How LanguageLine built a global localisation engine from three separate operations

Multiple global teams with complex standardization

LanguageLine is a global language services company and part of TP, one of the world's largest business processing organizations. With operations across the UK and the US, LanguageLine delivers translation, localization, and interpreting services at scale.

But that scale came with complexity.

Driven by acquisitions and client service delivery differences, the UK and US teams’ technology stack was not harmonized and both embedded different solutions within their operational model.

Tom Shaw, who leads LanguageLine's global solutions team, saw this firsthand.

He joined the UK operation through the acquisition of Capita Translation and Interpreting in the UK, back in 2022, which added another layer of complexity as translation platforms needed to be standardized across the 2 UK merging businesses and the US.

Once the UK tech stack was consolidated, Tom started working closely with Cedric Vezinet, Translations Technology Director headquartered in the US, to start shaping the next stage of standardization.

"We were really running almost as separate businesses on the UK and the US side," says Shaw. "On the Capita side we were already working with the XTM platform for a few clients, but then we had our own translation management system, which came to add to Plunet and XTRF, which were systems being used in the UK and the US."

The result was an inconsistent ecosystem of tools and processes.

"We needed to drive further standardization," Vezinet explains. "When teams started trying to work across clients or across countries, there were clear barriers to do it efficiently without adding extra effort to our operations ."

From separate businesses to a single global strategy

The decision to consolidate wasn't driven by technology alone. It was driven by business strategy. LanguageLine's leadership set a clear vision for the company's future, and the technology had to support it.

"The vision was that we needed to grow faster and farther as a global player in translation and localization," says Shaw.

"The business needed to act globally. And obviously as part of that, the technology is key. We needed to consolidate our technology ecosystem to achieve that vision."

The team chose to standardize on XTRF as the back-office system, with XTM and other tools connecting into it depending on client requirements.

The US team had already integrated XTRF as part of our operational model and connected it to our Client interfaces, making it the natural foundation. But the ambition went further than simply migrating everyone onto one platform.

"We needed that framework and that stability that we could build from," Vezinet says.

A key part of the planning involved designing a tech stack that could handle different data residency requirements, support clients across domestic and global markets, and remain flexible enough to plug in different tools as needed.

"There was a lot of planning on what we wanted our standard tech stack to look like," Shaw and Vezinet recall. "Could we design it in a way that would meet all of the compliance needed in each country and region, but also be scalable enough that when we needed to use different tech, we could easily build on it?"

A migration designed around compliance and scale

The migration began in earnest in 2025, with the goal of unifying all teams by the start of 2026.

From the outset, this was about more than swapping platforms. LanguageLine needed a framework that could accommodate strict data residency rules, support a proprietary customer experience platform, and integrate AI-powered translation workflows.

That required close collaboration with the XTM and XTRF teams.

"There were quite a few customizations required," says Vezinet. "We develop our own AI technology and customer experience platform, and it all needs to interface with the back-office system. So it all needs to work cohesively."

Customizations spanned connecting XTM into the XTRF platform via the connector; ensuring LanguageLine's customer portal and AI translation tools could integrate with the back end; and locking down data residency for specialized UK clients.

"Even things like connecting XTM into the XTRF platform with the connector, there are customizations that even continue today to make sure that it can work for us," Shaw adds.

A unified global team with one technology backbone

LanguageLine's global teams are now fully unified. Global operations, sales, solutions, and technology all operate under one leadership structure.

"We have a global operations team, global sales. I lead the global solutions team, and we have a global technology team lead by Cedric," says Shaw.

"That culture of a global business is active. That's how we support our clients now."

The majority of the UK client base has migrated to the new platform, with only a small group of high-compliance clients remaining.

"All of our other client base is now moved over," Shaw explains. "That was critical for us, not just to standardize on XTRF, but also because our customer portal and AI translation app are all integrated into the framework we've built."

Moving clients onto the unified system means LanguageLine can now offer more specialized global services, including AI-first workflows.

"When we move customers over to the XTRF back-office system, that means we can start offering a lot more specialized global services and provide them with access to our Client Portal and AI Translation App," Shaw says.

One partner and one platform going forward

For Shaw, the most important outcome is cultural as much as it is technical. LanguageLine now operates with the mindset and infrastructure of one global business.

"What we're making sure of is that we feel like we're working with one company and one platform," he says.

"I appreciate you've got a product suite with different components, but the direction of travel is that we feel like we are working with one partner and one platform."

The results so far include greater operational efficiency through standardized processes and tools; a scalable technology framework that supports diverse client needs, seamless integration between XTM, XTRF, and LanguageLine's proprietary AI tools; and a unified customer experience across regions.

Looking ahead

Looking ahead, Shaw and Vezinet are focused on building on the advancements XTM is making to the platform, particularly around AI and agentic AI.

"We're already quite advanced in our own developments of AI and building that into the customer experience," Shaw says.

"But we're excited to see what you guys are doing so that we can expand and make sure it all complements what we're doing on our side."