To be successful web publishers at the global level, whether vendor or client, there are several basic, but very important, concepts to understand and internalize at every level of the organization. These are outlined in the following ten "must haves" for successful on-demand multilingual web publishing. They can function as a checklist if you're just beginning or if your web projects are not running smoothly.

"Forrester Research estimates that the European markets for on-line services will be the fastest-growing in the world over the next two years, with annual growth rates exceeding 80 percent - all the more reason for enabling web users to access information and make purchases in their own languages."
(PC Magazine On-line, May 29, 1996)

"MUST HAVE" NUMBER 1: "Don't be seduced! It's a PARADIGM SHIFT and here's why."

On-demand multilingual web publishing involves a paradigm shift for the following reasons:

1. On-demand multilingual web publishing can be thought of as multimedia with the added twist of on-demand, dynamic updating. People involved in the business are just now accepting the fact that it is much closer to the TV production paradigm than to the publishing paradigm, as was originally thought. As Henning Kather, Manager for International Web Sites for Netscape Communications Corp. Describes it, "Web localisation is like real-time TV production in many ways." Content constantly changes and the deadlines are on-demand, not negotiated as they often are in software localisation. This means that successful vendors must have staff on-call in order to "go live" with information every few days or every week.
2. Content creation is the building block for web sites, not software code. As Gregory Harris, International Web Site Producer for Netscape Communications Corp. and his colleague Robert Andrews remind us, "Keep in mind that HTML is not technical; it's marketing material… build sites in order to throw them away - the Web isn't static and information doesn't last long."

   As a vendor, you will be working with content creators and providers on the marketing, support, documentation, etc. side of a client's organization, not the development or R&D side. It's a completely different mindset, and these people move at an entirely different speed than engineers.

3. The cost/profitability structure is distinct from that for software localisation or document translation. The industry is still trying to figure out how to manage these issues. Rather than counting words or billing by the hour, groups are looking at how to apply the concept of retainer fees and how to exchange money/ advertising space to in-country partners who will localise and maintain certain international versions of a company's web site.

Do not be seduced into believing that you can just a make a tweak here and there to your processes and, voilà, you're in the multilingual web publishing business. As a vendor, if your operation doesn't yet have documented processes and procedures and still depends on a few key people to keep things running smoothly, then on-demand multilingual web publishing will probably be the "straw that breaks the camel's back." It will cause breakdowns in certain areas of the organization because your structure will not be able to carry the load.

As a client, if you are disorganized and/or cannot provide trained project management or integrate the content producers with the international publishing arm, etc., then you will waste a lot of money, miss deadlines and drive your localisation vendor(s) crazy.

"Build [web] sites in order to throw them away."
Robert Andrews, Web Site Director, Netscape Communications Corp.

"MUST HAVE" NUMBER 2: "A TRUE PARTNERSHIP between vendor and client is the name of the game."

As discussed at the most recent LISA Forum in Los Angeles in October, partnering between vendor and client is extremely important for successful localisation, but it is even more critical for on-demand multilingual web publishing. If either the vendor or the client is unable and/or unwilling to commit to a true partnership, then the relationship will eventually fail. This does not mean that the partnership must be exclusive, but that each party must remain committed to the other at whatever the level on which both parties decide to agree.

Tiziana Perinotti, co-author of "Software Internationalization and Localisation," founder of TGP Consulting and creator and web master of the award-winning Silicon Valley Localisation Forum, recommends to clients that they treat their localisation vendor as a member of their [web site] team. She says, "Some companies do not realize how critical it is to integrate their localisation vendor's skills into the company's [multilingual web publishing] process."

Perinotti reminds vendors to be proactive. "Don't expect your customers (the corporation) to know about your needs. Make sure the company understands what your translators need from the [web site] team to do a good job."

NOTE: Everyone in this industry is aware of the fact that the relationship between vendor and client is a very unequal one, with the latter holding most of the power most of the time, even in these days of excess demand. However, even with this being the case, both sides must start somewhere in an attempt to meet in the middle, and on-demand multilingual web publishing is as good a place to start as any. Here are some examples of where a vendor and a client can try to go the "extra mile (or kilometer!)" to forge an ongoing partnership:

1. Vendor: Provide training sessions for content providers, both domestic and international. Examples of topics: what it costs the company when writers/editors re-write text instead of re-using it; how localisation is affected when programmers change a CGI or JavaScript file at the last minute; how to implement version control to meet everyone's needs; etc.
2. Client: Schedule regular meetings for domestic producers/writers/editors with the international arm of the company on relevant topics.
3. Client: Include the vendor in strategy presentations so the latter knows where the organization wants to be with its web site vis-à-vis technology, content, markets, message, etc.
4. Client/vendor: Work together to implement technology to smooth the localisation process and to save money. The minimum requirements include glossary and translation memory tools which understand HTML. In addition, content creators should keep their eyes open for tools which will help them re-use sections of text (when applicable) so that creative impulses can be satisfied in other areas besides rewriting text which really doesn't need to be rewritten.
5. Client/vendor: Implement a process to share terminology between vendors, if more than one is used.
6. Client/vendor: Work together to integrate software localisation and on-demand multilingual web publishing processes as much as possible.

"MUST HAVE" NUMBER 3: "You get what you pay for…WORLD-CLASS PROJECT MANAGEMENT is worth every penny, centime, yen, etc."

The only way to maintain any hope of succeeding in the world of on-demand multilingual web publishing is to have world-class international producers working together on both the client and vendor sides. According to Perinotti of TGP Consulting, "One web week is equal [to] at least two traditional software development weeks. Think of it [web localisation] as trying to catch a train that has already left the station and can't be stopped." In other words, this is not where a company should risk placing an HTML guru whom they plan to turn into a project manager!

Both client and vendor need trained, seasoned project managers/producers with web publishing experience and/or heavy-duty software localisation project management experience, including successfully managing (near-) simultaneous shipment projects in several languages. World-class producers know what it means to be excellent communicators, which is what is critically needed in this new field right now.

If the web site is strategic to the company and/ or a fairly good-sized one, the producers should be backed up by assistant/ associate project manager(s) to manage the constant flow of files, version control, terminology support to translators, etc.

"MUST HAVE" NUMBER 4: "You must have CLEAR GOALS in order to avoid the potholes and detours along the multilingual information highway."

Harris of Netscape admonishes clients, "Have clear goals in mind: write out a plan including why, what and how you want to localise. Don't start until you know the answers." This also requires the development of a clear vision of where the company is going internationally and how the company's web site fits into this strategy. In Netscape's case at the beginning, pages from the US site were targeted to be localised according to very specific criteria such as product completion, software distribution, marketing communication and revenue generation.

WARNING TO VENDORS: If your (potential) client has no clear vision and/or goals, then you will be in for a rough ride at some point down the road. In all likelihood, the client will eventually treat the symptom (spending too much money on localisation) as opposed to the problem (no clear and/or inconsistent goals for the web site), and you as the vendor will be caught in the middle.

"Have clear goals in mind: write out a plan including why, what and how you want to localise. Don't start until you know the answers."
Gregory Harris, International Web Site Producer, Netscape Communications Corp