Building the Case for Global Readiness Michele Coady Director, Global Readiness, Microsoft April 14, 2015

For a company to succeed in worldwide markets, they must enable the right customer experiences by making their products locally relevant, culturally appropriate and market ready

How You See the World Depends on Where You Are From http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Whole_world_-_land_and_oceans_12000.jpg

If a company is globally ready it… Can enhance the company’s reputation for trust, respect and reliability Can expand revenue potential by increasing appeal and relevance across cultural boundaries Can foster an environment of trust and understanding by removing barriers that could deter customers Can offer a compete advantage in both local and global markets

If a company isn’t globally ready it… Can cause offense by having products and content containing insensitive and/or ethnocentric views Can lead to exposure of legal and regulatory risk Can lead to lost revenue Can incur negative media exposure, boycotts, public demonstrations Can have an impact on trusted relationships

How to be more globally ready Create a network of diversity champions in the company Make it a “business” problem, not a “global readiness” problem Top down support: Executive sponsorship Bottom up support: Building communities and champions Integration into product development cycle Sufficient resources Support from market specialists, testimonials, case-studies, stories, etc.

Global Readiness Challenges Staying agile as the world changes! Operating in a borderless world – multilingual, multicultural, multigeo Considering cloud and mobile requirements Dealing with social media content

Assessing Global Readiness Risk It’s a complex world: where to start?

Risk assessments can differ depending on the context Market, audience, and product come into play in the review process Where it will be sold or seen Type of product or service Target audience Current events

Where can this image be used? Games: OK Maps: not OK

From the Microsoft Xbox Halo 4 Game

Context and Current Events

All content must be reviewed for geopolitical inaccuracies or insensitivities Text All text (User interface, code, code comments, resources) Marketing communications, advertising Other communications (social media, blogs) Non-text Videos Audio Images

Images can create special risks Can evoke emotional reactions Can influence beliefs Can recall memories Not always globally appropriate

Images - Flags South Korea's flag was accidentally used to introduce Team North Korea players during the London 2012 Olympics.

Images - Flags Using flags during sports events can be a problem

Images - Maps

Images - Political

Images – Religion/Spirituality By Nikeman916 (talk) (Uploads).Nikeman916 at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ADome_of_the_Rock%2C_Jerusalem_(2006).jpg This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Images – National Symbols Maya site of Coba Mexico – EnglishDavid, author This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mexico_October_2011_Maya_Riveria_014.JPG

Images - Ethnicity & Stereotypes It is important to respect the diversity of customers; this respect should be reflected in the content. Avoid negative stereotypes Provide a balanced view of any group of people. Avoid assigning a single characteristic to any large group. These files are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. 1) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ANelson_Mandela.jpgBy White House Photograph Office, Clinton Administration [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons 2) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGeisha_dressed_for_tea_ceremony.jpg 3) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMountfujijapan.jpg 4) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AChallenger_Ferry_Flight_Flyover_of_Lyndon_B._Johnson_Space_Center.jpg

Images - People

Images – Cultural Sensitivities Flag of Pakistan

Images - Symbols, Numbers Symbols and numbers used outside of normal contexts should be reviewed for secondary meanings For example, the numbers ‘88’ and ‘18’ can be offensive in some markets

Images - Regional and Historical Accuracy People can usually tell when a character or theme isn’t accurate Accurately reflect period clothing, architecture, art, etc. Be aware of intra-regional sensitivities Remember that significant cultural differences can exist within countries

Risqué or Mature Images Risqué and mature images or references may not be acceptable in content Entertainment products may be an exception, depending on the market, the audience and the age rating of the product

Global Readiness at Microsoft 11/17/2018 12:33 AM Global Readiness at Microsoft Diverse Cultures, Many Languages, One World © 2014 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

Microsoft Global Readiness Team Dedicated team provides awareness, assessment, and risk management in three areas Geopolitical Readiness –Microsoft products are culturally respectful and accurate and comply with local regulations and requirements World Readiness –Microsoft products meet globalization and localizability requirements Language Readiness –Microsoft provides the correct level of localization and enables appropriate language experiences

Microsoft Global Readiness Practices Global Readiness training available to all Microsoft employees Extensive documentation available on countries, languages, maps, locales, images, etc. Internal tools to support and validate Global Readiness for all Microsoft products External solutions provided for developers, including international developers

Supporting international app developers Language Portal Supporting international app developers Search for and download: Microsoft terminology Microsoft style guides (English + localized) Millions of re-usable, Product UI strings Translation APIs, integration with apps (Multi-Lingual App toolkit) Content in 108 languages

Building a bridge: languages, cultures, and technology Local Language Program Building a bridge: languages, cultures, and technology Language Interface Packs Keyboard builder Language preservation showcases Custom machine translation Microsoft global coverage by product News about language @ Microsoft

Kinect Chinese Sign Language video - Microsoft The ability to communicate across linguistic barriers

More information Microsoft Commitment to Global Readiness Microsoft Global Readiness Blog Microsoft Language Portal Microsoft Local Language Portal

Thank you! "Shanghaiviewpic1" by dawvon - Pudong. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanghaiviewpic1.jpg#/media/File:Shanghaiviewpic1.jpg "Shanghaiviewpic1" by dawvon - Pudong. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanghaiviewpic1.jpg#/media/File:Shanghaiviewpic1.jpg