SDL Selling Off Products, Refocusing on Translation Services

Mar 22, 2016


We have heard about the perils of technology suites--as opposed to best-of-breed point solutions--from experts for years. Now, SDL is realizing just how hard it is to compete with the big products suites. CMSWire reported that SDL is selling its social intelligence, campaign management, and e-commerce optimization platforms-which the company says have struggled to compete with giants like Adobe and Sitecore.

With bigger losses than expected in 2015, SDL told CMSWire that "it is refocusing on its language translation services and technology products." As far back as January, SDL wrote on its blog, "Our legacy has been in language and global content. And, to continue this legacy and deliver world class Global Content Management solutions maximizing Language as our key differentiator, we have taken steps to divest in the areas that don't support our unique value proposition and reinvest in areas that do. As such, we will divest the following: Fredhopper (our eCommerce optimization solution), Social Intelligence and Campaigns." 

It seems widely agreed that SDL's products were not the problem--the marketing was. That being said, the language translation services continue to be profitable and the company is doubling down on the future of global content. 

(sdl.com)


Related Articles

Some myths or misconceptions still affect digital globalization and lead to risky decisions or faux pas. One of them is the assumption that it is less important to localize content when it comes to engaging with business-to-business customers and employees internationally. This boils down to stating that they neither need nor deserve the same level of content quality that other valued consumers require. Some decision makers are willing to justify it by claiming that English is the universal language of business. This proves to be an opinion rather than a fact more often than not.
Digital content excellence will play out more than ever before and global expansion will remain a major growth enabler for the next 12 months--and likely beyond. In other words digital customer experience across geographies and markets will be there to stay and will keep global business leaders and players busy, sometimes busier than what they planned or expected last year. Having said that we may wonder what is ahead of us this year and how it is going to impact digital globalization practices and objectives.
Data is all around us whether we use it or we are part of it. More than another trend, data is the way to move with agility and make every step and achievement tangible for those who do not see or believe it. One of the most transformational and accelerating factors of digitization is precisely how data is considered, leveraged, valued, and distilled. As data mining is not new it has become more than just a back office type of activity. It is all about turning facts into more than facts, figures into more than figures, and content into more than content.