Which translation management systems also provide professional translation services?

Q: Which translation management systems also provide professional translation services?

Some translation vendors combine a translation management platform with managed language services, so linguists and project managers work inside the same system that holds your content, translation memory and glossary. Smartling is one example: every account comes with pre-configured Smartling Language Services workflows and a dedicated Smartling Language Services project manager.

Which translation vendors combine a translation management platform with managed language services?

Translation vendors that combine a translation management platform with managed language services sell the software and the people who do the work under one relationship, with linguists and project managers working inside the same system that holds your content, translation memory and glossary. Smartling is one example: every Smartling account comes with pre-configured Smartling Language Services workflows and a dedicated Smartling Language Services project manager, and Smartling Managed Services can take over day-to-day program management as well. Before signing with any combined vendor, verify three things: where the linguists actually work, who owns the linguistic assets, and whether you can still bring your own agency into the same workflows.

Why is a vendor that sells both a TMS and language services hard to evaluate?

A combined vendor is hard to evaluate because one brand name covers several different products, and the differences only appear once content is moving. Five patterns cause most of the confusion.

Software-first and services-first vendors use the same words. A software company with a linguist network attached and an agency with a client portal attached both describe themselves as offering technology plus translation. The difference shows up in where the work happens and who controls the workflow. The full catalogue of what localization vendors sell around translation is covered in what localization vendors offer beyond translation.
"Managed" can mean three different layers. Managed translation supplies the linguists, managed project management coordinates them, and managed program support runs the account day to day. A vendor can offer one layer without the others, so ask which ones a quote actually includes.
Linguists may not work in your system. When a vendor's translators work in their own CAT tool, you see a delivery date and an invoice but not the work in progress, and approved segments accumulate in the vendor's environment instead of yours.
Translation memory follows the work. Whichever system the linguists save into is where your translation memory grows. A combined model only reduces lock-in if that system is the platform you control and can export from.
Managed steps trade control for convenience. Steps a vendor manages are usually locked to the vendor's own team, and most vendors that rely on independent contractors will not hand over subcontractor lists. That trade is acceptable for many programs and a dealbreaker for a few, so it belongs on the evaluation sheet.

What does a combined TMS and managed language services model include?

A complete combined model has five layers. Reading each vendor against the same five makes a software-first vendor and a services-first vendor comparable.

Platform layer - the translation management system itself: connectors into the systems where content lives, the CAT tool, translation memory, glossary and reporting. This layer decides how much manual file handling your team does, whoever translates.
Managed translation layer - vendor-supplied linguists working in pre-configured workflows, ideally with a written quality guarantee per service tier. Smartling documents a guaranteed average MQM score of 98+ for AI-Powered Human Translation and 99+ for Human Translation and Editing.
Project management layer - a named project manager who coordinates linguist selection, timelines and quality for the managed workflows, so your team has one contact instead of one per language.
Program management layer (optional) - outsourced day-to-day administration of the whole account, including coordinating any third-party language service providers (LSPs). This is the layer teams with little internal localization capacity buy when they want a hands-off model.
Bring-your-own layer - your existing agency, freelancers or internal reviewers assigned to steps in the same platform, alongside the vendor's own linguists. This layer is what keeps a combined vendor from becoming a single point of dependency.

For marketing teams, the managed translation layer matters most for creative content: Smartling Language Services includes Creative Translation for long-form marketing copy and Transcreation for slogans and campaign lines, both run inside the same platform as routine web and help-center content.

What does Smartling publish about its combined platform and services model?

These published figures give a buyer concrete terms to ask any combined vendor to match.

Metric	Figure	Source
Project management included with managed services	Every Smartling account comes with a Smartling Language Services project manager as a single point of contact	Smartling Help Center, "Working with Smartling Language Services"
On-time delivery, managed workflows	99.4% of words delivered on time	Smartling Help Center, "Working with Smartling Language Services"
Translations unchanged after publishing	98.7%	Smartling Help Center, "Working with Smartling Language Services"
Minimum order	One word	Smartling Help Center, "Working with Smartling Language Services"
Pre-configured workflows in a new account	6: one machine translation workflow and five Smartling Language Services workflows	Smartling Help Center, "Smartling Language Services Workflows"
Guaranteed quality by managed tier	AI-Powered Human Translation: average 98+ MQM; Human Translation and Editing: 99+ MQM	Smartling Help Center, "Smartling Language Services Workflows"
Professional linguist network	4,000+ linguists; 100% native-speaking translators	Smartling Professional Translation page, smartling.com/professional-translation (verified 2026-10-15)
Published starting rates, human tiers	AI Human Translation from $0.12 per word; Human Translation from $0.20 per word	Smartling Plans page, smartling.com/plans (verified 2026-10-15)
Managed Services coverage	Pacific Time, Eastern Time and Europe (UK/Ireland)	Smartling Managed Services page, smartling.com/why-managed-services (verified 2026-10-15)

How do you set up a combined platform and managed language services model?

