| Type | Public (LSE: SDL) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Language localization Software testing WCM/WEM CEM |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Maidenhead, UK |
| Key people | Mark Lancaster, (Executive Chairman and John Hunter CEO) |
| Revenue | £203.5 million (2011)[1] |
| Operating income | £35.2 million (2010)[1] |
| Net income | £22.0 million (2010)[1] |
| Employees | circa 2,000 |
| Website | www.sdl.com |
SDL plc (LSE: SDL) is a global company with headquarters based in Maidenhead, UK that provides language localization services and translation and content management software. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Global organizations that use SDL include ABN-Amro, Bosch, Canon, CNH, FICO, Hewlett-Packard, KLM, Microsoft, NetApp, Philips, SAP and Sony. SDL has over 1500 enterprise customers, has deployed over 170,000 software licenses and provides access to on-demand portals for 10 million customers per month. It has a global infrastructure of more than 60 offices in 35 countries.
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The Company was founded by Mark Lancaster with nine employees in 1992. It opened its first overseas office in France in 1996[2] and was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1999.[2] The company has grown organically and via acquisitions. SDL acquired International Translation & Publishing (ITP) in 2000, Alpnet in 2001, and the machine translation (MT) assets of Transparent Language in 2001. It bought Trados, a rival translation memory (TM) developer, in 2005.[3] In 2007, the company acquired Tridion, a content management system vendor,[4] and PASS Engineering, developers of PASSOLO software.[5] In 2008, it bought Idiom Technologies, a global information system management business.[6] At the start of 2010, SDL acquired Fredhopper, a Dutch eCommerce search and navigation software vendor.[7] Later that same year, it bought Xopus, another Dutch company and the leader in online XML editing.[8]. In the first half of 2011 SDL acquired Dutch-based Media Asset Management company, Calamares.
SDL provides global businesses with solutions that enable them to engage with global customers. The Company provides translation, localization, internationalization, interpretation, content development, software development, software testing, and global information management services. It has operations in 35 countries such as Italy, France, Thailand, Japan, and India.[9] SDL is now one of the top three largest providers of language services.[10] It is one of the leading companies in the language industry.[11]
SDL has an extensive global partner network including LSPs, technology partners and local resellers in different countries; among these are HCR, run by Joao Ruivo in Portugal; Bureau Translations, run by Gabriel Fairman in Brazil; and Altalingua in Romania, run by Lucian Dumitrescu and Andrei Ioviţă.