2021 felt like a bounce-back year if solely based on economic performance. So, from a business perspective, we were very happy with what we achieved. However, the impact the pandemic is having on people and the disruption to working practices meant that a return to ‘normality’ never seemed to arrive.

Being a global business made dealing with the pandemic even more of a challenge. The constantly altering regional and global landscape saw us having to adjust our return to office strategy on a location-by-location basis rather than through a global policy. Additionally, we were acutely aware of the pressure that working from home 100% of the time had on some team members. Therefore, ensuring our offices could be reopened safely was of paramount importance.

Despite these challenges, our worldwide teams continued to give their utmost and adhered to our core values: Be Collaborative, Be Dynamic, Be Progressive, Be Curious and Be Visionary. This ensured we maintained our excellent customer service standards, helped in no small part by our internal technologies that allowed our team to always remain connected.

Given the continuing growth in the industry and our ever-evolving solutions – I am looking forward to an exciting 2022.

2022 has felt like business as usual. However, I would caveat that with a sense of cautious optimism that this continues into 2023. The cautiousness is fueled by many factors including high inflation, an expected recession, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the pandemic.

Despite these pressures, we are continuing to see business growth, particularly in our interpreting, localization, and live captioning solutions. This is being driven by an increase in digital content and the needs of our clients to reach a global audience. It’s not only a testament to the resilience in our industry but also the strength of the Global Lingo team.

We are supporting the growth in demand in two ways. Firstly, we are increasing our investment in technology and secondly, we are continuing to improve our employee efficiencies. Both of which lead to an enhanced client experience.

We are proud to offer a 24-hour service, 365 days a year. This around the clock availability has been extended even further by the addition of an office in Egypt. That team is available at weekends and during holidays such as Easter and Christmas.

With the amount of growth we have seen, not only in the industry but also in our team, it’s easy to see why we feel 2022 is business as usual. It is clear that language solutions are an essential service for our clients and a key factor in communicating with their audience. I believe, albeit cautiously, that this will continue for the foreseeable future.

A cost-of-living crisis, tightening financial conditions across the globe, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the lingering COVID-19 pandemic all weigh heavily on the outlook for 2023 and beyond.

The language service industry often finds itself somewhat insulated from economic shifts (given its central role in facilitating the globalization of business), however caution is justified when faced with the looming cloud of recession. While the forces currently shaping the LSP landscape may seem limiting – they can, if harnessed correctly, be just the opposite: a set of tools for moving into the future confidently and successfully. For example, the effect of inflation on the cost of human talent could be approached as a further squeeze on a sector that is already squeezed financially. Or it could be taken as an opportunity to show your best people how much you value them, and an impetus to further explore how technology such as artificial intelligence tools can help humans to produce their best work.

The seller’s market for business development talent could be yet another obstacle on the path to growth. Or you could welcome the fact that this means anyone you hire is choosing your company over the many others clamoring for their attention, and that being a “Great Place to Work” means something to them. You can view offshoring purely as a means to cut costs. Or you could embrace it as a way to create a genuinely diverse, international team of equals. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. The future of LSPs will be determined by those of us willing to take the conditions we are presented with, and use them to invent a better, smarter, more human way forward, through 2023 and far beyond.

Finally, GenAI will open up new project opportunities for us. We'll be able to seek out larger, more complex projects, pushing back the boundaries of our translation business. This will enable us to meet the growing demand for large-scale translations, while reducing our costs through automation.

In conclusion, I see the arrival of GenAI as an opportunity for the translation industry. It offers considerable advantages in terms of speed, productivity, and expertise, while enabling human translators to concentrate on more complex and creative aspects of their work. By using AI technologies intelligently and strategically, we can continue to provide high-quality “content” that meet our customers' needs and expectations, while reducing our budget and optimizing our processes. This is real added value that we need to seize now.

Looking towards 2024 and beyond, several key forces are set to shape our future in the language solutions industry.

Firstly, technological advancements, particularly in AI and machine learning, are set to continue their transformative impact on language solutions. These technologies are not just streamlining processes for efficiency; they're helping to enhance translation accuracy by empowering language professionals to focus on research and nuanced language details, enabling us to undertake larger more complex projects with fewer resources. Consequently, we're able to cater to diverse client needs while upholding high-quality standards.

Cultural sensitivity in localization is increasingly important as businesses venture into varied markets. Respect for local nuances is essential, demanding a deeper, more thoughtful approach to localization beyond just translation.

The shift towards hybrid working models is reshaping team interactions and operations, balancing remote and in-office dynamics. Digital tools play a vital role in ensuring smooth communication and workflow across these settings.

Moreover, sustainability and ethical practices are increasingly at the forefront of business strategies. Clients seek partners who provide quality services and share their values.

In essence, the localization sector's future is shaped by technological progress, cultural adaptability, hybrid work trends, and ethical commitments. At Global Lingo, we're already embracing these evolving dynamics, offering outstanding services while adjusting to the changing global landscape.