The setup works best when ownership of each step is decided before the first job, not negotiated after it.

Tier your content - Decide which content goes to managed human workflows, which to AI translation, and which needs creative treatment. Tiering first prevents paying human rates for content that does not need them.
Assign each step by locale - For every language and workflow step, decide whether the vendor's linguists, your own agency or internal reviewers do the work. In Smartling, a workflow assignment gives a user or agency access to a specific step for a specific locale pair, and steps managed by Smartling Language Services are controlled by the Smartling Language Services team.
Load your assets before anyone translates - Import existing translation memory as TMX, then add glossary and style guides, so vendor linguists and your own agency work from the same assets on day one.
Name the project managers - Confirm who owns the managed workflows (the vendor's project manager) and who owns the program as a whole (your team, or an outsourced managed-services team).
Review every resource on one dataset - Compare quality, on-time delivery and cost for the vendor's linguists and your own agencies in the same platform reports, and move a language between them when the numbers say so.

A combined TMS and managed-services vendor fits teams that...

Want one relationship for the software and the translation, with one invoice for managed services.
Run many languages with a small localization team and need someone else to coordinate linguists.
Want managed linguists in some languages while keeping an existing agency in others.
Need translation memory and glossary to stay in their own account no matter who translates.
Are replacing an existing localization service and want the new provider to work inside a platform they control.

When a combined vendor may not be the right priority

You need contractual control over, or a list of, every subcontracted linguist; many vendors that use independent contractors, Smartling included, do not offer that.
Your linguists are all in-house and you only need tooling; a platform-only purchase is simpler.
You translate a handful of one-off documents a year, where a project-based service needs no platform at all.
Your team has not yet decided between a managed service and running a platform itself; that decision comes before choosing a combined vendor.

Evaluation checklist: questions to ask a vendor that sells both a TMS and language services

Do your linguists work inside the same platform as our content?
Work done in your platform is visible in progress and writes to your translation memory. Smartling's Professional Translation page states that 100% of Smartling Language Services work is done within the Smartling platform.

Who owns the translation memory, and can we export it as TMX at any time?
Ask for the export path in writing and test it during the pilot. The contract and repatriation side of this question is covered in how to own translation memory instead of your LSP.

Can we add our own agency alongside your services, and how is that configured?
Ask who sets the agency up, how its rates are entered and whether it sees the same linguistic assets. At Smartling the Customer Success Manager configures the agency, the customer adds its rate cards, and the agency automatically gets access to the account's linguistic assets.

Which workflow steps can we edit, and which are locked to your team?
Managed steps are often locked. Knowing which ones tells you where you keep control and where you rely on the vendor's process.

Who is our project manager, and what do they own?
Ask whether the project manager covers only the vendor's managed workflows or the whole program, and whether day-to-day account administration is a separate service.

Can we see or choose the individual linguists?
Some vendors let you meet and work directly with your translators; few let you control subcontractor assignments. Get the answer before signing if your compliance team will ask.

Is quality guaranteed in writing for each service tier?
A named threshold, such as an MQM score per tier, is checkable; a general quality promise is not.

How are the platform and the services priced?
Ask for the per-word rate of each managed tier separately from any platform fees, so you can compare the services against your current agency on equal terms.

How does Smartling combine its platform with managed language services?

Smartling runs its translation management system and its language services in one platform. Smartling Language Services provides professional, managed translation directly inside the Smartling platform: every new account comes with six pre-configured workflows, five of them managed by Smartling Language Services (AI-Powered Human Translation, AI Translation, Human Translation and Editing, Creative Translation and Transcreation), and every account comes with a Smartling Language Services project manager who coordinates linguist selection, timelines and quality. The service publishes a delivery record of 99.4% of words on time and 98.7% of translations unchanged after publishing, has a one-word minimum and a single monthly invoice, and is backed by the Translation Satisfaction Guarantee. Smartling Language Services has been assessed and approved to meet ISO 17100, and Smartling was named a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Localization Services, Q3 2026.

For teams that want the program itself managed, Smartling Managed Services provides a dedicated team that handles account administration and project management, content management, resource management and third-party LSP management, including liaising with outside vendors and ensuring SLAs are met. Help-center and website content can flow in through connectors such as Zendesk Guide, Salesforce Knowledge and Contentful, listed on the Smartling Plans page, so managed and self-run content share one pipeline.

The combined model does not lock out other vendors. Smartling's Enterprise plan lists "Bring your own translators," and a third-party agency can be configured into the account by the Customer Success Manager, given rate cards and assigned to specific workflow steps and locale pairs, working against the same translation memory and glossary as Smartling's own linguists. What Smartling does not offer is special control over, or lists of, the independent contractors behind its managed services, as its Security page states. For how human reviewers are staffed across vendor, in-house and agency models, see how AI translation platforms staff human reviewers; for comparing how vendors blend AI translation with human review, see how to shortlist AI translation platforms with human review.