Editorial

I think Jean-Francios Van (Product Localization Senior Manager at Adobe) expresses it best when he describes the root challenge of globalization to be the need to globalize the company, not just a particular function, to ensure a company’s success. This means that all functions within a company need to be aligned and ready to support new markets. And it requires a long-term, coordinated and consistent commitment in terms of strategy, investment model and leadership.

Read on to find out what organizations like Adobe, the Translation Bureau of Canada, EMC, Nokia, PerkinElmer, TÜV Rheinland Group, along with some well-known globalization consultants, consider to be their top challenges and possible solutions for 2008.

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Jean-François Vanreusel, Product Localization Senior Manager, Adobe

1. Deliver more localized versions than ever before with, or soon after, English

The workload faced by Adobe’s Product Localization team continues to expand as new products emerge and more localized versions are added to existing products. We mainly tackle this problem at 3 levels:

(a) Internationalization

To reduce localization defects and to ease the automation of the localization process, it is imperative for our products to be well internationalized. We work closely with product development teams to ensure they comply with Adobe’s world-readiness requirements. By addressing the issues at their root and early on, we can reduce a lot of the localization workload: 'Fix problems once and for all languages!' (For more, click here.)

Donald Barabé, Vice President of Professional Services, Translation Bureau, Government of Canada

At the LISA Forum held in Germany last October, I made a presentation entitled Regulated Client, Unregulated Industry – A Mattel Waiting to Happen. (If you are a LISA Member, you can log into the LISA web site and click here to download the presentation.) In it, I underlined some of the risks for clients in dealing with an unregulated industry: (1) selection of service providers by trial and error; (2) uneven quality; (3) liability issues; (4) client brand and image vulnerability. And on the reverse side of the coin, the service provider also faces major risks and issues: (1) unfair competition between professional providers and amateurs; (2) price cutting; (3) commoditization of professional services – always faster and cheaper; (4) liability issues. (For more, click here.)

Jessica Roland, Director, International Product Operations, EMC Corporation

For 2008, scaling our division's simultaneous shipment model to handle a significant increase in products and languages is key. We think there are three globalization industry trends that will help us do this. For 2008, we will intensively work with our Language Service Providers, peer companies and industry groups to make these trends a solid reality:

1. As our global reach extends, the ability to add languages beyond the Top 10 is key to increasing our worldwide revenue (think The Long Tail!). The current localization industry pricing model does not enable us to do this cost-effectively. You will see this topic being raised at industry forums more frequently in 2008, as we try to find a solution.(For more, click here.)

Localization Manager for Global Customer Care, Mobile Communications Manufacturer

I see the following as trends in 2008:

1) Small world, small industry: I've witnessed many translation agency folks becoming my colleagues, and at the same time, a handful of my colleagues in content creation/localization teams leaving my company to join agencies. Working with people from different cultures/backgrounds will continue to be quite a challenge, though. (For more, click here.)

Claude Lamoureux, Quality Manager, Information Management Quality and Regulatory Management, PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences

1. Improve the product requirement definition process through (a) attributing a formal role to local customer support (sales and service) organizations to gather customer feedback systematically; (b) imposing the creation of a geographical roadmap for a product's lifecycle; and (c) internationalization training for product managers.

2. Ensure that product developers understand the importance of language support through internationalization training specific to a programming language. (For more, click here.)

Andreas Voss, Global Internet Coordinator, TÜV Rheinland Group

1. Make boring content interesting

Content is king for internet sites, but how do you make certification and testing interesting and appealing, especially since customers ‘tick’ different globally? More and more, we will use our certificator and social web ideas to accomplish this, focusing even more on the use of personas and use cases. We have already started a major project with information architects to develop user-centered naming and structure for our content. Our goal is to work out a user-centered internet site, and then move forward to a user-centered company. (For more, click here.)

Aaron Marcus, President, Aaron Marcus and Associates

1. Globalization is a strategic issue for every business, not just multinationals

Because web sites, extranets, blogs, email, VOIP, video sites, shopping sites, social networks, business networks, and other telecommunication media operate instantly, incessantly, and globally, every business has potential benefits from thinking globally – even if it acts locally. Consequently, every business risks overlooking global customers, resources and competition. Size may matter, but even the smallest of operations can transform itself from being a purveyor of unique products or services to an international star. At the very least, new sources of income, talented development, and ideas become possible by ever-easier means. (For more, click here.)

Andrew Draheim, Management Consultant, DIG-IT!

1. Making it all work in China (client orientation, quality mindedness, supply of qualified translators) (For more, click here.)

In November last year, Cisco announced plans to double its investment in China to USD 16 billion over the next five years. At the same time, it revealed that demand for its products grew 35% in emerging markets, compared to 20% in Europe and 13% in the U.S. For insights into how Cisco is actually implementing this strategy on the ground in China, we talked to Dr. Jan Gronski, Managing Director of the Cisco R&D Center (CRDC) in Shanghai and Amy Zhang (Director, Engineering). Click here to read Cisco China: Building the Next Global Center for Product Localization (premium).

For full versions, along with an analysis of how the Chinese software development and services sector is transforming itself into a global product development center before our very eyes, stay tuned for LISA’s new Industry Insights Report: The New Breed of Chinese Localizers – Building Quality Localization Hubs with Full Outsourcing Capabilities.

According to Rory Cowan of Lionbridge, 2008 will be bittersweet for the globalization industry. Read John Freivalds’ column, Money Talks, to find out why (premium).

ANNOUNCEMENTS

As Chinese companies gear up for their global push westward, we invite you to join them during the Annual LISA Forum Asia CHINA FOCUS 2008 in Beijing from March 10-14.

Dr. Jan Gronski will be speaking on China as a Global Product Development Center. Fiona Tan, VP of Engineering for TIBCO Software will present, Best Practices for Managing Growth in China Outsourcing. Other topics include Virtual Collaboration Across the Globe, Using Automated Translation Software to Translate Dynamic Content, How to Develop a Globalization Business Case and GB18030 Compliance Testing.

CHINA FOCUS 2008 is the place to be if you are doing business in China and need to understand the issues that will impact you, or if you are a Chinese company preparing to move out of China and onto the world stage. Click here to register.

See you there!