The Slator 2021 Language Industry Market Report provides a comprehensive view of the global language services and technology industry — which, according to Slator, was an addressable market of USD 23.8bn in 2020, remaining stable despite significant disruption in the first half of the year.
The report segments the entire language industry into 10 verticals by end-customer industry and lists the top-growing verticals by percentage and US-dollar growth in 2020.
In addition, Slator introduces two new frameworks for market analysis. First, the market is segmented into 8 geographic regions, presenting market size per region and listing the top 10 countries by market size.
Next, the industries are analyzed through the lens of market drivers, identifying 9 buyer intentions behind translation and localization spend. A heatmap illustrates the concentration of specific buyer intentions across the 10 verticals, providing readers with a deeper understanding of language industry dynamics.
The language industry competitive landscape is examined using data from the Slator 2021 Language Service Provider Index (LSPI), which features more than 190 LSPs. The report breaks down growth and market share for players across key LSP segments: Super Agencies, Leaders, Challengers, and Boutiques.
Slator 2021 Language Industry Market Report
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The report further drills down into the industry’s per-word pricing model, examining the wide range of factors impacting pricing, and identifies 4 emerging pricing models. In addition, the report analyses the top 5 ISO certifications for LSPs in the 2021 Slator LSPI, providing valuable insight into the role certification plays in market access.
The report unpacks the fast-evolving ecosystem of translation management systems (TMS) and machine translation (MT), and identifies three specific areas of MT-resistance that persist in the industry.
In the expert-in-the-loop chapter, three MT-enabled production models are presented along with a deeper examination of the role of human experts. Also tackled: how an expert-in-the-loop approach can take human-in-the-loop production models to the next level. Moreover, a one-page quick guide to ISO 18587 provides an accessible introduction for LSPs considering MT-related certification.
The report then takes a close look at frontier technology that is appealing to investors and sending ripple effects across the industry — from speech-to-speech translation to GPT-3 based products and synthetic text generation. Further insight is provided into the path from research to product development and adoption.
A hybrid future chapter explores the questions: “How did the Covid pandemic change the language industry in 2020?” and “Which changes will stick around?” From remote working practices to accelerated technology adoption, the chapter paints a picture of the industry’s new, hybrid status quo.
Additionally, the report features analyses of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and venture capital funding in 2020. A market outlook chapter includes projections based on Slator’s 2020 market analysis, with projected market growth to 2024 calculated at between USD 29.8bn and USD 30.3bn.
Lastly, the report outlines the segments of the industry that are best positioned to win in the midterm as the industry grapples with transformational technology and threats of a global recession.
The report can be used as a standalone resource and is best read alongside Slator’s complementary catalog of research reports and pro guides, such as the Slator 2020 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report and the Slator Pro Guide: Translation Pricing and Procurement.
Slator Research is available in pay as you go or to as part of our Growth, Pro, and Enterprise subscription.
Table of Contents
| Language Services Industry Analysis | 8 |
| Obtain the latest language industry intelligence, from industry size and percentage growth to market size per vertical, geographic region, and buyer intention. Find out how demand is concentrated across these segments to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics shaping the industry. | |
| Competitive Landscape: Services | 17 |
| Read up on the language industry services landscape, from market size and growth per LSP segment to per-word unit pricing and emerging pricing models. Find out more about the language services space, with a comprehensive list of more than 200 core and adjacent services. | |
| Competitive Landscape: Technology | 30 |
| Explore the dynamics of language technology with an overview of key participants in the pure-play MT and TMS landscapes. Get to grips with MT pricing models and understand which content types and niches are still resisting this transformational technology. | |
| Toward an Expert-in-the-Loop Model | 40 |
| Get up to speed with human-in-the-loop translation models, and access the latest insights into the expert-in-the-loop approach to MT-enabled translation. | |
| M&A and Funding | 47 |
| Find out about the major acquisitions, investments, and startup funding that are driving and reshaping the industry, and discover the key themes that underlie them. | |
| Frontier Tech | 56 |
| Get ahead of the curve with Slator’s review of frontier language technology — from synthetic dubbing to text generation — which is appealing to investors and causing ripple effects across the industry. | |
| Hybrid Future | 61 |
| Get a glimpse into the hybrid future of the language industry, including its new remote working practices and accelerated technology adoption. | |
| Market Outlook 2021 (projected market growth to 2024) | 68 |
| Gain actionable insights into the language industry’s projected growth rate and market size, and find out which industry segments will emerge as winners and losers. | |
| Appendices | 71 |
| Even more data: In addition to the 70-page body of the report, the report’s appendices feature additional market size estimates (for G20 countries, EU countries, Norway, and Switzerland) and underlying LSPI data (for LSPI Super Agencies, Leaders, and Challengers). |
How to Use This Report
Slator’s easy-to-digest 2021 Language Industry Market Report offers the very latest industry and data analysis, providing language service providers, end clients, and investors the confidence to make informed and time critical decisions. It is a cost-effective, credible resource for busy professionals.
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