Localization Takes Hold in Turkey

Vedat Oygur, General Manager, LOCASIS Ltd.

Vedat Oygur, General Manager of LISA Member LOCASIS Ltd., describes the current state of the localization market in Turkey, how EU membership will impact the industry and the importance of standards. In a sidebar, Rebecca Ray, Global Business Editor, explains how the Turks’ longstanding custom of linguistic and cultural assimilation makes doing business in the country a refreshing and enjoyable challenge for global business people.

The term localization has always been linked with the words internationalization and globalization. It is offered as a service by localization companies that handle the whole process, in which a product/service is transformed for use in specific geographies, cultures and the markets. Its main goal is to meet the cultural expectations and technological needs of a given local market.

Over the last decade, more and more people have begun utilizing information technologies, the internet and communication services all over the world. Arising from this is an obvious need for the localization of systems, products and/or content in accordance with local requirements and customs. The needs, expectations and demands of Turkish customers and end-users in all these areas have been continuously increasing and changing in parallel to the same phenomena worldwide. The important role of localization companies has been felt by all those involved in such businesses as they consider doing business locally in the Turkish market.

No Cultural Stereotypes Need Apply!

Rebecca Ray, Global Business Editor

As a global business person living and working in Turkey, I continue to be amazed and pleasantly surprised at how Turks integrate words, concepts and cultural phenomena, making them their own with no qualms and no looking back. No one here suffers from the French complex of keeping a certain percentage of French culture French. The concept would be totally alien, and people would laugh, believing it to be totally impractical and a waste of resources and time.

The linguistic and cultural assimilation in Turkey happens at all socioeconomic levels and across generations.

This linguistic and cultural assimilation happens at all socioeconomic levels and across generations. It doesn’t matter if the person lives in the city or out in the countryside where I live. The very graphic proof of this phenomenon continues to be TV advertising, which is on a par with that of countries such as France in terms of design and sophistication. Our regular readers already know of my fascination with the Cola Turka brand and how Ulker (it’s corporate parent) has so effectively marketed it. What other predominantly Muslim (though very secular) country could have made a Coca-Cola knock-off in a red and white can boasting stars (aka Cola Turka) a huge success, with ads based on the selling of the “American Dream” (Amerikan Rüyası), at the same time as the U.S. administration waged war in Iraq?!

A current TV and print ad campaign that bridges cultures (and taste buds) is one being run by Burger King in Turkey (sorry, McDonald’s and Starbucks, but Burger King and Gloria Jean’s Coffees have beat you to Turkey). Upon returning to Istanbul Airport (which has wifi, I might add) from the LISA Forum in Paris recently, I came around the corner to be greeted by a huge black and white poster with the caricature of an Ottoman sultan enjoying his iftar, the meal that is eaten to break the fast as the sun goes down during the holy month of Ramadan – Ramazan in Turkish. In the background was the requisite Bosphorus with its ships and minarets.

I noticed a second sultan in the background sporting a huge afro hairdo.

What caught my attention was what the sultan was eating to break his fast… of course, there were the requisite Whopper, French fries (country style) and soft drink, but his meal also included dates and soup to start (Knorr brand tomato or chicken, to be exact), along with a Turkish sweet and Lipton tea to finish. As my cultural meter spun totally off-track, I noticed a second sultan in the background sporting a huge afro hairdo. Why? Because Garanti Bank here in Turkey is also participating in the campaign, and the afro is part of its long-running credit card campaign (don’t ask me why… it took my tri-cultural husband to shed light on this image, which I will save for another day!).

Throw out all (and I mean ALL) cultural stereotypes that you may have regarding Turkey.

Why am I belaboring the assimilation point? It’s to help you throw out all (and I mean ALL) cultural stereotypes that you may have regarding Turkey, if you consider doing business here – a reality that is moving closer, especially with the EU’s very real move to seriously consider the possibility of Turkey’s membership. Start with a new slate and engage organizations such as LISA Member LOCASIS to help guide you. It will probably be much easier to do business here than you think – the Turks are very practical and very European in their consumer habits (e.g., they recognize quality and they will pay for it, much more so than Americans will). Cast your stereotypes out the window and enjoy the flight!

