Development of services
In the mid-1990s, AAC started doing translations for Esri Sweden, primarily into Swedish, but the number of languages entrusted to AAC has grown over the years.
Esri works with many different language service providers to ensure the best possible quality for each of the languages. Vendors are selected using an elaborate process including blind tests, and evaluations from the local distributor for the language in question are taken into account. In this quest for quality, focus on finding the best providers has led to a varied localization environment, where Esri – depending on the language – works with both major multilingual service providers and single language vendors.
Within certain subject areas, it can be challenging for one provider to handle several languages without quality being affected. However, due to problems in the past when using multiple language service providers, Esri wanted one vendor to take care of all of its legal translations. AAC was selected after undergoing testing for all 37 languages, and to this day cooperation has been very successful.
On a global scale, Esri translates around 100 million words a year, and this amount is currently growing by around 20% a year. Looking to Esri’s future translation needs, the company will require more translations faster – but the company’s high demands on quality will remain unchanged. It is crucial to move forward and develop the technology and systems, and Esri’s vendors will have to embrace the need for change and be willing to move forward with the company.
