Localisation: The Life Cycle of Digital ContentReinhard Schäler

Director, Localisation Research Centre (LRC), UL

Principal Investigator, CNGL

Digital Ireland WorkshopGuinness Storehouse25 July 2011

Who we are

What is Localisation?

Adaptation of digital content

to culture, locale and

linguistic environmentat high quality, speed, volume

and low cost

Key enabling, value adding,

multiplier component ofglobal manufacturing, services,

software and content

distribution business

multilingual society, global

communication, user-driven

multilingual digital content

56.2 % of consumers say that the ability to obtain information in their own language is more important than price

72.4 percent of consumers say they would be more likely to buy a product with information in their own language

The global market for language services was US$26 billion in 2010

Companies that are in favor of technology grow nearly three times as fast as companies that have mixed feelings about it or are against it

Suppliers with between 21 and 50 full-time employees (FTEs) reported a staggering growth rate of 157.33% for 2008-2010.Source: Common Sense Adisory

Ireland, a world leaderLargest exporterCentre of Excellence

The Business Case for LocalisationWeb Reservations International (WRI)

Founded in 1999

Ten years later:Used by > 23k accommodation providers in >180 countries

Sold >70m beds

Processed >15m bookings

>2.7m reviews posted by customers

Sold €350m in 2008

Net revenues €38m

Founded in 1999

Ten years later: net revenues of €38m

Oct 2009WRI is up for sale

The Business Case for LocalisationWeb Reservations International (WRI)

The Business Case for LocalisationWeb Reservations International (WRI)

Founded in 1999

Ten years later: net revenues of €38m

October 2009WRI is up for sale

November 2009The Irish Times’ Breaking News reports that Hellman and Friedman have purchased WRI for, reportedly, >€200m

The Business Case for LocalisationWeb Reservations International (WRI)

ImagineIf hostelworld.com had just been in English…

The lessonLocalisation increases the value of your digital content manyfold

The ROI of localisation activities is always higher than that in original content development

It has to be part of your global communications strategy

Essential Component in Digital Content Life Cycle

Serving the Global Customer and the Multilingual Society

CreationBy humans or machines

AnnotationAssociation of metadata

TransformationIncluding translation, text-to-speech, personalisation

ProcessingPreparation and maintenance of data

DeliveryMulti-modal, multi-platform

Individual Motivation &

Learning

Resource Sharing

Collective Action

Self Governance

Product Delivery

Sales and Marketing

Customer Care

Business Management

Global Customer

Multilingual Society

CNGL Research Tracks

NextGenerationLocalisation

SystemsFramework

En

terp

rise

Loca

lisa

tion

Pe

rso

na

lise

d L

oca

lisa

tion

Unified Model

DigitalContentManagement

IntegratedLanguageTechnologies MT

SpeechNLP

Adaptive HypermediaIR, Social Networking

DesignStandardsWorkflowsCrowd SourcingEvaluation

Software Eng.HCIDemonstratorsEvaluation

VolumeAccess

PersonalisationIntegration

Integration

CNGL Key Achievements

Innovation PlatformsMaTreX MT System

Muse Speech System

Solas Localisation Framework

Adaptive Engine (Personalisation)

Social media tools

Service-Oriented Localisation Architecture Solution

A flexible localisation framework easily adaptable to the

requirements of specific projects of SMEs

Opportunities

NationallyExample: 90% of tourism-related websites are not localised leading to a significant loss in revenues

Collaboration with Multinationals

InternationallyOutreach to growing user communities in Asia and Africa

Collaboration with enterprise, governments, intergovernmental organisations & NGOs

Industry Interaction & Outreach

Thank you!

Centre for Next Generation Localisationwww.cngl.ie

Localisation Research Centre (LRC)LRC XVI: Vertical vs. Virtual – 21st Century Localisation Strategies and 3rd Multilingual Web Workshop (EU & W3C)Limerick 21-23 September 2011www.localisation.ie

Action for Global Information Sharing (AGIS)AGIS ‘11 Event, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; Addis Ababa, 01-02 December 2011www.agis11.org