Even though the localization sector in Turkey has not developed at the same pace as other technological services, it is still a promising sector with many untapped opportunities, especially since Turkey is now being seriously considered for EU membership. However, there still exists a certain confusion concerning the clear distinction between basic translation versus localization. Most of the so-called localization companies in Turkey are limited in scope and only deal with the translation of content, i.e., they do not offer full-fledged solutions to their customers. However, in recent years, in spite of getting a late start, a few companies (including LOCASIS) have started to offer ‘one-stop’ localization services for the Turkish market.

Central Asia, the Balkans and the Middle East represent huge potential markets, right on Turkey’s borders.

Turkish localization and translation companies are starting to expand globally as well. There are millions of Turkic people who share a very similar cultural and historical background throughout Central Asia, the Balkans and the Middle East. These areas represent huge potential markets, right on Turkey’s borders, due to the latter’s geopolitical uniqueness as it extends over two continents.

LOCASIS primarily works with its customers on the basis of direct relations. However, there are times when the company also works as a subcontractor for international localization companies, while at the same time, utilizing its own subcontractors for special projects. Faster translation with higher quality is the main issue for our customers. They also want cost-efficient localization services in order to minimize their own operating expenses.

There will be massive volumes of EU laws, regulations and other documentation to be translated into Turkish.

Recently, there have been positive developments in Turkey’s EU membership process. These developments, along with the current more stable economic conditions, should positively affect the localization sector, along with other sectors. As part of the harmonization process to join the EU, there will be massive volumes of EU laws, regulations and other documentation to be translated into Turkish.

In this “developing” area, we at LOCASIS are proud to have recently been named SAP Language Services (SLS) EMEA (European/Middle East/Africa) Translation Partner of the Year for 2003. As SAP’s Localization Partner, we localize all products developed by SAP AG for the Turkish market. This international award has strengthened our belief in the work that we do. In order to win the award, we provided high-performance services with productive and cost-efficient project management; complied with all deadlines; and worked in cooperation with SAP consultants to establish a common ground for terminology and content localization. We are also one of SAP’s first localization partners to obtain SLS Translation Partner Certification.

LOCASIS is not yet a household name, but it is delivering a lot of value to SAP.

Asked to describe why the partnership with LOCASIS is valuable to SAP, Christopher Pyne, Partner Manager for SAP Language Services, commented, “At SAP, we believe that we have established a community of highly committed partner translation agencies which have been working with us to increase efficiency and quality over several years. Our mission is to identify, appreciate and unlock the real added-value that our partners have. Some of these companies are well-known in the ‘industry,’ others less so. LOCASIS is a case in point - not yet a household name, but in our terms delivering a lot of value to SAP in an emerging market. LOCASIS’ significant value-add has been the care devoted to the Turkish language in their ERP terminology work, their excellent working relationship with SAP Turkey and their track record on project completion and cost reduction.”

LOCASIS believes that creating standards will help develop the localization sector in Turkey.

Being one of the few companies in Turkey to provide localization as its core business, LOCASIS believes that creating standards will help develop the localization sector in the country. First, the distinction between localization and translation should be clearly defined and communicated. Second, localization must then be accepted as a service that is carried out by companies with specialized capabilities. Third, localization should only be performed by language specialists and sector experts who maintain their domain and linguistic expertise through being involved in the marketplace and participating in academia. Fourth, specialized training for localization should be developed to help participants keep pace with developments in the sector.

Furthermore, we believe that being a member of LISA, which is an organization that provides a global platform for localization firms, facilitates our becoming a stronger and better localization company. We hope to work with LISA in the future to plan local events to include customers and service providers in our region.

Finally, despite the fact that the localization industry in Turkey has not simultaneously developed with the industry in Europe, it has great potential to develop at a rapid pace since the demand in the market continues to increase. As a market insider, we obviously recommend to those coming to the region to do business for the very first time to verify the expertise of potential service providers. References and recently completed sample work are very important when determining the right partner for the right job.

Vedat Oygur is the General Manager of LOCASIS Ltd., one of the leading translation/localization companies in Turkey. LOCASIS offers ‘one-stop’ localization solutions from major European Languages into Turkish.