This is not, however, a Handbook; it's a very well organized checklist of things to think about and a general structure for planning - not, by any means, a step by step guide. Billed as "A Strategic Guide to Global Marketing", there is more marketing than localization in focus here. Because of this wider focus, the book's perspective is unique. Written with a light touch, the "technology for dummies" aspects are no more irritating than the explanations (and more importantly, the application) of the principles of "Marketing 101". In short this book should appeal to virtually anyone with a stake in globalization and localization. Companies embarking on (or actually engaged in) the task of globalizing their Web-based business activities get a full view of the business issues, and practical advice on how to act. Vendors get a view of the world from their customers' perspective. In fact, I would suggest that every vendor in the industry buys at least one copy of this book, and makes sure that it is read - at minimum - by every salesperson, and at best by anyone who has contact with customers.

You're in business

The leitmotif is plain: "Business globalization is first and foremost a business issue. Treat it as you would any other business issue that comes before your Board or crosses your desk, and all else will follow." It is refreshing to find the topics dear to the heart of the localization industry placed in a clear business context.

The other conceit of Business Without Borders is the notion of the Internet as a "borderless global community", which DePalma calls the 8th Continent. This is portrayed as a new demographic, and a potential source of new revenue that needs to be addressed with the usual business discipline, but employing techniques and perspectives that may be unfamiliar to marketers accustomed to working in single-culture markets. The 8th Continent is enabled by, and exists on, the Internet, which sometimes leads to the fallacious assumption that having a Web presence makes a company "global". The message of this book is that all you get with a Web site is exposure. Alas, what's exposed is often a parochial version of the company's value proposition. Re-thinking the business for a global audience - incorporating the concept of many locales within a single 8th Continent - is what this book is about. Being Global doesn't happen accidentally - you DON'T succeed in global business without really trying! DePalma sees the 8th Continent as another demographic - if a complex one - that must be addressed just as any new market would be approached, using sound business principles.

The core messages of the book are based on data from interviews with international companies operating in many different industries, with different business models and objectives. DePalma is particularly effective in distinguishing between the good reasons behind a globalization initiative, and the lack of fit between business objectives and the challenges of globalization/localization. The book will be useful for educating, and creating a common language for, the many constituencies that are involved in a Web globalization and localization initiative. This wide scope would, for example, suit the needs of management trainers for a business perspective on localization, as well as for globalization "champions" who need to communicate across an unusually wide number of operational and process boundaries.

Measurement signposts

I found Business Without Borders particularly interesting on the "measurement" challenges of globalization and localization, traditionally a weakness of the industry. Using the tried and tested "360-Degree ROI" approach, DePalma outlines a range of methods available for measuring the impact of localization - from straight cost-basis analysis (notoriously difficult in our industry), to more nuanced measures of customer satisfaction and retention, brand value, channel integration, etc. There are even gestures toward tactical measurement techniques, though as with most of the issues covered in the book, these are fairly superficial. Nevertheless they are there as signposts for more creative thinking, and more work. Best of all, the impact of measurement is linked back to the concrete stages in a successful initiative, assuring that business planning for localization becomes part of normal business planning. Achieving this would be real progress for the localization industry!

DePalma's credentials as a technology analyst shine (he spent several years as a high-profile Forrester analyst and consultant) and are combined interestingly with his "insider" experience as a strategist for Idiom Technologies. He knows, for example, the limits of Content Management Systems (CMS) in meeting the globalization challenge. As he says, most CMS products have entered the market able to "manage" a very limited range of content, usually "Web stuff in English". His message for all players is the importance of open, standardized interfaces to CMS that will support a range of service and technology offerings, from a range of vendors. With an equally alert eye on the personalization features of Web technology, he adds a new dimension to localization. The idea that companies could aspire to full-context personalization on the 8th Continent poses a stimulating challenge for the future of localization.

It's a good book, but not perfect. The market data is a little tired (derived from the Usual Suspects, especially the over-familiar eMarketer graphs), and will get more so as the book ages. I hope the promised online updates will materialize, for interpretation as well as facts. The discussion of individual companies - the so-called case studies - is no more than illustrative, as perhaps one should expect in a survey of this nature. The impressive number of companies (over 150) cited in the index and listed on the Web site don't quite provide the longed-for depth of detail. But the breadth of coverage is there, inspiring confidence that the distilled wisdom is a rich blend, from many sources. This, in the end, may be more useful in an introductory book such as this than detailed and scrupulous, blow-by-blow case studies.

US vs Europe?

From my perspective the book lacks subtlety in its treatment of multilinguality in Europe, despite lip-service examples such as DaimlerChrysler and Philips (which, by the way, is misspelled). The valence of immigrant or minority-language communities in the EU (e.g. Russian speakers in Germany, or Urdu speakers in the UK - what the book calls "ethnic" markets) is quite different from the situation in the US, where "ethnic" languages - especially Spanish - are the multilingual Front Line. In Europe, businesses attempt to cope with an integrated market comprising 11 national languages (soon to expand to around 20). If European companies can develop strategies for this massively multilingual home market, immigrant languages become a dawdle (in the US sense, little more than a leisurely walk) - or as users of UK English would have it, a doddle.

The book suffers slightly from Consultantitis - a weakness of the joints due to excessive arm-waving. This manifests, among other ways, in alliterative mnemonics - The Three P's of Global Marketing (portability, penetration, polity), The Three R's for Success (rigor, reliability, ROI), The Four Vs of technology implementation (content volume, volatility, variety, technology variability). As well as helpful (overhelpful) Lists. Seven Ways to Convince Management of the Need to Globalize, each containing its own sub-lists. Or the Eight Steps to Building a Business Case for Return on Globalization. There is lots of this.

Finally, the production values of this book do not match the excellence of its content. The layout and presentation are, frankly, clunky. The effectiveness of the highly structured approach is actually undermined by the layout, with visual diversions that undercut the clarity of the structure. We feel stuck ever so slightly in a no-man's-land between a document and a PowerPoint presentation (like some obscure suburb - Erehwon? - of the 8th continent). Let's hope, in its second edition, Wiley will devote some attention to making the vessel as elegant and satisfying as the elixir it contains.

These quibbles do not detract from the undoubted value and quality of a perceptive and useful contribution to the field of global business. The book is full of useful nuggets - so many that there are bound to be some that reveal issues, or explain concepts, in a way that is new for any reader. Best of all, the style is engaging and the boredom quotient non-existent - buy this book!

Rose Lockwood is Director of Research for Berlitz GlobalNET, where she provides market research and consulting services to customers worldwide.