Localization workers are the unsung heroes of the computer industry. The global spread of hardware and software has only been possible because key products were localized - i.e. adapted to meet the linguistic and cultural requirements of local markets. What is more, localization is big business now: according to Michael Anobile, Director of LISA (the global Localisation Industry Standards Association), “annual sales generated as a result of localization activities in the core IT sector alone amount to over 2 billion dollars”.

However, localization on its own is not enough, especially where multiple language versions of products are concerned. To be cost- and time-effective, localization must be bound into much a broader process known as globalization, which ensures that products are designed, built, supported and marketed to meet the needs of an international audience. This also includes the more narrowly focused process known as “internationalization” or “enabling”, in which products are developed and/or adapted at a technical level to support localization. “In order to truly go global, you have to be local, in order to be local you have to be international. In order to successfully market and sell a software application outside of your home base, the first step to globalization is internationalization, followed closely by localization,” says Diane McCartney, director of business application consulting firm Cedilla Globalisation Solutions B.V. in the Netherlands.

Thus “globalization is the umbrella under which all international activities can be placed. It can involve many areas of a company including translation, development, testing/QA, technical writing, marketing, legal, distribution, sales and training. In its broadest sense, globalization involves anything that must be done differently to accommodate the needs of an international market,” says Dave Johnston, President of consulting firm J&A Global, Inc.

Teddy Bengtsson, Director of Vendor & Language Services, Oracle WPTG (Worldwide Product Translation Group), agrees: “Globalization is the key driver for a fully integrated international product development process, ‘the holy grail’ for all who are involved in localization/translation.”

However, holy grails are notoriously elusive objects and in practice many companies are struggling to implement globalization. For some, doing business internationally - let alone globally - is still a new experience, whereas for others the problem is that of changing an already installed base of products, working practices and opinions. Bengtsson again: “I think we are all facing a considerable challenge in changing behavior in our organizations to think globally from the outset. And the bigger publishers are, the slower they are to change.”

Problems and drivers

In practice, says Dave Johnston, “there are at least three main globalization problems facing most software publishers today. The first involves the lack of a truly internationalized product. The second is the lack of an efficient localization process. The third is a lack of understanding and support throughout the company regarding the special needs and costs associated with the international marketplace. Many software publishers are spending far more money than they need to in order to produce international products. In addition, these products are often late into the market and of poor quality.” Given the holy trinity of reduced cost, time to market and quality management dominating business today, this analysis should be enough to make any senior manager sit up and listen.

However, finding the hard data to back up the claims is not always easy. The use of in-house staff for internationalization and localization tasks frequently hides the true costs of these processes. Conversely, shipping many product versions (including the English original) on a single CD makes tracking localized product usage, and hence revenues, difficult. Obtaining data from all the other departments on the cost of globalization - let alone the cost of not globalizing - is also a major problem.

Nevertheless, Johnston thinks that some rough estimates are possible: “Generally speaking, about ten percent more development effort is required for good internationalization and generally the costs of internationalization development are recovered within three or four versions”. With 81% of respondents to the 1997 LISA Localization Industry Survey stating that they expect to be localizing into more than 10 languages by the year 2002, the economics of the situation are thus rapidly becoming clearer.

Developing “outside the box”

Where products were originally developed for a single national market, fundamental design issues may not have been considered from an international perspective - simply because the question never arose or was rejected as inapplicable at the time. In some cases, the subsequent internationalization and localization costs may be so great as to make foreign-language sales impossible.

According to Bengtsson, even where basic design issues have been solved, problems may still arise in the course of the process. “Product development tends to be strongly focused on providing solutions in functionality, and is sharply driven by market demands and the associated pressure on release dates. As a single market, the US is the largest and subsequently there is always the risk of a locale-centric approach that brings some short term gains.”

Today’s trend towards externally sourced components may compound the problem. In such cases, manufacturers may not always know, let alone have been able to influence, the development methods used.

