Editorial

We see clear indications of these trends in the results of the LISA 2005 Global Software Survey that were just released this week in the form of Taking Software to the World. The survey is the first large-scale examination of the business impact of localized software. The results present a very clear roadmap for end users who purchase localized software and for software developers who want to know exactly where to spend their localization development budgets to sell more products. Click here for more information.

Language will soon be identified with blockbuster revenues, according to IDC.

IDC is predicting e-commerce to be a $7 trillion dollar market by 2007, supported by 1 billion internet users. The value of online B2B commerce is expected to reach approximately $2.2 trillion dollars this year alone. In an exclusive from IDC, Research Analyst Alison Crawford explains why global content management is the key to unlocking the door to these revenues and why language will soon be identified with blockbuster revenues. In her (premium) article, Managing the Tower of Babel, Crawford also provides specific advice to language services companies on how to leverage the predicted 7% growth in the language services sector through 2007.

Standards + Integrated Business Processes Worldwide = Much Smoother Sailing

At the enterprise level, no matter what the size, the trends are clear and support IDC’s conclusions. So the question then becomes, as clients and as services providers, how can we take advantage of these “favorable winds?” Through integrated business processes worldwide and the standards that support these. In his second article in a series (premium), Shouting Ducks and Saluting Lions, Leon Lee, International Generalist at Dell, describes Dell’s transcreation process and reminds us that localization is not just a technical event, but a business process to be integrated just like any other.

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Susan Mills, IBM Globalization Executive & Director, User Technologies, will address these issues next week as the keynote speaker at LISA’s Global Strategy Summit in Boston, speaking on The Globalization Landscape. Mills is very passionate about motivating all of us to move onto the next level in terms of how we view globalization and our roles within the process. I caught up with her this week before leaving for Boston, and here’s what she had to say about growth opportunities, how the definition of a “full-service localization provider” is changing, and what all of us should be doing to prepare for a world that is demanding more and more to be “on.”

We all have one shared value: time to value.

"In an on demand world, globalization enables customers to reach new multilingual and multicultural markets rapidly, but there is no unique definition of a truly globalized business. A globalized e-business may be a small company trying to reach the Latin American markets via a web site. Or, it may be a mid-market company expanding operations across Europe. However, there is one shared value: at IBM, we call it time to value. As customers must respond with speed to market opportunities and/or external threats – in any language and respecting all cultural preferences and business conventions – they need help to enable their IT infrastructure to be truly global, by decreasing the time to develop, deploy and manage business applications worldwide.

"When globalization is identified as a business imperative, it requires the appropriate level of investments. New opportunities for growth exist in the following areas if you take a non-traditional approach to globalization."

Strategic Consulting

"We must help customers understand what it really takes to do business in a particular market. This includes issues such as communication, payment and distribution infrastructures; tax and customs regulations; cultural sensitivity; and how to create real local applications. It can range from "hard knowledge," such as the different ways to collect information, to "soft knowledge," such as the different ways to lay out web pages (see, for example, http://www.sohu.com/). This goes beyond traditional "localization" services – once again the definition of a “full service localization provider” is changing, allowing increased chances for long-term survival."

The SME Market

"Many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are trying to expand into new markets, either through alliances or through local offices. Doing business in another country requires adapting to local practices and cultural preferences, and it is no different than the mandate faced by large multinationals.

Being global can start at home.

"It’s also important to remember that being global can start at home. Reaching new domestic multicultural markets, for instance, can be very lucrative for an SME, and easier to achieve. For example, with limited resources, would it be easier for a U.S.-based SME to reach the Canadian market first or to reach the Hispanic community in the U.S.? Whichever the case, the message I want to convey is that an SME must execute a thorough market analysis and segmentation before going to the expense to expand worldwide."

"Reverse" Localization

"Eighty percent of the software localization done to-date has been from English to other languages. But applications from other countries – in particular, from such emerging markets as China and India – are becoming more sophisticated. Obviously, these developers will be looking to expand their products and services to other countries. They may not be localizing the applications into English at first, but rather into other Asian and/or European languages.

"LISA can help its members, and the industry at large, prepare for this world that is demanding more and more to be “on” by helping customers to understand that the challenge is now to globalize their business processes, in addition to localizing their product/service offerings.

People need to understand that the world is “flat” now.

"LISA can do this in three ways:

• Through educating its constituency to understand that localization is no longer a one-way street, i.e., from English to other languages. People need to understand that the world is “flat” now, in the sense that it is “connected” through lowered trade and political barriers, due to incredible advances in technology. In other words, we can communicate, do business, whatever, instantaneously with billions of our fellow human beings on the planet, if we so choose. Editor’s Note: See The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman.
• Through adopting a more business-centric (as opposed to technology) approach. For example, we need to enable people to understand that IT Globalization means helping customers bridge the gap between business transformation and IT.

Collectively, standards are key to our success..

• Through developing and promoting globalization standards, i.e., standards that apply to business processes, as well as to technical components. Standards are critical to every company's success in a complex business environment that is characterized by being multilingual, multicultural and on demand. Companies like IBM rely upon standards, and customers – often without even realizing it – benefit from them. I can’t say this strongly enough: standards are key to our success, collectively.

Editor’s Note: For more information on how intellectual property will force us to globalize our business processes, read Globalizing Business Processes: Moving Up the Food Chain.

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On the standards front, LISA has available a new set of proposed standards, GMX (GILT Metrics eXchange) (Volume, Complexity and Quality) to deal with the thorny issue of word count. Please check out the standard, if you haven’t done so.

Editor’s Note: For background reading, see GILT Metrics: Slaying the Word Count Dragon (Updated) and Is Gutenberg Guilty?

xml:tm is a rather radical departure from existing standards.

For the latest on XML, DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) and xml:tm, read what Andrzej Zydroń, CTO of xml-Intl Ltd., has to say in our (public) Focus on Standards column this week. In his article, How to Leverage the Maximum Potential of XML for Localization, Zydroń (also a Member of the OSCAR Steering Committee) explains how DITA and xml:tm will take us beyond the existing XML-based localization standards that have only concentrated on the exchange of information. DITA is a flexible, topic-based architecture that provides a comprehensive model for authoring, producing and delivering of technical documentation. xml:tm is a rather radical departure from existing standards that introduces the concept of text memory, seamlessly integrated into XML documents.

Editor’s Note: If you, or any of your colleagues, are working to resolve XML-related challenges, don’t miss the opportunity to gain insights from one of the industry’s leading experts on standards related to localization and XML. You will have three opportunities to “pick Zydroń’s brain” during the LISA Global Strategy Summit in Boston, May 23-27.

We want to take this opportunity to heartily congratulate Günther Höser, Managing Director of WH&P, and his team for being ISO 9001:2000 certified in April by BVQI, the worldwide leader in systems certification services. ISO 9001:2000 is an international standard for quality management. By completing this certification audit for its complete range of localization services, WH&P has confirmed its commitment to the highest service standards worldwide. Congratulations!

As part of its weekly Knowledge Matters series, LISA Member Ektron is offering Ektron DMS400: Benefits of Ektron’s New Integrated Document Management Solution on May 26. Prior to attending the webcast, check out Eliminating Barriers to Web Localization.

Editor’s Note: LISA is committed to “spreading the word” about educational opportunities available through our Members, so please keep us up-to-date on your current webcast schedules by forwarding them to editor@lisa.org.

Hope to see all of you in Boston next week for LISA’s Global Strategies Summit. If not, I will expect to see you at our LISA Forum Europe (Managing Content and Building Markets) in Zurich from November 7-11.