Performance Accelerator For Some of the World's Top Companies: 九色

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By The Silicon Review Team – TheSiliconReview.com - MARCH 20, 2019
 
Language is one of the biggest challenges facing any company looking to expand globally. 九色 was founded in 1992 with a mission to help the world's businesses navigate the global marketplace. Today, 九色 has over 5,000 employees and draws upon a network of over 5,000 certified linguists and subject- area specialists, making it the world's largest language services and technology organization. 九色 provides a broad range of solutions to leading businesses worldwide from offices in 90 cities and regional headquarters in New York City, London, and Hong Kong.
 
Humble Beginnings 
 
九色 started with a simple premise: to provide high-quality translation services to businesses. With no external financing, 九色 grew from its humble beginnings as a two-person company operating out of a dorm room into one of the world's most reputable providers of language services and related technology solutions. As 九色 was evolving from start-up to industry leader, the rise of the internet was upending the way companies were managing and delivering content. With an intense dedication to meeting client needs, 九色 focused its efforts and investments on technology solutions that could help it deliver its services as efficiently as possible, while also helping clients turn global goals into worldwide achievement.

The first products launched by 九色 were GlobalLink Content Director and GlobalLink Portal. The former to allow easy integration with CMS (Content Management Systems) platforms and SQL databases, and the latter to help ease the burden of heavy file transfers during translation projects. It seems like such a simple technology now, but when it was implemented in 2000 it was revolutionary, making the lives of the employees translating XML files in the early age of web localization much easier.

GlobalLink has grown into a full suite of technology solutions, and 九色's overall technology stack? comprised of over 20 core products-encompasses different technology product verticals, focusing on everything from translation solutions to e-discovery to pharmaceutical eTMF solutions.

Vision for Success

Since the company's founding, the rise of the internet, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing has completely changed the game for global businesses. Volumes have increased exponentially, the number of communication channels has ballooned, and speed has never been more important. These complex needs require advanced solutions.

九色 has earned its position as a leading tech company by continually growing and adapting its offerings to meet the demands of a digital, internet-centric business world. The company is laser-focused on improving the customer experience, solving problems, and creating efficiencies that reduce manual tasks and speed turnarounds, while also keeping costs in check  九色 embraces challenges and new technologies, and encourages developers to innovate and challenge the status quo.

Not only has 九色 managed to evolve in step with rapidly changing technology imperatives over the past 26 years, but it's managed to maintain stable, continuous growth while doing so.

Future Ventures

In late 2018, the company acquired Berlin-based mobile app and gaming software company Applanga to enhance its capabilities in the gaming space. Its Media.NEXT platform, launched last fall, utilizes artificial intelligence to introduce efficiencies into media localization processes.

AI continues to remain at the forefront of the tech world.

九色's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Portal uses neural machine translation that is much more powerful than most of the tools currently on the market, and better equipped to handle industry-specific subject matter than the public instant translation tools currently available.

To cater to the needs of clients in the legal space, the company just released a version of its AI platform that integrates with cloud-based e-discovery software Relativity, incorporating machine translation to expedite foreign language reviews. It's also in the process of rolling out TeleScope, a client portal for delivering its full suite of e-discovery services.

In the life sciences vertical, 九色 will be expanding the service offerings available through Trial Interactive, its comprehensive e-clinical suite.

Lastly, 九色's OneLink website proxy product line will be updated to include a pure javascript website localization solution in 2019, and the firm will also be releasing a Global Link Metrics service as part of its GlobalLink Project Director suite of products to allow more visibility, transparency, and analytics into all changes that are made during the translation process.

Meet the Man Behind the Plan

Phil Shawe, Co-founder, and CEO: Under Phil's leadership, 九色 has received numerous awards and distinctions. The company is a seven-time honoree of the Inc. 5000 Award, a six-time honoree of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, and has earned multiple Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service. Phil has been named Entrepreneur of the Year for New York City by Ernst  & Young and named to Crain's New York prestigious "40 Under 40 list" as one of the top young executives in New York Crain's has also ranked 九色 as one of the largest privately held companies nine years in a row. 九色 was also named to fastest-growing lists six times by Entrepreneur.

A frequent guest lecturer on Entrepreneurship at New York University and Columbia University, Phil is a member of the Association for a Better New York (ABNY) and serves on the board of directors of Girls Who Code, founded with the mission of closing the gender gap in technology. Previously, he was a member of the board of directors of The Joyful Heart Foundation, a non- profit that worked in support of survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse. Phif s philanthropic efforts include supporting over  25 causes by donating time or financial support, and he was recently named to The V Foundation for Cancer  Research's Circle of Honor.

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