subject: Delocalization - Who Needs It? [print this page] Delocalization - Who Needs It? Delocalization - Who Needs It?
We already have localization to adapt products to local markets. Who needs delocalization?
Localization and delocalization are entirely different processes, not necessarily opposites of one another. They apply to different types of products, markets, and situations. The objective of localization is to fit a product to a particular market. The need for delocalization stems from the fact that a "local" developer, who intends to distribute a product globally, must remove the linguistic and cultural elements of the product that are specific to the environment in which it was developed in order to improve its chances on international markets. The greater the cultural distance between the development environment and that of the target markets, the greater the need for delocalization is.
Localization is generally carried out for sizeable software systems deployed in a given market. For example, when a large company like SAP or Oracle enters the Israeli market with strategic ERP or CRM system sold to major customers such as banks, hospitals, etc., the vendor, together with the local integrator, localize the product for the Israeli market. This includes the translation of the interfaces into Hebrew and the addition of the functionality required by the conditions of the Israeli market and the reporting requirements of the regulatory authorities. Localization of this type is a complex and demanding process that combines design, development, translation, integration, and extensive testing. The results is a product adapted to one specific market.
Delocalization is an operation carried out by a developer interested in distributing a product on the international market to a broad assortment of English- speaking customers. Instead of adapting the product to the needs of one specific market, delocalization tends to remove from the product the characteristics that reflect local conditions, to make the product as generic as possible. Products that undergo delocalization are intended for a large number of international customers, generally without distinction between specific markets. For example, NoteTab, an editor developed in Switzerland and sold over the Internet for $19.95, does not support Hebrew because it did not undergo localization for the Israeli market. On the other hand, the developer made available to the English-speaking international customer a product that is not seeped in Swiss attributes such as a German interface, Swiss currency or date and time defaults, European formatting of numbers, file names with local connotations, functions that are of interest only in a Swiss context, graphics based on local motifs, and so on. This is because the product underwent delocalization, and its Swiss roots have been masked.
Thus, delocalization begins with a competent translation into English of the interface and the documentation. But it doesn't end there. All the components of the interface are checked to ensure that no elements, potentially offensive in some cultures, are lurking in the product, and that the product is not affected by functionality that is relevant only in the developer's setting. Delocalization ensures that the verbal and graphic messages of the interface and the documentation (including alerts, error messages, etc.) are culturally neutral and that their understanding does not depend on local context.
Products that didn't undergo proper delocalization are perceived as amateurish on international markets. Israeli developers often ignore the need for proper delocalization, at times with embarrassing results. Note, however, that the objective of delocalization is not to conceal the place of origin of the product. On the contrary. Just as the icon of NoteTab is the Swiss white cross on a red background (although without a shepherd named Wilhelm blowing into an Alpine horn), so does the Jaffa sticker decorate the global Israeli orange (but without the fool's hat).
