Manaara specializes in the language domains of Finnish and Arabic. Although the company was established just over a year ago, its three founders/co-owners and their network of specialists have extensive experience in delivering interpretation, translation, and cultural consulting services within these language areas.

As a small company, it can be challenging to showcase expertise in the market, and administrative tasks can often detract from delivering quality services to clients. However, companies like Manaara are now embracing Lingsom — developed by and for the language industry — to overcome these challenges.

Enhanced Efficiency and Increased Control

Historically, system support in the language industry has been reserved for larger corporations capable of developing their own solutions. Initially, Manaara hesitated to adopt Lingsom for this reason. Aino Vesanen, Language Service Manager, and co-founder of Manaara, recounts their early experience with Lingsom.

‘My experience has been that systems are complex and require a larger organization than ours to function, so I was a bit skeptical at first. However, I’m familiar with Polaris, the creator of Lingsom. I’ve always appreciated their commitment to ‘fair play’ for freelancers. As a language company, they have a great understanding of industry needs. When Cyrus Jebraeil from Polaris introduced Lingsom, I decided to give it a chance. It quickly became evident that Lingsom works exceptionally well even for smaller language service companies. We’ve been using the service since February and have already seen a significant reduction in administrative tasks and improved project control,’ says Aino Vesanen.

With Lingsom, Manaara has gained better control over the entire process, from initial agreements and ongoing communication with clients to project delivery. The service consolidates all orders, negotiations, and communication in one place, providing a comprehensive overview of each project’s status and progress.

‘Managing projects via email is a nightmare. Who said what, what agreements have been made, have there been any changes along the way, and so on? With Lingsom, I have a complete overview of every step in the process. Both my freelancers and I can easily access relevant reports and data when needed, such as for invoicing or reference management.’

Unlocking Automation Possibilities

One of the most impactful aspects, especially for smaller companies, is the ability to automate daily routines, allowing more time for crucial client tasks. Lingsom offers comprehensive built-in automation features right from the start, including enabling recurring clients to create orders on their own within the system. At Manaara, they have only begun to scratch the surface of these possibilities.

‘Since we’re still learning the system, we haven’t fully automated our processes yet. We still receive orders via email or WhatsApp and manually input them into the system. There are many features in the service that will further simplify our daily work when we fully implement them. Even though we’re not using the solution to its fullest extent today, Lingsom is already saving us a considerable amount of time and providing better project oversight. It’s clear that the solution was created by people who deeply understand the interpretation and translation industry. Lingsom simply makes the administration of language projects much, much easier.’

Efficient Financial Management with Consolidated Data

Beyond simplifying project administration, Lingsom has also streamlined Manaara’s financial management. Creating accurate invoices has become significantly easier, as all agreed-upon terms and pricing are stored within the service. Freelancers also find it easy to track their time and gather references for future assignments. Simultaneously, Manaara gains a better overview of all projects and can make data-driven decisions about their operations.

With system support, even smaller language service companies can take on more extensive assignments and clients, such as participating in public procurement processes more easily. This accessibility also increases the availability of language services for companies and authorities in smaller language areas.

‘Access to systems like Lingsom provides smaller companies with greater opportunities and credibility in procurement processes. It simply makes it easier to compete in the market on equal terms, regardless of size. Additionally, it’s a significant advantage for the public sector, which gains access to broader and more extensive expertise, particularly in smaller language domains,’ comments Aino Vesanen.

Fostering New Opportunities through Close Developer Collaboration

Manaara specializes in Arabic and Finnish, with their success built on both linguistic expertise and cultural understanding between these language areas. While their cultural consulting services primarily rely on personal meetings, Aino Vesanen envisions that Lingsom could play a pivotal role in this area as well. Manaara’s close collaboration with Lingsom’s developers opens possibilities for new services in the future.

‘It’s fantastic to have such a close and personal dialogue with the service developers. Currently, we’re very pleased with the benefits that the system provides on the interpretation and translation side. However, we’re also discussing many future opportunities. We see how Lingsom could enable efficient content production and help manage our cultural consulting services. I believe that Lingsom will truly support and enhance all business areas at Manaara in the future,’ says Aino Vesanen.