Tag Archives: iPhone

Reach all your customers with global localization

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The opportunities of the global market make it imperative for software developers to consider software localization as soon as they begin development. Big software developers like Microsoft, Adobe and Cisco routinely release software that is ready for distribution globally, and so should you. Global localization should be your strategy, and it is easier than you think. When developers limit their markets, they also limit their profit potential. The longer a developer waits to consider the challenge of localization, the bigger the challenge to translators when the process starts.

How Localization Works

Localizing a software translates text, colors and images to appeal to the local market where the software is to be sold. It is important to localize to ensure that everything appears intuitive and user-friendly for the target audience. Translation only affects the text used in the program, while localization takes into account every visual and interactive aspect. For example, a translator will ensure that all directions meet the local standard, but won’t look at the imagery used. A translator that specializes in localization is able to make recommendations about graphics as well. You wouldn’t want to picture cows on an agricultural program for distribution in India. Cows are sacred, and the inclusion could dramatically limit sales potential. Localization helps catch and prevent those sorts of errors, before they become a problem.

Enter the “Cloud” and Program for the Future

Successful developers constantly look for underserved markets that need software solutions. Globalization of the economy makes it more crucial than ever to produce single software solutions that cross country boundaries with ease. Since businesses now operate with employees all over the world, speaking a variety of languages, internal communications are as important as external. Software as a Service programs currently make up a growing part of the world-wide software market. Mobile and Web applications are the fastest growing segment of today’s programming industry. Develop software from a 360 degree perspective. Keep in mind the functions customers want, where they live and how to appeal directly to them. Software localization is an important part of making the most of each program. Why spend hundreds of hours developing a program that only sells to those that speak English, when a few additional hours of development net a product that sells to all 6 billion plus people on the planet?

Think Global and Localize

Consider, the English market is filled with software options, and no new users coming on board. Sure, it makes up a big chunk of the software market, 80 percent for locally installed software, but it has a very slim majority of the app market with 51 percent. When you market to mobile users, look for opportunities. Don’t compete with long-established producers, instead, develop for underserved markets, like the 49 percent of purchasers who aren’t native English speakers. The Chinese market continues to expand rapidly, and developing countries are on target to hit 70 percent market penetration with cell phones in the next few years. Businesses already routinely outsource all sorts of work. It saves them money and increases productivity. What they need is software solutions that work in any country and any language. Think globally and realize global profits. Your customers already operate globally, can you afford to do anything less?

Internet linguistics you didn’t know

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As a software developer you know all about the costs of getting a product coded, maintained and marketed, but what you may not know is the importance of localization – let’s call this knowledge internet linguistics. Apps and mobile Web usage are the future of the Internet, and English is not the only language with a solid market share. High cell phone penetration in the US, UK, Australia and Canada pushed the market for the first several years, but a recent study shows that the US only makes up 28 percent of the free app download market and only 34 percent of paid app sales for the iPhone market. Who’s next on the list? Not the UK, Canada or Australia. In the free app market, China comes in at number two, and Japan is second for paid apps. With non-English speaking countries increasing their mobile presence each year, software developers can’t afford to ignore the potential opportunities. Either start translating software for international markets, or risk losing a big share of the market.

What Languages are the Best Bet for Internationalization?

For paid app purchases and mobile users, the current “top ten countries” are US, Japan, UK, Australia, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Switzerland and China. This means that developers only need translation services for five different languages to take advantage of the bulk of the market. More than three-quarters of the total app download market occur in one of these six languages. Because both Japanese and Chinese make the list, translation alone is not enough. Translation takes care of the text, but it doesn’t fix function issues that occur when customer use a language that runs vertically and right-to-left. Putting globalization plans into place from day one can save a lot of money.

Don’t Stop at the Top 10

Sure, the top ten make up the bulk of the software market, but the remaining 26 percent is not trivial. Developing countries improve their Internet user numbers every day. In developed countries, market penetration is fairly static. With at least one computer in almost every home, the United States market has nowhere to go. China added more Internet users in the past three years than live in the United States. Nigeria is projected to take the top spot for mobile internet users by 2015. Sure, the listed national language of Nigeria is English, but it is not the primarily spoken language. To appeal to the Nigerian market think about adding Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba to your localization plans. These are the three most spoken languages in Nigeria and represent a population of approximately 55.4 million people. That doesn’t touch the larger populations of the more global languages, but it certainly represents significant unit sales for those properly positioned to take advantage of this rapidly expanding market.

Start Now and Beat Out the Competition

As with any product, software development is all about timing. Being the first to market gives you a big opportunity to gain a solid customer base. Think globally with production, and earn profits on a larger scale. Adding globalization plans to development products is a small investment with massive earning potential. Make sure you tap all existing and potential markets to maximize your return.