The restoration of diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba has led to a surge in demand for translation services from New York-based thebigword.

Within hours of President Obama’s dramatic announcement in Washington — seconded by Cuban President Raul Castro in Havana – thebigword received a deluge of requests from international businesses for Cuban translation services.

The highest level of demand came from US-based technology firms located in Silicon Valley, which are keen to tap into the Cuban market.

It has been predicted that the trade embargo has cost the US economy $1.1 billion a year.

Josh Gould, Chief Commercial Officer at thebigword said:

“Businesses are moving quickly to capitalise on this emerging opportunity. thebigword firmly believes in evangelising US Values and are working with companies who share these values to enable them to grow their business.

This deal marks a new era in international trade. The surge in demand for translation for the Cuban Spanish dialect shows how businesses value the importance of nuanced, culturally relevant translation.

Businesses come to us because they know we go beyond traditional translation – we also act as cultural consultants. We will be able to advise businesses if their product is a good fit for this market, as well as meeting their translation needs.”

In the past year, thebigword has invested heavily in language services technology to support clients seeking to enter new markets. Recently, thebigword TMS was launched, a new piece of technology set to revolutionise the language industry, which promises 28% more savings on translation spend for businesses and delivers 66% better quality translations than the industry average.

NOTES TO EDITORS

thebigword is a global, technology enabled language solutions provider, which delivers translation (written word) and interpreting (spoken word) services.

thebigword employs 500 people based in 13 offices in 11 countries, working with more than 12,000 linguists worldwide. HQ is Leeds, with offices in New York, Dusseldorf, Tokyo, The Hague and Istanbul amongst others. thebigword has 13 offices in 11 countries.

CEO and founder is Larry Gould.

thebigwordMedia contactsUK - Roisin Miller, GraylingRoisin.miller@grayling.com / 0207 592 7922orUS – Josh Gould, theBigWord(+1) 917 434 7472