Idiom chose the traditionally slow week before Christmas to throw down the gauntlet to rival SDL and to other globalization software vendors such as Across, Clay Tablet, and Heartsome that have become more visible since SDL’s acquisition of Trados. In late November we met with Idiom CEO Mike Iacobucci to discuss these announcements. A few things he said caught our attention:

• Idiom wants to become an integral, trusted component in a global content value chain. In years past we’ve seen Idiom alienate some content management partners by positioning its WorldServer as a CMS all by itself. Iacobucci says those days are gone.
• Idiom never marketed its software to language service providers — a natural market for translation workflow — until pre-SDL Trados targeted that segment. Now, with its LSP Advantage Program, Iacobucci says that Idiom wants to be the "best friend" of translation agencies. Unlike SDL which sells both software and translation, Iacobucci told us that "we’ll never take a dollar for translation services," so he says that LSPs can feel safe bringing Idiom into an account. Whenever his sales team hears about a translation RFP, he told us that they let LSPs know and try to call jointly.
• Iacobucci sees an expanding role increasing desire for middle market CMS. Lowering the price point for translation workflow management is the big news for us in this set of announcements. Before this price break, the minimum ante for WorldServer was a quarter million dollars as Idiom hunted enterprise elephants like Adobe and Oracle. Iacobucci felt that SDL’s acquisition of Trados exposed the potential for lower-priced translation management software in the mid market (this was an issue flagged 6 years ago by Idiom’s then VP of Corporate Strategy Don DePalma — better late than never). Idiom’s entry-level price (now beginning at US$75,000) and its Quick Start program enable quick integration, thus answering one of our complaints about translation workflow management.

The most important outcome of 2005′s mid-year acquisition spree might very well be the emergence of a new class of more aggressive globalization software vendors, all intent on filling the gaps left by Trados. Add to that some LSPs with home-grown technology that they would like to share with the rest of the market and we sense the beginning of a more innovative, value-priced software market. Buyers can only benefit from this competition.