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Can you remember what was the first thing you did when you got your latest mobile device? Maybe configure it to your language? That was probably it. And that is because people tend to use software in their own language.
But how can you achieve this? The answer is through software localization services.
What is software localization?
Software localization refers to the process of adapting software to meet the language, cultural, and other specific requirements of a particular target market. This involves translating software user interfaces, documentation, and other related content into the language of the target market, as well as making other necessary modifications to ensure that the software is appropriate for the local market.
Localization can also include customizing the software for the target market’s specific needs and preferences, such as formatting dates and numbers, using appropriate units of measurement, and accommodating local legal and regulatory requirements.
Who needs software localization?
Now let’s see who needs software localization services in order to provide a fully customized product to their potential audience and become successful in the global market.
1. Mobile app developers – Maybe the most prominent case for software localization services?
Nowadays, there is a huge range of mobile apps, closely related to our everyday activities. People use quite a lot of them for different purposes, such as work, entertainment, purchases and many others.
If you are a mobile app developer, you know very well that digital marketplaces have made it easier than ever for you to expand globally, promote your app and distribute it wherever you want.
Software localization in your case is essential because a non-localized product could become annoying to use, if not completely unusable. You should consider this especially when you start expanding beyond your natural borders. This is key in order to build a stellar reputation from the beginning!
2. Web app developers – web apps are also gaining ground
As the successor of web development, web apps behave and work similarly to mobile apps, but they require much more user engagement.
As a web app developer, you can surely understand the critical importance of an effectively localized content, since your target audience needs to interact with the app in a dynamic environment. Without localization, this could be a rather frustrating process.
Since your product can be delivered online, content localization could work wonders in your case.
3. eLearning and training content service providers – share the experience faster
There is no doubt that learning activities work much better in the audience’s target language. There is already a hard effort to be made on the target user side to assimilate knowledge, so a perfectly localized content would push your learning product to higher levels.
As an eLearning or training content developer, you are among the best candidates for software localization services – you would approach your audience much easier and share knowledge much faster!
4. eCommerce businesses – consider the added value of a localized software interface
eCommerce has seen an incredible development during the last few years. Selling and buying through the Internet, in a variety of platforms, eliminating, at the same time, the need for a physical store, opens numerous business opportunities.
If you are an ecommerce business, you know that your buyers are more likely to make a purchase in a language they understand. This will make them feel at ease and also help you gain trust from your potential customers, expand your customer base and deliver a high quality user experience.
5. Metaverse and AR/VR app providers – a perfect match for software localization services
If you develop apps for AR/VR environments, you already agree that localization is a prerequisite in your case. Augmented and virtual reality apps open a new, amazing world, offering a highly immersive user experience. What could help you more than localization, given that a “metaverse”, the new universe of services and apps, creates new ways for a more active interaction with your software?
6. SaaS (Software as a Service) providers – a new business model for software distribution
If you are a SaaS provider, you distribute your software products to your clients in the cloud, where they also use your products, instead of their local machines. This means that you have already surpassed the geographical restrictions and operate your business in a global ecosystem.
Since there is a flexible way for you to offer your products globally, almost in the form of a service, you can imagine that localization could create huge opportunities for you, since people would be able to use your software in the language they understand. This type of localization entails more complex processes, especially because this is about live products, but the benefits are of a different scale too.
7. Multilingual content publishers – a digital experience that goes beyond the static content
A well-known challenge for multilingual content providers, is that many apps in this market entail user-generated content. It is therefore more difficult to customize the whole digital experience for a specific audience. However, software localization services can work more seamlessly than ever in the local adaptation of user-generated content. This is quite important for customer reviews, forums and other similar forms of content, that really make sense in the user’s native language.
8. Gaming developers – creating fully immersive experience with localization
Gaming software developers have much to gain from content adapted to the end user’s reality, from a linguistic and cultural point of view. With localization, gamers will become even more passionate and engaged with your products, and this is what you need to successfully promote your game anywhere in the world!
9. Desktop app providers – a market that keeps on giving
Although cloud applications tend to predominate, there is still a market for desktop apps. Adaptation in the local reality of the target audience is still important if you take into account that some countries have specific localization requirements for the products that they import. These requirements could apply to more than one spoken languages in a given area or region. You should therefore investigate this aspect before moving forward with your expansion plans!
The importance of software localization
As we can see, software localization services play an essential role in your success on a global level, in all fields described above. There is nothing more appealing in a software product than a customized environment that is as close as possible to the end-user reality and stimuli. This makes the product feel familiar to potential clients, as if it was created directly in their own language and culture. A non-localized product can’t have the same impact. This can only be achieved through efficient localization.
On the other hand, we shouldn’t forget that a poorly localized product can considerably harm the user’s intention to buy, and this is something that can’t be easily recovered in the short term.
Localize your content with Commit Global
If you operate in any of the market sectors mentioned above and you are considering localization as part of your globalization plans, you should act carefully when choosing your localization partner.
Commit Global has a dedicated software localization team of project managers and linguists that can help with your localization struggles. We cover a variety of languages and dialects, provide support for different platforms and act as a consultant to create a personalized plan of action for your project. Contact our friendly team now and start your localization journey with us!
