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“One of the biggest challenges in writing the recent Forrester Translation Management Systems Landscape, and the upcoming Wave, was deciding what to call it.”
—Kathleen Pierce, Forrester Principal Analyst
Before the rise of generative AI, there was a clear consensus — Lionbridge and companies like ours were known as Language Service Providers (LSPs), primarily offering translation and localization services to support global communication. The main industry management tool was a Translation Management System (TMS).
But that was then, and this is now, the era of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs). With ongoing technological disruption and its impact on our work, something feels amiss about using this terminology, and we’re not the only ones drawing this conclusion.
Leading industry voices are questioning the relevance and accuracy of the terms “Language Service Provider (LSP)” and “Translation Management System (TMS)” to describe the services companies like Lionbridge provide and the technology that serves our industry.
Is It Time To Retire the Terms Language Service Provider and Translation Management System?
Slator’s take
Slator, which provides analysis and research for the global translation, localization, and language technology industries, is among the voices questioning the old-world order, in other words, the usage of the terms LSP and TMS. They didn’t mince words, declaring that this vocabulary is outdated.
They have offered a new market framework, unveiling the following terms in their 2025 Slator Language Industry Market Report:
- Language Solutions Integrators (LSIs)
- Language Technology Platforms (LTPs)
Slator’s New Terminology
How does Slator define Language Solutions Integrator (LSI)?
“[It’s] a term to describe organizations whose core offering is to deliver fit-for-purpose multilingual content solutions by integrating language technology and AI with human experts as part of a fully managed solution.”
How does Slator define Language Technology Platform (LTP)?
“[It’s] a term used to describe pure-play technology providers that develop language tools, applications, orchestration platforms, and AI models. Their core offering is access to tools and/or infrastructure that enable and optimize language transformation.”
—Source: Slator
And they’re not the only ones examining industry terminology.
A Forrester analyst’s take
Forrester Principal Analyst Kathleen Pierce opined in a LinkedIn post that one of the biggest challenges in writing her report, ”The Translation Management Systems Landscape”, was figuring out what to call the technology.
“I decided to use the most recognized term, TMS, because the market has not yet settled on a single alternative… but if I were doing this [report] six months or a year from now, it would probably be a different choice.”
—Kathleen Pierce, Forrester Principal Analyst
What’s Driving Changes to Industry Terminology?
Rapid technological advances in AI and shifting market demands are transforming the language services industry (and traditional translation and localization methods), rendering the terms Language Service Provider (LSP) and Translation Management System (TMS) less relevant.
Recent trends include:
- The need for an integrated localization approach rather than managing localization in isolation.
- Expanded solution offerings using AI (such as content creation) for better results.
With innovative proprietary technological solutions, Lionbridge acts as a bridge between brands and global cultures, using AI combined with human orchestration to scale cultural relevance responsibly and effectively.
LSPs: Why the term falls short
While language vendors once primarily focused on translation, AI now enables AI-first providers to handle the entire global content lifecycle — from content creation to localization. For instance, we use the Lionbridge Content Remix App for simultaneous content creation in over 70 languages. These comprehensive offerings integrating AI make the term LSP woefully inadequate to describe our role. Enterprises seek us out for a breadth of services, including content creation, data services, and other genAI solutions, such as AI translation.
TMSs: Why the term falls short
TMSs were once considered crucial for boosting efficiency and managing content translation projects, but that is no longer the case. No TMS can keep up with translation and AI-generated content services.
Industry standards have evolved, with companies utilizing social media, the internet, and digital platforms to deliver a continuous stream of new, multilingual, and personalized content to meet the insatiable appetite of their target demographics. Brands must meet the latest language and cultural content requirements with the latest tools, not merely a TMS. For more on this topic, read our blog, Are TMSs Where Your Multilingual Content Dies?
With AI-powered services driven by Lionbridge Aurora AI™, you can do everything you did with your TMS — but much more. This advanced platform accelerates content creation, translation, and localization through workflow automation, offering unmatched speed and efficiency. This transformative tool delivers impactful content more efficiently by automating production intelligence at scale. More than just a Translation Management System (TMS), our AI-first global content platform uses cutting-edge technology to provide fresh insights, a clear vision, and a strategic approach to global content management and creation.
How Does Lionbridge Define Itself?
Lionbridge considers itself a Global Content Solutions Provider. (We’ll refrain from using an acronym for this term, at least for now, and in hopes of keeping it that way.)
More than an LSP, a Global Content Solutions Provider is an organization that’s tech-first and global from the start, which perfectly defines Lionbridge.
Tech-first
Lionbridge has been at the forefront of pioneering various globalization techniques. Our primary goal is to deliver the exceptional global content outcomes that our customers desire. The best means to this end is through modular solutions, which enable us to maintain scalability and quality even as market requirements evolve.
Focusing on customer outcomes, we leverage best-of-breed technologies for advanced orchestration and robust connectivity capabilities, cutting-edge Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools, and the most advanced Generative AI (GenAI) models.
This approach ensures that we can provide our clients with the most efficient and effective language solutions available.
Global from the start
At Lionbridge, we go deep. We don’t use AI inclusion messaging merely to impress or rely on the cliché of human-in-the-loop (HITL) as simple quality checks. We understand that humans are essential knowledge workers, and their expertise is crucial in developing and orchestrating AI as part of a comprehensive global content system.
Humans offer more value than just oversight of AI processes; they are pivotal in architecting flexible, scalable, and innovative AI-driven solutions. We guide our customers through this journey with intuitive solutions that seamlessly connect with their existing tool ecosystems, all while maintaining unmatched transparency.
We believe that content empowers people by providing access, building bridges, and breaking down barriers. The process to create it requires specialized skill sets that combine the best of human and AI capabilities.
What Does the Future Hold for Industry Terminology?
Will the terms LSP and TMS truly fade away, like the once-popular U.S. names Ethel, Gertrude, and Elmer? Will the terms Global Content Solutions Provider, Language Solutions Integrator, and Language Technology Platform become as common in our industry lexicon as the recently coined words selfie, influencer, and ghosting are among the general population? Only time will tell.
As linguists and language experts, we are keenly aware of how language constantly evolves. Heck, it’s why in-market linguists are instrumental in assuring high-quality localization results. Keeping up with language changes is an exciting part of our work.
By adopting new terminology to describe companies like ours and the technologies we use — and leveraging the latest technology — we ensure that our communication, as well as that of our customers, remains relevant, clear, and resonant.
Get in touch
Looking to partner with a leading global content solutions provider at the forefront of industry innovations? Contact us today to discover how our AI-first solutions can help you scale your content and reach your target audiences more quickly, all while staying within your budget.
Fill out our contact form to start a conversation with us.
We’re eager to understand your needs and share how our innovative capabilities can empower you to break barriers and expand your global reach. Ready to explore the possibilities? We can’t wait to help.
