Traditionally, multilingual software applications and Web sites allowed users to select a language from a list containing multiple languages at the set-up and log-in stage. The language was then installed and displayed on all screens, menus, and help text. That sufficed when the application’s use was confined to a single language at a time.
With the increasing globalization of the twenty-first century, co-workers who are spread across many countries in multinational corporations need to work cohesively as one unit. The traditional level of multilingual support no longer suffices. Multinational corporations need the next level of multilingual functionality from their software applications to boost productivity and, in some cases, even meet compliance with local regulations.
Product managers in product companies and solution architects of custom-developed applications can enhance the marketability of their software applications by creating a roadmap for incorporating the sophisticated multilingual requirements that such multinational corporations need.
My article on this subject just got published in TEC. Check it out at TEC’s website here or click here to download a PDF version.