Common Sense Advisory strives for independence and integrity in all of its research. Here, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to our global market sizing estimates, our rankings of the largest language service providers (LSPs) in different regions, and in the world at large.

About the Companies that Appear in Our Rankings

• How many LSPs are in Common Sense Advisory’s database? At publication time, our database included 23,380 LSPs from around the world. According to tests we carried out in multiple markets, we estimate that for every 100 LSPs currently in our database, there are eight additional LSPs not included.
• Which companies could participate in our latest rankings? Every LSP could participate. The call for participation was published to our company website, our industry blog, and was made accessible to the public at large through numerous e-mail campaigns and social media activities. We also personally invited every language services company in our database to participate.
• What is your definition of an LSP? Common Sense Advisory defines a “language service provider” as a company with two or more employees that offers services and/or technology related to the transfer of information from one language into another.
• My company should be in one of your rankings. Why isn’t it listed? If your company meets the criteria but is not listed, it is because your company did not respond to this year’s public call for participation. Please contact us to ensure that you receive next year’s call for participation.
• Can I promote the fact that my company is featured in a ranking? Please contact us to obtain approval.
• Does your database contain every single LSP in the world? We believe that we have the most comprehensive and current list of LSPs in the world. We continually update our database as new companies are born each day in the language services arena.
• Do you include freelancers and/or companies with just one employee? A company must have at least two full-time employees to meet our criteria for inclusion as an LSP.
• How do I know if my company is in your database? Please contact us or register on our website to make sure you are included in our database.
• Can I have access to your LSP database? Our LSP database is not available for external use.
• Can you give me a list of the top LSPs in my country? Common Sense Advisory has the ability to produce country-specific rankings in various countries. Please contact Sales for further details.

About Our Ranking Methodology

• Why do you no longer include estimated language services revenue for some companies? If a company wants to appear in the ranking, it must voluntarily participate in our process. This ensures that any data included in our rankings has been provided to us in writing directly from an authorized representative of the company.
• Why don’t you include data from public companies? Such information is not reliable enough for our purposes. Even data from public companies does not always provide the level of detail that we require. We require other information that must be validated by a point person at each company.
• Do you require companies to participate? Participation is completely voluntary. Common Sense Advisory does not publish any company’s information without first obtaining permission from someone who self-identifies as an authorized representative of the company.
• Why are some companies listed one year and not the next? A company may decide not to participate at any time. A firm may be acquired by a larger company, there may be a change in reporting structure, or the company may not qualify for a given year’s ranking.
• Why do you include quotes from some of the top-ranked global companies but not from others? We gave each ranked company the chance to answer some additional optional questions. The companies without any quotes decided not to answer the optional questions.
• How do you know that the information the companies provide is accurate? When companies submit revenue data to us, they have confirmed in writing that they have permission to do so and that the information they are providing is accurate and correct.
• What if you receive duplicate entries? If we receive duplicate entries from the same LSP, from a subsidiary of another company, or a collective entity that is owned by multiple LSPs, we contact the parties involved to clarify the information and request further details.
• Is the information presented in the rankings audited? We do not audit the financial information submitted by the companies, but we do require them to confirm in writing that the information they provide is correct.
• What is your validation process? We contact the companies to alert them that we believe they qualify for the ranking. We provide them with the exact information we intend to publish in the ranking. We ask them to review each piece of information for accuracy.
• Do companies ever fail to qualify at the validation stage? We may disqualify companies at the validation stage for several reasons. Examples include submission of duplicate entries, conflicting or insufficient information, or failure to reply to our requests for clarification. We have disqualified companies from the rankings at the validation stage for such reasons.
• Will you republish the ranking if I provide proof that my company qualifies? The window for participation has closed for this year’s rankings. Please contact us to participate in next year’s ranking.
• Why is there a discrepancy between the revenue I saw for a company in another source and the revenue listed in the ranking? Methodologies and revenue reporting processes may differ from one organization to another. More information about Common Sense Advisory’s methodology, algorithm, and data is available to our clients.

