. In order to compete with market leaders, however, a sizable in-house staff is absolutely necessary to offer the expertise and reaction time demanded by clients with language service departments and complex assignments.
So who do you choose?
Your company may already have its list of preferred suppliers, so it’s just a matter of requesting a quote from them. But if there is scope to shop around or it’s time to reconsider work with your current supplier, on what criteria do you base your choice?
The Top 100 Language Service Providers
If you enter this title into Google, you’ll find a list of the global top 100 in the industry spanning Europe, Asia and North America. If you’ve ever had to source a provider for your company, some of these names might be familiar, but is it really a useful resource for buyers of translation services? Since the results are based on annual turnover, and some of the top providers include the sale of their own software and even property on their balance sheets, it isn’t a particularly clear indicator of the quality of the product and service. What’s more, since the list was collated as a result of voluntary contributions to a survey, it acts only as an overview for turnover of the providers that took part.
The size of a company, in terms of the number of offices and employees, might be a better indicator for buyers, since this gives a greater indication of a provider’s capacities and capabilities. Large volumes of information for translation could, potentially, be processed more quickly through greater access to the right human resources; plus, there is the added advantage that working in different time zones affords large projects with urgent deadlines. A company may require its provider to be located close to its office, or to have overseas offices that are close to its subsidiaries in order to centralise work.
More often than not, it’s a matter of quality and price. If quality is not a priority, low-cost translation is not hard to come by and can be achieved by any number of providers. It’s harder to source providers offering high quality because this requires resources that most of the providers in the Top 100 do not have—in-house teams for linguistic and technical expertise.
Choosing EVS Translations
In-house teams of translators allow for greater accuracy, consistency and therefore quality. Teams can be assembled for large projects and when a client returns with a new project, that same team can be used. The combination of in-house translators and in-house IT and engineering teams at EVS Translations is highly unique and guarantees a streamlined workflow for the best results. Clients looking for solutions to website translation, audio visual translations or the production of print-ready materials have all the necessary expertise in one place saving time and costs and our international presence can be advantageous for urgent large projects.
The future of the industry
The demand for translation is massive and the industry looks set for continued growth over the coming years. Providers operating in the market, however, will need to think outside the box to survive: in the attempt to avoid commoditisation, they are under more pressure to diversify their offerings and source the kind of complex projects that require them. The demand from businesses seeking to accurately deliver their brand message or to present their products through a range of media formats to a global audience certainly provides some interesting opportunities to go beyond traditional document translation, and EVS Translations is already there providing the right solutions.
