Localization – A Vital Component in the Process of Global ERP Deployment: The Multiple Definitions of Localization as Applied Within the Software and ERP Industry Sectors (PART II)- Further Considerations Pertaining to Compliance With Industry Standards for Successful Global ERP Implementation and Deployment  

ERP Implementation

Global ERP Implementation and Deployment-(PART II)

In the next step,  the localization of the translated documentation and software support material and training documentation is left to the individual foreign market, which then must act on its own in adapting the translated material to their local business practices and industrial needs (thus the need for global ERP software vendors to provide constant 24/ 7,  real- time, online and telephone customer/ technical support, as well as version control, and the release of regular upgrades and updates which are appropriately customized and conform to any eventual changes or fluctuations in the local industrial standards and/or business practices of the foreign market being targeted for penetration, or, depending on the case, of the  multiple foreign markets a company intends to penetrate simultaneously).
Because localization, in all its many forms, is such a complex operation involving many variables covering all the multiple aspects of Internet technology and informatics, a lot of companies follow the standard procedure of hiring the services of multiple staffs of professional consultants and technical experts who are proficient in every aspect of the computer/Internet and information technologies, and especially versatile in computer languages (and familiar with Unicode support software systems) since their development from their early origins. Two of the most popular consulting firms usually employed for this purpose, are IBM Global services and Bearing Point, among others.

As outlined above, some companies must conform to certain industrial standards for efficient global erp implementation and deployment. Some of these, like Unicode compliance, are absolutely indispensable for global market analysis and determining the market potential and global reach of a vendor of global ERP software solutions (as examined in depth earlier, Unicode is one of the primary tools used for global ERP deployment, as it is the standard multi-language translation software platform applied in general by different businesses from multiple and diverse industries, to facilitate the process of multiple foreign market penetration as well as the collection, analysis and encoding of related statistical data/  market demographics for system integration into their central ERP database.)

Exception made for Unicode compliance and industry standard server support platform compatibility (with the Microsoft/.Net framework, the Java computer language, XML and other widely used globally popular systems), aside from that there are really no specific guidelines or standard procedures a business, be it a buyer or vendor, of global ERP systems must perforce follow along the individual steps involved in the process of global ERP implementation. Certainly there are different genres proper to the modus operandi for conducting such a global operation as adopted by several major as well as small ERP software vendors.  

The reason for this is that there is such a great variety of global ERP solutions available to choose from, and because the market, saturated as it is with too many products and vendors, has now become a buyer's market (in this respect, increasing the presence of a global ERP software vendor through the various forms of promotion and advertising provided by online social media networking sites like Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, other networking blogs and discussion forums for exchanging ideas and technical info and where customers are free to offer feedback or their opinion on a particular product or service, and especially TV commercials, are all crucial components in the stages of global ERP deployment).

Written by :

Don Cooper