About Subsidiaries, Business Units, and Collective Entities

• How do you handle subsidiaries of other companies? If the parent company of a subsidiary derives 50% or more of its total revenue from language services activities, we consider the parent company to be an LSP, and we direct the parent company to include all language services revenue of its subsidiaries within its total reported language services revenue for inclusion in both global and regional rankings. If the parent company earns less than 50% of its total revenue from language services, then the subsidiaries are allowed to appear in regional rankings – but the parent company will not appear. This policy ensures that a language service provider subsidiary of a large non-LSP company is allowed to appear in our rankings, but it also protects against over-representation of LSPs with numerous in-country, technology, or specialty service subsidiaries. 

For example, AAC Global can apply for the ranking, but its Swedish subsidiary, AAC Global AB (previously Interverbum), cannot apply separately, because its parent company derives 50% or more of its total revenue from language services. However, Merrill Brink International is a wholly owned subsidiary of the larger Merrill Corporation, which derives less than 50% of its revenue from language services – so, the LSP subsidiary, Merrill Brink International, qualifies to appear, while the larger Merrill Corporation does not.

• How do you handle business units or divisions? If the parent company has only one division or business unit that provides language services, the business unit or division may apply individually to be included in global or regional ranking. If the parent company has two or more divisions or business units that provide language services and wishes to participate in the ranking, the parent company must consolidate the revenue for all such divisions or units in order to appear in a global or regional ranking. This policy protects against over-representation of a single LSP across the rankings, but still allows a company with a single language service business unit to appear.

For example, LSPs such as Lionbridge and SDL have multiple offices, divisions, or business units located in many countries, but report revenue globally – their country offices are not allowed to apply individually. Similarly, a company like Manpower, which has multiple business units providing language services, rolls up the revenue from all of these units and reports the global revenue. However, a company like Hewlett-Packard with one business unit providing language services may elect to have this unit apply individually.

• Can LSPs band together in the form of consortia, cooperatives, partnerships, joint ventures, and associations to qualify for the ranking as a collective unit? No. Each member company or partner firm must apply for the ranking separately. The collectively formed unit, partnership, joint venture, or consortium does not qualify to participate. This policy gives owners and shareholders of companies the right to claim their share of revenue from a joint venture or cooperative arrangement in order to appear on their own merits, so that they can reflect the revenue of both their language services activities resulting from the collective unit as well as any activities they pursue individually. It also prevents over-representation by limiting member companies’ ability to apply in duplicate – both individually and as a collective unit.

For example, Global Linguist Solutions (GLS) is the result of two companies (McNeil and DynCorp) joining together. So, while GLS is not allowed to participate, the companies that own GLS are allowed to do so – their total language services revenues reflect their share of the collective entity as well as their independently derived language services revenue. This means that a collective group or partnership, such as the former LCJ EEIJ, would not be listed as a single entity, but its individual member companies might qualify. In other words, the LSP shareholders or owners of another LSP are eligible to apply individually, but the collective entity is not eligible to apply.

According to the methodology we followed, Global Linguist Solutions, last year’s top-ranked company, did not qualify for this year’s global ranking. Likewise, Milengo, a global network of LSPs, would have ranked at #20 on our global list based on its 2009 revenue, ahead of Skrivanek and just behind Semantix. 

About the Global Market Size Estimates

• How do you calculate the market size? To size the language services market, we use a proprietary algorithm that includes 24 separate calculation areas and draws from three datasets.
• Do you make the algorithm available to others? Our complete algorithm is available to Common Sense Advisory clients.
• Are your estimates based on real data? Our market size estimates are the result of applying our algorithm to actual data reported to us by a representative survey sample of LSPs throughout the world.
• Which services are included in your estimates? All outsourced services and technology that relate to the transfer of information from one language into another. This includes written translation, software localization, website globalization, spoken language interpreting, voiceover work, dubbing, subtitling, and ancillary services that are typically built into such projects, such as desktop publishing, multilingual transcription, and more.
• Which services are not included in your estimates? Monolingual services, such as language learning and language proficiency testing.
• How do you calculate the rate of growth? We take the average of the year-to-year change between reported revenue in 2008 and 2009 and the expected revenue change between 2009 and 2010, as reported to us by the 839 LSPs that responded to our survey.
• Can you tell me the market size for a specific service or a given region or country? Common Sense Advisory has the ability to produce region-, country- and service-specific market data reports. Please contact Sales for further details.

Common Sense Advisory welcomes questions about its market size estimates and rankings. Individuals seeking further details may contact us at any time for more information.