Last month, SDL announced that the “development roadmap for SDL WorldServer continues beyond 2010 as an integral part of ‘Project Affinity’ (the codename for the next-generation enterprise translation management system from SDL).” This move acknowledges that SDL heard its WorldServer customers’ anxiety about the future superceding of that product by a new offering. Separately, the company announced its TM Server based on the company’s Common Enterprise Application Framework (CEAF).

In September, the company rolled out WorldServer 9.1.0 with integration to Trisoft and promised hooks to other SDL technology. According to the press release, SDL will focus on building out three areas of WorldServer: 1) It will enhance its leveraging of translation memory; 2) it will deliver new hooks into much of the SDL technology portfolio, including Trados Studio 2009, MultiTerm Server, and XySoft and Tridion; and 3) it will add Affinity technology to WorldServer as it becomes available, thereby making migration to SDL’s future technology less traumatic.

Why did SDL give WorldServer this eleventh-hour reprieve? Two reasons:

• Pragmatism. SDL decided to meet the needs of its former Idiom customers, many of whom were caught by surprise with its acquisition by SDL in February 2008 and a subsequent drop in development activity and marketing. WorldServer users lobbied for continuation of that code base, some of them telling us that nothing else comes close for their needs.

• Revenue. SDL sales reps tell us that they have a good pipeline for WorldServer as well as SDL TMS. The company’s interim trading statement noted that “performance in Global Information Management Technology remains robust, continuing to display resilience to general economic conditions.” As the company increases the contribution of software to its revenue line, extending the useful life of WorldServer seems like a good idea for SDL shareholders.

This action is good news for WorldServer users. Earlier this year, we wrote in our members-only “SDL Refines Product Roadmap” report that the company’s replacement strategy “disrupted momentum on SDL TMS and WorldServer products for upwards of 18 months, creating opportunities for rival suppliers such as Across, Kilgray, Lionbridge, and Sajan. In our 2008 assessment, SDL TMS and WorldServer finished first and second, respectively (see ‘Translation Management Systems,’ Sep08). Secondly, it created a discontinuity for TMS and WorldServer users, forcing them to migrate to the CEAF-based product or revisit their technology decision. Having invested up to 18 months to develop, integrate, and deploy their apps, many current users tell us they’re suspending judgment until the Windows-centric CEAF offering ships. UNIX users of WorldServer face a tougher platform migration choice.”

However, extending the lifespan of WorldServer increases the pressure on SDL resources, as it manages the revamping of its product line on its CEAF platform plus the continuing development of WorldServer and TMS. Keeping customers happy and revenue flowing obviously balanced the increased risk and challenges of keeping multiple translation management systems active in the marketplace.