In addition, development schedules may not work in favor of localizers. At the end of the day, programming is still an ad hoc process, and in the scramble to add more and more functionality before freezing the code internationalization often loses out. Many software developers and their managers are still unaware of the localization process that follows on from what they do, while for others localization is only one of many conflicting claims on their time. In still other cases, a rational weighting of priorities may lead to internationalization work by developers drawing the short straw. Whatever the reason, though, in-house localizers and vendors are faced with having to make workarounds and compromises. Even worse, when they have finally finished their programming marathons, developers have a habit of disappearing on holiday - just when localization staff need them most.

Piggy in the middle? In-house localization staff

If such situations are not to cause chaos, says Bengtsson, “the need for a synchronized process and clearly assigned areas of responsibility are imperative. In Oracle's case, many products are released as different language versions on the same CD. As this also includes the original US version, the need for extremely tight control of component delivery schedules is obvious.”

This in turn requires a formalization of processes and structures within in-house localization groups, and a clarification of interfaces with both development and external vendors. The ability of in-house localization staff to bridge the gap is breaking down under the strain of more and more projects and languages and less and less time, and the move towards outsourcing that this inevitably brings.

Enabling vendors to do well in this situation means providing them with an entire suite of information, from comprehensive bid and localization kits (complete with updates), glossaries, clearly defined engineering guidelines and test plans, to documented tools.

What is more, according to Mervyn Dyke, Managing Director of Dublin-based localization service provider Vistatec, publishers’ localization groups have to be prepared to use their elbows internally, too. “Often vendors and vendor managers within publishers have more in common than they do with the ultimate developers. And unless the localization group has enough clout internally to change things, there is strong pressure towards inter-mutual blame”.

“This is not a one way street, though”, warns Diane McCartney. “You also have to manage expectations. If I call myself a translation company, the customer will expect me to translate. If I call myself a localization company, the customer will expect engineering facilities and a level of technical expertise that goes beyond translation tools. At this point vendor selection is not based on experience but on the customer deciding which of the translation houses he feels comfortable making a long-term investment in. Honesty and a clear definition of the expectations would help promote the relationship”

Towards solutions

This emphasis on partnership is also important within the organization, too. If a lack of communication and understanding are key issues to tackle, breaking down the barriers currently separating individual links in the process chain goes a fair way to a solution. Human factors are all-important here, says Dave Johnson: “Think attitude and mindset rather than issue and task”. This does not mean that staff should not have a plan, or means of tracking it, but rather that the process should be regarded as an ongoing one, in which winning the hearts and minds of the people involved is the key to success.

Thus 75% of respondents to the LISA 1997 Time to Market Survey said that international enablement should be part of base product team ownership, putting internationalization at the heart of the development organization. In addition, involving developers in the localization process - e.g. by getting them to test the products - can vastly aid mutual understanding.

Given the wide definition of globalization adopted earlier, however, internationalization and localization staff should also extend involvement to all other players in the globalization process. Thus, in-country subsidiaries and distributors can make vital contributions to product design and functionality, as well as providing review and test services. In some cases, they may also be involved in the core localization process itself, as service suppliers or managers of external vendors. And senior management support remains absolutely vital.

Over time, measures to increase fraternization and integration will inevitably lead to the optimization of the globalization process to take advantage of the synergies and cost savings they reveal. What the process will look like in any particular case will differ with the company concerned and the relative importance of drivers such as cost, speed and quality. As Dave Johnston puts it: “in order to be successful, companies

must decide what’s important to their products and markets, understand the tradeoffs associated with their priorities, and be willing to accept these tradeoffs.”

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Deborah Fry
Fry & Bonthrone Partnerschaft
Rochusplatz 10
D-55252 Mainz-Kastel
Germany
Tel.: +49-6134-22504
Fax: +49-6134-22860
E-mail: 100637.711@compuserve.com