The virtual language service provider

There is hardly a business around the globe that hasn’t felt the impact of the pandemic in one way or another. Both businesses and workers had to adapt quickly and swiftly. For one translation provider, Brexit and COVID meant the end of the physical office forever.

Text by Terena Bell

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Image: © metamorworks /istockphoto.com

When COVID hit, Anja Jones Translation (AJT) had already gotten a head start. Not on translating medical material or on economically protecting its bottom line, but on going virtual. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 78 to 83 percent of people who worked for language service providers (LSPs) worldwide reported into a physical office, according to Common Sense Advisory. But in March 2020, everything changed. On Friday the 13th, the United States declared the virus a national emergency. Video meeting platform Zoom became the most downloaded app in the Apple store, collaboration tool Microsoft Teams saw a 500 percent use increase in China, and Google started offering its video Hangouts Meet product for free. Three days later, on March 16, French President Emmanuel Macron ordered mandatory fines for people who left their homes and on March 23, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson followed suit. By ...