Beyond Global Websites:
Aligning Business & Technology
Renato Beninatto
Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc. All rights reserved.
Insight for global market leaders
Theme of today’s presentation
 A “translation strategy” does not make lasting
business sense.
 Global organizations need a “transformational
strategy” to manage translation, localization,
and other marketing and infrastructural
changes.
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Agenda
 A brief history of multilingual communication
 A discussion of how globally targeted information often gets
pigeonholed
 An introduction to the global content value chain and its
requirements
 What best practices, tools, and services support the
creation, modification, use, and management of content for
multiple international markets
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
In the beginning communication was
limited to the task at hand…
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Society led to more communication; more
communication led to Babel
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
And to today’s torrent of information in a wide
array of languages and forms
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Business challenge
 Align business needs with technology.
 Understand how you transform content and thus add
value to information.
 This requires thinking about content more broadly than
you do now:
– Content is any digitized information – text, image, video, SQL, script,
application code, or metadata – that conveys meaning or represents
value in interactions or transactions
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
The global content value chain
…and repeat this process ad infinitum for multiple business
units across multiple enterprises around the world with
different consumables, participants, sources, destinations…
On disk
In the field
At corporate
On paper
In your head
Whatever form is required
...
…and put it
over here…
Take something
from here
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Global business mandates tailoring information to
market needs
 Local credibility: National markets
 Complex: Convergent applications
 Scalable: 24x7 across 24 time zones
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Global
News
Competitive Analyses
Documentation
Online Help
Catalog
Changes
Market Scope
Training Materials
Maintenance
Guides
Financial
Information
Business
Intelligence
Online Applications
(e.g., eBay and
Web Services
CRM
E-Mail
FAQ Updates
Brochures
Owner’s Guides
Single
Printed Marketing
Materials
Static
Pocket Guides
Chat Support
Instant Messaging
Volatility
Volatile
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
 Increasing appeal and effectiveness 
Code: Content-rich transactions and other
advanced interactions, such as downloads,
guided self-service, calculator, configurator,
and shopping cart
Text, Images, & Code:
Deeper content about the
company, its products,
vision, successes,
and partners
Code &
Content:
Full range of
help including
search, FAQs
•Who is this organization?
•What does it do?
•How can you contact it?
Basic
home
page
Best
experience
More
compelling
Interactive
Minimum
ante
Next-generation applications require
transformed content
Fly by
wire
Stability
Navigation
Manumatic
iDrive
HVAC
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Code and content are intertwined:
code-content convergence
Code-centric operations:
• Character sets
• Currencies
• Calendars
• Numbers
• Visual presentation
.
.
.
Strings:
• User-visible text
• Debug statements
• Messages
• SQL queries
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Global 24x7 =
the new scalability challenge
E-Mail
Formal Reports
Customer Service
Marketing
Products
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
What doc people and translators think
their job is
Engineering
Specification
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
User’s Guide
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
+Engineering process
+Specialist review
+Cross-check with
industry requirements
+Competitive review
+Schedule review
+Process review
+ISO9000 audit
+Compliance check
+Spell-check
+Proper terminology
+Editorial review
+Specialist review
+Format for publication
+Convert to XML
+Store in repository
+Revise for one-plus
Workflow Tasks
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
Uživatelská
Příručka
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
Online Help
for RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
Service
Guide
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
I N C.
+Translation into Czech
+Quality review
+Local market review
+Format for A4
+ISO9000 audit
+Formatting for online
+Less text
+Step-wise examples
+More graphics
+Editorial review
+Adaptation for technical
service staff
+New text from
engineering group
+Specialist review
+Editorial review
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
How management understands
the global content value chain
Engineering
Specification
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
User’s Guide
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
Uživatelská
Příručka
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
Online Help
for RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
Compliance +
Usability =
Sellability
C O M M O N
S E N S E
Service
Guide
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
A D V I S O R Y,
•New market
I N C.
•New venue
•New audience
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Think outside the traditional document and
translation paradigm
 Effective authoring
 Marketing transformation
 Engineering remediation
 System optimization
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Effective authoring
Clear, understandable text to avoid the GIGO
(“garbage in, garbage out”) syndrome.
Quality source
Transform-ready
Measurable
C O M M O N
Content that is ready for re-purposing, translation,
and use in other formats, markets, and devices.
Compliance with style guides and termbases,
monitoring, and reporting.
