How have you found the months since the integration?
Laura: Quite simply, the past few months have been a fascinating encounter and connection of two corporate worlds: Apostroph as an established Swiss SME and global player TransPerfect. An example of intercultural communication in practice. We have learned a lot over the last few months. Throughout this phase of the integration, however, it was always important to us to keep in mind what matters most – our clients.
Nadia: A company of this size offers a whole range of new possibilities. And so we have constantly focussed on the question of where we can achieve synergies. What additional services can we provide in future and what advantages can we offer our clients?
Talking of the two corporate worlds you mentioned, how do you ensure that personal service à la Apostroph is retained in the new international network?
Laura: The customer proximity, expertise and personal support won’t change. We know that, beyond translation and AI, it is our language professionals who listen, attend to customer needs and find individual solutions who make the difference.
Nadia: I still see personal service and collaboration with our clients as valuable elements that will also guarantee our success.
How does the local, Swiss identity team up with the global strength of TransPerfect?
Laura: In Switzerland, Apostroph stands for quality, trust, creativity, innovation and experience on the Swiss market. We will remain committed to these values. TransPerfect opens up a whole new range of possibilities for us when it comes to technology, particularly AI translation. And we will be passing these on to our clients.
And what are these exactly?
Nadia: Access to additional technology solutions, data annotation for AI, individual solutions and platforms, including for multinational companies.
Laura: We are capable of providing resources for a 24/7 service. New acquisitions, such as Unbabel just recently, inspire and enrich the services of Apostroph, too.
When you look back in three years’ time, what do you want to have achieved by then – for Apostroph, TransPerfect and your clients?
Nadia: For Apostroph, that we have expanded our presence further on the Swiss market and that we have achieved stable and continuous growth. And that, together with our employees, we have had some exciting years and learned lots of new things.
Laura: In three years, I would like to be able to say, “We have made smart use of the additional technological possibilities the TransPerfect integration brought with it, increased quality and efficiency in the interests of our clients, and consolidated our position as a result. We are able to operate on an equal footing with international providers and also have Swiss market knowledge in all areas of industry. Apostroph remains synonymous with quality, reliability, Swissness. We continue to rely on outstanding employees and are a proud and successful part of TransPerfect.”
Laura, do you think there will be any need for traditional translation in two to three years’ time? You were originally a translator yourself. How do you see the development?
Laura: It’s not a question of human translation versus AI translation. It is about the precise and effective interaction of both elements. AI will deliver, there is no doubt about that. But then you have aspects such as quality assurance, the expertise of our team and their knowledge of the specifics of industries, companies and Swiss characteristics. We’re still going to have clients who need services without AI applications due to the high confidentiality or complexity of content or because the focus is on creativity and cultural adaptation where the skills of a language professional are more important. It’s an exciting development and there are numerous possibilities. Experienced and/or creative language professionals will be a part of this development.
Nadia, you have been at Apostroph for three years now, but you know other industries, particularly large companies. How do you see Apostroph’s position after the merger?
Nadia: We work in a very competitive environment. The technological progress is dynamic. And considerable investments are needed to keep pace – investments SMEs simply can’t make. Access to TransPerfect’s resources and technologies open up doors to new developments and solutions for us. We’ll be using these to consolidate our position. I consider future-proof technology to be an important issue for our clients, who can rely on us as a strong, forward-looking partner. For its part, TransPerfect has access to the Swiss market and the specifics of that market are not actually readily accessible to an international provider – as a leading Swiss company, we have a lot to offer in this respect. All in all, it is without doubt a win-win connection. Last but not least, Laura and I will ensure that Apostroph remains an attractive employer. A place where employees feel good, can develop their potential and enjoy working.
