Deluxe acquires Sfera, a cloud platform for content localization

Sfera's platform and tools will enable asset management, workflow and translation management, automated quality control (QC) and real-time analysis of services such as subtitling.

Deluxe Services Group has acquired Ball (Sfera Studios and Sfera Labs), a distributed services company that has a cloud-based localization platform. Its technology aims to help meet the unprecedented global demand for entertainment content in a market where localization capabilities are limited and the technology is unproven.

The volume of entertainment content is increasing around the world like never before. According to FX Networks Research, the number of series accessible in the United States has nearly doubled since 2009, with new digital providers setting the standard for international expansion. This explosive growth has created significant demand for fast, high-quality localization services. Deluxe is responding to customer needs by investing in Sfera's cloud technology that provides a platform for localization and automated processes.

La combinación de Deluxe y Sfera contará con miles de traductores que cubrirán más de 50 idiomas en 75 países. La activación de esa fuerza en la plataforma Sfera crea la escalabilidad y seguridad masivas requeridas para satisfacer las necesidades de localización de contenido del mercado global.

El CEO de Deluxe, John Wallace, destaca que “hemos creado Deluxe Localisation junto con Sfera para asegurar que nuestros clientes tengan el tipo de capacidad, capacidad y tecnología de punta que simplemente no estaba presente en la industria y es absolutamente necesario Para llegar a audiencias en todo el mundo.La plataforma de nube de Sfera nos permite aprovechar nuestra fuerza de trabajo global y los datos generados a través de nuestros negocios para construir operaciones más eficientes capaces de satisfacer el creciente apetito de contenido en todo el mundo”.

Initially, Sfera's platform and tools will enable asset management, workflow and translation management, automated quality control (QC) and real-time analysis of services, including subtitling in more than 50 languages ​​(with translations, compliance, quality control and versions), accessibility services (subtitling, audio description...), watermarking, automatic synchronization with audio, language identification, quality control, quality control and asset localization.

Morgan Fiumi, founder and CEO of Sfera, highlights that the company is "a team of incredible people with a vision for the development of the industry's first technology. Deluxe will allow us to accelerate our technology and increase efficiency on a much broader scale. I am delighted to be part of this iconic brand and work alongside John Wallace and his team to launch and drive this innovation."

Fiumi will assume the newly created role of Chief Innovation Officer of Deluxe, overseeing product development across all divisions of the company, along with the continued development of the Sfera platform, reporting to Deluxe CEO John Wallace. The new global luxury localization division will be led by former Google head of Global Language Services, Derek McKellar, who will also report to Wallace, who joins the company in December. Sfera's team in Los Angeles will continue to work at its Santa Monica facility, and its team in India will continue at its Bengaluru facility.