Competition:
From the Edgar Online site
SEC Filing Form 424B1 8/20/99
Omitted information from original Registration Statement.
(A whole lot of useful info in the complete statement...this is just concerning competition)
COMPETITION
Lionbridge provides a broad range of globalization and multilingual Internet
service offerings to its clients. The market for our services is highly
fragmented, and we have many competitors. Our current competitors include the
following: - localization or translation services providers such as Berlitz
International, Bowne & Co., Lernout and Hauspie, Sykes Enterprises and
regional vendors of translation services specializing in specific
languages in particular geographic areas,
- companies providing outsourcing of technical support call centers
including Stream International and Sykes Enterprises, and
- independent testing labs providing testing and logo certification services
such as National Software Testing Laboratories (a division of CMP Media),
and Keylabs.
Although we have competed favorably with these companies to date, we cannot
assure you that we will be able to do so in the future. Many of these companies
have longer operating histories; significantly greater financial, marketing and
other resources; and greater name recognition than Lionbridge. If we fail to be
competitive with these companies in the future, our business will be materially
and adversely affected.
Lionbridge also faces competition from internal localization departments in
large multi-national companies. Although many companies are finding that
simultaneous global release and ongoing maintenance of Web-based applications
require new skill sets that are not available in-house, many companies may still
perform these services in-house rather than outsourcing them. If these companies
continue to localize their own products, Lionbridge's business, financial
condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
We may also face competition from companies that provide outsourcing of
technical support call centers. As businesses shift from telephonic support
centers to Web-based support, companies such as Stream International, Sykes
Enterprises and others that currently provide traditional outsourcing services
may decide to provide comparable services over the Internet. If these or other
companies 39
choose to expand their service offerings, we cannot assure you that Lionbridge
will be able to compete with them successfully.
Lionbridge believes the principal competitive factors in providing its
services include project management expertise, quality, speed of service
delivery, vertical industry knowledge, the ability to provide clients end-to-end
localization solutions, expertise in certain geographic areas, corporate
reputation, and expertise in Internet-related services.
We believe we compete favorably with respect to these factors. We have
developed significant expertise in project management which has allowed us to
provide high-quality and quick service in our clients' particular industries and
geographic regions. We have been able to successfully provide our customers with
a one-stop globalization service and have recently begun to offer our
Internet-related services. As a result, we have been able to develop a strong
reputation in our industry.
There are relatively few barriers preventing companies from competing with
us. We do not own any patented technology that precludes or inhibits others from
entering our market. As a result, new market entrants pose a threat to our
business. In addition to our existing competitors, we may face further
competition in the future from companies that do not presently offer
globalization services. Companies currently providing information technology
services may choose to broaden their range of services to include globalization.
While we presently use translation memory software licensed from third parties
in our localization process, and to a lesser extent machine translation software
also licensed from third parties, these technologies may improve and become
sophisticated enough to compete with our localization service offering. We
cannot assure you that we will be able to compete effectively with these
potential future competitors. |
