A brief history of SDL

A brief history of SDL

Innovating since 1992

Since it's founding in 1992 , SDL has continued to innovate and drive forwards the goal of global information management.  Below is a brief timeline of major accomplishments in our history  from that founding date, through the public flotation on the London Stock Exhcange in 1999 to the present day - 15 years of innovation and continued striving to help global corporations conquer language.

2007

  • SDL launches SDL Translation Management System™ 2007
  • SDL acquires Tridion for £47 million
  • 10 months on from its launch, over 5,000 translators and project managers are certified in the SDL TRADOS Certification program
  • Mark Lancaster awarded ‘Technology CEO of the Year’, at the UK Technology Innovation and Growth 2007 Awards
  • SDL launches SDL MultiTerm 2007 terminology management, the new release of the market-proven and mature technology enabling global companies to manage their terminology for global communications
  • SDL acquires PASS Engineering, developers of PASSOLO, the highly acclaimed visual software localization tool
  • SDL wins “Most Innovative Company in Europe” at the 2007 Stevie® International Business Awards

2006

  • Total revenues were £94.7 million, a 21% increase on 2005
  • Significant new business wins include Dell, BMC, Avaya, Salesforce.com and Intel

2005

  • SDL completes acquisition of TRADOS for £35 million—providing truly extensive end-to-end technology and service solutions for global information assets
  • Successful integration of SDL and TRADOS creates a clear market leader in Global Information Management Solutions
  • SDL KbTS saves customers on average 40% in cost and reduces time-to-market
  • SDL acquires Lingua Franca and extends footprint in the Middle East
  • SDL launches the SDL Translation Management System™ and announces 40 new TMS customer installations
  • SDL PhraseFinder™ quickly and effectively identifies and extracts corporate terminology from existing content
  • SDL launches SDL AuthorAssistant to dramatically advance the quality and efficiency of global authoring process
  • SDL has more than 100,000 desktop translation products deployed in the market
  • Customer wins at Chrysler Group, GlaxoSmithKline, AMD, and Honda
  • Total revenues were £78.5 million, a 25% increase on 2004

2004

  • Translation becomes a growing priority for organizations, as they consolidate vendors and centralize spending
  • SDL launches SDL Knowledge-based Translation System™ (KbTS), combining Translation Memory, a translation engine and a workflow system.  Pilot projects show productivity savings of up to 40% over traditional human translations
  • 30,000 units of SDL Translation Memory now live, with market share increasing from 7% in 2003 to 20% in 2004
  • Investment in Central European office network provides highly skilled, cultural translations for customers such as Kodak and HP
  • SDL operates international network of 40 offices, comprising local language experts that utilize common SDL process
  • Profits increase by 29% to £5.3 million
  • FreeTranslation.com—by now the market leader in instant translation with more than two million visitors each week—and Click2Translate.com together contribute significant high margin localization business during the year

2003

  • In a challenging market, the company increased profits three-fold, and revenues by 11%
  • With offices in 25 countries, SDL is now the undisputed world leader in translation solution infrastructures
  • SDL announces a substantial contract worth several million US dollars with Microsoft for software localization
  • SDL adds significant localization value to companies such as HP, Bosch and Philips
    80% of revenues are derived from repeat customers, with at least 50% resulting from customers that have been clients for more than three years
  • www.freetranslation.com receives more than two million visitors each week

2002

  • SDL acquires Alpnet, strengthening the company’s position in geographies and vertical markets—and making SDL one of the largest localization companies in the world
  • SDL is the only leading service provider to deliver an end-to-end technology and service solution
    Launch of SDL Benelux to build on success in Belgium and the Netherlands
  • SDL announces major new customers, including Bayer, CIBC, Bosch and DAF Trucks
  • SDL website www.freetranslation.com attracts 1.5 million visitors each week, driving an increased volume of users for Click2Translate.com, the SDL translation portal; this leads to a 50% increase in SDL Agency revenues
  • Total revenues were £58 million, a 72% increase on 2001

2001

  • Acquisition of automated translation division of Transparent Language for $9 million laid the foundations for the future ground-breaking SDL technology
  • SDL acquires Language Partners International (LPI), a distributor of desktop applications for the localization industry
  • SDL acquires the localization business of Sykes Technologies, Inc.
  • SDL enterprise technologies comprise SDL WebFlow, SDL WorkFlow and the Enterprise Translation Server
  • SDL announces integration of SDL WebFlow with Microsoft Content Management Server
  • SDL launches SDL Localization Suite, providing localization agencies with a seamless solution for the translation and QA process
  • SDL secures repeat business with many customers which include Adobe, Avaya, HP, Iomega, Kodak, Lexmark, Lotus, Microsoft, Oracle, Sony, Sun and 3Com
  • Total revenues were £33.6 million, a 13% increase on 2000

2000

  • SDL launches SDL WebFlow in February, a content management system
  • SDL acquires International Translation and Publishing (ITP) in Ireland for £14 million
  • SDL acquires ATR Information AB, based in Sweden
  • SDL acquires SDL Technology Center Ltd.
  • SDL acquires Asian Localization Services Ltd.
  • SDL acquires SDL Global Solutions (Ireland) Ltd., expanding the corporate footprint into Ireland, Spain, Italy and Hungary
  • SDL launches SDLX 2.0
  • The company operates from 24 offices and has 746 staff worldwide
  • Total revenues were £29.7 million, a 129% increase on 1999

1999

  • SDL floated on the London Stock Exchange in December, raising £7 million, with a market capitalization of £45 million
  • SDL opens dedicated offices in San Jose, USA and Beijing, China
  • Total revenues were £13 million, a 28% increase on 1998

1998

  • SDL launches SDLX—offering the most advanced translation management solution on the market
  • Total number of staff worldwide: 231, located at 13 offices
  • Total number of SDL clients in 1998: 35
  • SDL positioned in the top five of independent global vendors—and the largest specialist European localizing agency
  • Finance Director Alistair Gordon joins SDL

1997

  • SDL acquires Polylang
  • Total revenues were £6.5 million, a 54% increase on 1996

1996

  • SDL launches first Translation Management solution to help customers take approved content, localize it and make it available for a global audience
  • SDL opens first network office—SDL France
  • Total revenues were £4.2 million, a 55% increase on 1995

1995

  • Total revenues were £2.7 million, a 35% increase on 1994

1994

  • SDL grows from 15 people to 50 people—a 200% growth in just over 15 months
  • New clients include Mathsoft, Corel, Micrografx and Autodesk
  • Technology Director Keith Mills joins SDL
  • Total revenues were £2.0 million, a 122% increase on 1993

1993

  • SDL opens headquarters in Maidenhead, UK—with nine employees
  • Total revenues were £0.9 million

1992

  • SDL founded by Mark Lancaster—with a vision to help organizations manage the delivery of corporate information in different languages
  • Jörg Strate joins SDL—the company’s first employee and the first German translator
  • SDL secures its first project from Legent