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Author: Start with solid source
User’s
Guide –
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitato
r
Writing
Environment
Automated
Tools
C O M M O N
Authoring
Tool
Coding
Tool
Spell-Check
Grammar
Check
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
Prescribed
Language
Controlled
Language
Check
I N C.
Controlled
Language
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Marketing transformations
Customization
Tailored delivery of content depending on medium
or if online, ranging from time- or click-actuated
differences to profile-driven personalization.
Speech
Register
Modification of content dependent on ideolect of
target audience, such as the same info tailored to
service manual or owner’s manual.
Ethnicity
Modification of content to meet expectations of
different cultural enclaves, such as changes to
reflect cultural or religious differences.
Language
C O M M O N
Translation into whatever language
make sense for global market development.
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Transform:
Adapt content to user and market needs
Uživatelská
Příručka
User’s Guide
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
Translation
Memory
C O M M O N
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
Terminology
Repository
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Application remediation
File Type
File type and storage structure changes such as
RTF to HTML; HTML to XML; WordPerfect to
Word; SQL to Excel; SGML to CMS.
Syndication
Scheduled broadcast of data in different formats
for uses such as demand chain, supply chain,
online help, or intranet portal.
Form Factor
Summarization or abbreviation of text from a fullscreen browser application to a cell phone’s small
screen to in-car telematics.
Locale
Logistics
Changes in information required by different
currency, payment, measures or other marketspecific business issues and practices.
Regulatory
Added features or modifications required by
regulatory bodies (e.g., privacy statements or
EU-mandated disclosures for distance selling).
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Fix:
Remediate infrastructure and applications
RotoTech
Application
and User
Interface Code
UK English
RotoTech
Application
and User
Interface Code
LocaleIndependent &
Localized
Prepare
Systems for
Global Content
Adapt
Systems to
Market Needs
Test Resulting
Applications
Internationalization
Localization
Testing
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Management imperatives
Rigor
Reliability
Return on
investment
C O M M O N
Create information life cycle solutions with the
same attention to design, performance, and
scalability traditionally reserved for transactions.
Extend reliability, availability, scalability, and
security (RAS2) concerns to a 24 x 7 x 365 x global
context.
Religiously set metrics and measure them to
determine the intrinsic value of source code and
content, and their transformations.
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Optimize: Manage projects
Uživatelská
Příručka
User’s Guide
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
Basic Project
Management
•
•
•
•
•
Integration
Scope
Time and Cost
Human Resource
Communications
C O M M O N
–
RotoTech
Stent
Rehabilitator
Enterprise
Project
Management
Translation
Project
Management
Translation
Workflow
Management
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
ERP integration
Human Resource
External Agencies
Communications
Risk
Vendor Management
Portfolio Management
S E N S E
Invoicing
Account management
Client interactions
Vendor management
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Conversions
Translation Memories
Glossaries
Editing
Review
Testing
Quality
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Cui bono?
Manage
Measure
Establish
KPIs
Discover
Set
Objectives
Metrics:
Quantify revenue and share growth
 Revenue:
– Boost profitability of international operations
– Increase revenue from existing markets
– Acquire revenue from new markets
 Share:
–
–
–
–
Grab share from competitors
Own a segment (e.g., midrange products)
Enlarge client base in existing markets
Protect share in existing markets
 Market entry:
– Accelerate time to market for new products
– Meet regulatory requirements
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Metrics:
Improve customer service
Work harder to quantify:
 Boost lifetime value of a customer
 Improve customer loyalty
 Increase customer retention





Reduce cost through localized self-service
Establish competitive service levels
Support business buyers with localized service
Decrease liability through more effective communication
Lower administrative and transaction costs
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Metrics:
Enhance branding
 Improve brand awareness
 Increase brand value regionally or internationally
 Manage brand better and more efficiently across
markets
 Associate brand with local culture
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Conclusions
 Global content value chain unlocks value for other
markets
 Organizations need to think about transforming
content in many ways, not just translating
 Focus of global marketing, corporate learning, and
knowledge management – and systems that
support them
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Thank you.
Renato Beninatto
[email protected]
www.commonsenseadvisory.com
 “Beggars at the Globalization Banquet”
 “Real World Enterprise”
 “Beyond Global Websites”
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A D V I S O R Y,
I N C.
Copyright © 2005 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.