Globalization Insider

Why China? Dragons and Tigers (But No Bears)

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:20:34 +0000

At LISA we are constantly being asked we we have placed such an emphasis on China in recent years. We’re going to be in China twice this year (in Chengdu and in Suzhou), and we keep going back. Quite frankly, we’re always a little surprised by this question since, from our vantage point, the answer is obvious. Asia represents the future of our industry, both in terms of the new markets that multinational companies want to capture, and in terms of where localization production is going. This is not to say that our traditional centers of business, such as Germany, Ireland, and Silicon Valley are fading away, but they are increasingly becoming the front end for work that is carried out elsewhere, in China, in India, and increasingly in Thailand and other areas in Asia. As Asian companies that provide these services cultivate their skills they are increasingly able and willing to contract directly with international clients by offering them compelling packages of skills and services at fantastic rates. China is and will continue to be the portal to take advantage of what Asia is offering. LISA has been leading the globalization industry for twenty years and we would be failing in our duty if we did not address this major shift in our industry. In the following article, Caitlin Carrol, an International Business intern at LISA, outlines the major shifts that we see taking place.

The Year of Standards?

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:09:37 +0000

At the LISA Forum Asia CHINA FOCUS 2009 in Beijing, Paula Shannon of Lionbridge stated that she felt that 2010 would be the “year of standards.” We applaud this pronouncement and are encouraged by the public support for standards from an industry luminary like Paula Shannon. While there was vigorous debate at the Forum about what the Year of Standards would mean in practical terms, I think everyone was in agreement that we need to see more use of standards across the entire globalization supply chain.

“Mapping the Uncharted Territory of the Language Industry in Europe” Needs a Map of Its Own

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:23:32 +0000

In December we published an article about research on the size of the localization industry in Europe. We thank Dr. Andriane Rische, the author of the research report (around which a European Union conference was organized), for taking the time to write to us and set the record straight concerning the conference and the significance of her business research and data. We encourage all interested parties to download the report, free of charge.

Mapping the Uncharted Territory of the Language Industry in Europe

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:55:03 +0000

That's how Mr. Karl-Johan Lönnroth, Director General of the Directorate General for Translation (DGT) at the European Commission, described the DGT's attempt to really quantify the size of the language industry in Europe during one of its latest projects. LISA joined more than sixty representatives from around Europe to hear the results of the research commissioned from the Language Technology Centre and to engage in a (really big!) roundtable discussion about the results and where we need to go in the future.

How Do You Run 6.5 billion Words Through the Traditional Translation Supply Chain?!

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:13:38 +0000

Some may wonder why an organization with a name like Localization Industry Standards Association considers it part of its mission to track, analyze and communicate trends in the outsourced global product development industry. It’s very simple (as Smith Yewell, CEO of Welocalize encapsulates it):

Our challenge is to build an ecosystem that will bridge “the final mile” to turn globalization services into an always-on utility. Why? Because it’s up to all of us to deliver the multilingual information that more and more exists in a streaming environment to support devices that are always-on. And China is the best place to be to respond to this challenge because of its history, its demand and its talent.

Insider Secrets for Setting Up Globally Distributed Localization Staff

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:46:50 +0000

Managing a localization team in Delhi and Dubai from Deluth is no picnic. But, with these tips, your far-flung team will fly across the finish line

Why Is Facebook Attempting to Patent the Idea of Crowdsourced Translations for Social Networks?

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:32:29 +0000

Facebook submitted a patent in December 2008 to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for its "Translations" application that allowed it to go from 0 localized versions to 16 in less than 6 months. It's now up to 60 and counting.

Strategic Sourcing in Today's Globalization Industry: The Convergence of Product Development and Globalization Services

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:16:59 +0000

Global software product development and globalization services are converging. The globalization services that make it possible for companies to sell and support their products and services outside of their home markets – internationalization engineering, software localization, website globalization, international QA & testing – are moving upstream, as more and more software development functions are outsourced.

Globalizing Your Business Processes: Are You Ready for the Transition to IFRS?

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:21:59 +0000

The current economic downturn may have slowed the transition from U.S. GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) to IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), but Paul Munter, Audit Partner with KPMG, explains why and how U.S. companies need to put this issue back on their financial radar screens. You can meet Paul personally during LISA@Berkeley on August 5, when he addresses The Potential for IFRS Adoption in the U.S. Click here for more information.

Shedding Light on SDL’s Latest Technology Announcement

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:18:26 +0000

SDL International made a technology announcement recently that will be of interest to any of you who are focused on streamlining the way you create, distribute, manage and pay for your global content, whether that be in the form of websites, marketing and sales materials, product documentation, support information, legal documents – whatever. We asked Andrew Draheim, one of the most experienced, hands-on content globalization consultants, to put the SDL announcement in perspective.

NOTE: Neither Andrew nor LISA has had access to software or any specifications, so all comments below are based on publicly available information from SDL.

The World Is NOT Flat, Thomas Friedman!

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:08:05 +0000

What did Facebook have to say at the LISA Forum Asia 2009 in Taipei, after announcing that it had reached 200 million users - 70% of whom are outside of the U.S.? Did you know that Google is currently failing in all non-English search markets in Asia? And why is Thomas Friedman (of the 'world is flat' fame) flat out wrong?

Where Does Taiwan Go From Here as a Global Outsourcer?

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:29:24 +0000

All of us are only too painfully aware of today’s global financial downturn. Asia is being hit particularly hard, since its economies have long relied on exports and manufacturing as a road to increased prosperity. GDP growth in Mainland China dropped to substantially in 2008 compared to a robust 13% in 2007, and industrial production in Taiwan dropped by 32% in December 2008 (The Economist, January 29, 2009). The ever-expanding Western appetite for goods made in Asia has now disappeared, for the most part. It’s now time for the region to cultivate a more diverse economic base with unique offerings and value-added services.

One Software Executive's Advice to Taiwan: Bite the Bullet!

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:13:38 +0000

Sin-Yaw Wang is back and refreshingly candid, as always. Wang, who helped establish the Sun Engineering and Research Institute in China in 2001, and then ran it from 2005-08, recently toured Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam. When we talked to him, he explained why standards are dangerous political weapons of war. He also brought us up-to-date on what’s happening with open source in Greater China, along with his views on Taiwan’s prospects for becoming an outsourcing destination for global product development. I’ll give you a hint – they’re bleak at this point, but he did offer some advice.

The Greater China Economy at a Crossroads: Cross-Straits Collaboration to Build the ‘Innovated in China’ Brand

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 22:49:26 +0000

Joseph Hsu (Chairman of the Board of Symbio Investment Holdings Company) has been a ‘mover and shaker’ in the global outsourcing services industry in Asia since the beginning. In the following interview, he explains why Taiwanese and Mainland business leaders have a joint responsibility to ensure that China doesn’t become another Japan in ten years. It’s now time for people on both sides of the straits to work together to usher in an era based on the “China value” instead of the “China price,” one that is based on collaboration to build the ‘Innovated in China’ brand.

A Wakeup Call for Taiwanese Companies

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:15:53 +0000

You can learn a lot from the companies founded by Taiwanese expats who were schooled abroad and honed their entrepreneurial talents in the U.S. They’re back in force in China and have excellent advice for Taiwan as it searches for the right model to leverage its global ODM/OEM success to move up the value chain to global outsourcing services. Eric Mou of iSoftStone warns other Taiwanese companies (in no uncertain terms) that their window of opportunity is closing very quickly in China. He encourages them to seriously explore the possibility of complementing Taiwan’s IP in the business applications arena with China’s scale to create a world-class services sector for Greater China and the world.