#252 What Are Language Solutions Integrators and Language Technology Platforms?

SlatorPod

Florian and Esther welcome Slator’s Anna Wyndham and Alex Edwards to SlatorPod to explain the rationale behind the new industry framework introduced in the Slator 2025 Language Industry Market Report.

Drawing from the flagship report and echoing the buzz of SlatorCon London, the team explains why the traditional labels, Language Service Providers (LSPs) and Translation Management Systems (TMSs), no longer capture the scope and complexity of the evolving market. Instead, Slator has introduced two new terms: Language Solutions Integrators (LSIs) and Language Technology Platforms (LTPs).

Anna defines LTPs as pure-play technology providers that develop language tools, applications, orchestration platforms, and AI models. LSIs, she explains, are organizations whose core offering is to deliver fit-for-purpose multilingual content solutions by integrating language technology and AI with human experts as part of a fully managed solution.

Esther confirms early advisory adoption of the terms, noting investor interest in clearer tech-service distinctions. Alex adds that automatic dubbing startups tend to fit LTPs better than LSPs, as they often operate self-serve AI platforms.

Anna clarifies that big tech players like OpenAI and Google are excluded from the market sizing as they are foundational enablers, not language-focused businesses. The team also discusses why the term “AI” was excluded from the new categories as it may become as ubiquitous as “Cloud”.

To close, Anna points out that LSIs currently capture the bigger portion of the total addressable market (TAM). The team sees a strong demand for expert-in-the-loop services and growing LTP–LSI partnerships.

Chapters

1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Recap of SlatorCon London 2025 (00:01:38)

3. Introducing LSIs and LTPs (00:04:09)

4. Reasoning Behind New Definitions (00:06:16)

5. Where Does AI Dubbing Fall Under (00:08:53)

6. Perception and Adoption of New Terminology (00:09:57)

7. Role of AI and Humans in LTPs (00:13:34)

8. Why the Term AI Wasn’t Used (00:15:43)

9. Big Tech's Exclusion (00:19:35)

10. Tech-Centric Nature of LSIs (00:23:38)

11. Insights from Recent Survey on AI Implementation (00:24:33)

12. Perspectives from Buyers (00:25:00)

13. Understanding the Tech Component of LSIs (00:26:21)

14. Why Not Use "System Integrator"? (00:27:50)

15. High Growth Areas for LTPs (00:28:33)

16. Competitive Landscape of LTP Market (00:30:13)

17. Challenges Using AI (00:33:17)

18. Opportunities for LSIs (00:35:06)