Across Systems Confirms Its “Independence” with a Money-back Guarantee
Leading translation management software provider financially endorses promise of remaining independent technology provider
GLENDALE, Calif. and KARLSBAD, Germany – Dec. 4, 2008 – Prompted by skepticism from companies, especially in the United States, the management and major shareholders of Across Systems, a leading provider of corporate translation management solutions, have issued a guarantee to localization service providers (LSPs) worldwide that the company will remain an independent technology provider. Specifically, if Across were to be acquired by a localization service vendor any time within the next five years, it will refund to its LSP customers any license fees they pay from now throughout 2009.
Across, a privately held company, believes that consolidation and acquisitions in the translation industry have bound many enterprises to proprietary software technologies and often force localization service providers to work with technologies of their competitors – not something most companies want to do. Earlier this year, Across, along with several international translation providers, launched an “R.O.I.” campaign, with ROI standing for “Rely on Independence.” But, in meetings with U.S.-based LSPs, the company still encountered anxiety. LSPs were nervous that Across, which has been operating in Europe for more than five years and in the U.S. for just over a year, would be swallowed up by one of the global localization vendors.
Daniel Nackovski, president of Across Systems, Inc., recognized that it was time for Across to “put its money where its mouth is” in order to prove its commitment to remaining independent. "Across Systems is privately held, so we can make decisions based on true long-term value for our customers, and never compromise for the sake of short-term trade-offs."
“Independence is central to our strategic business objectives,” says Nackovski. “We knew we needed to do something dramatic to win the trust of our American customers and prospects, which have been suffering from all the mergers and acquisitions in this industry, for example, SDL's acquisition of Idiom this year. So we convened an executive meeting and decided that we would back up our promises with a money-back guarantee to show how serious we are about independence. This worldwide guarantee supports all our LSP customers: if we were to be acquired, we would refund license fees, yet the licenses would remain valid for the customers. We are confident our guarantee will reassure service providers who want to work with the best available technology and who don’t want to lose their customers to their technology vendor.”
Among translation agencies, technology penetration has reached high levels, with translators using translation memory and workflow technologies to assist the process. However, in recent years, almost all professional technology providers have been taken over by a handful of LSPs operating on a global scale. Across Systems is now the only major market share translation technology provider whose core business is software development. Across does not offer any kind of translation or localization services, thereby not competing with its LSP customers, nor tying enterprise customers to source technology and services from the same vendor.
Across Systems’ primary product, the Across Language Server, is a central platform for corporate language resources and translation processes. Besides offering a translation memory and terminology system, it also includes powerful project management and workflow controls. Its distinguishing feature is its end-to-end ability to enable enterprises, agencies and translators to operate as a seamless linguistic supply chain, uniting all work steps, internal and external team members, and corresponding systems in a single working environment, with friction-free knowledge-sharing. Open interfaces enable the easy integration of systems such as Content Management Systems (CMS) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions.
