The Localization Industry: A Profile of DNA Media

Abstract

Since the mid-1990s the e-commerce industry experienced dramatic growth that was only the start of a business revolution. With the rapid expansion of Internet related infrastructure equipment and services that allowed low-cost global communications, the beginnings of a truly global economy began to take shape. Riding on the coat tails of this wave was software and content localization services that were a necessary component in selling products and services to different countries and across many cultures. The challenges of operating in a diverse, multicultural market are great, filled with cultural subtleties that can be a minefield for the uninformed. DNA Media, based in Vancouver, Canada, is a software localization company specializing in language, software application and content (Web-based technologies, application design, CD-ROM, DVD and multi-media versioning). The company enjoyed strong growth in its services in the last two years and, by the year 2000 it was in a position to expand rapidly. This case provides insight into how managers of a small but growing information technology company managed its growth, established its market in the software localization industry, and planned for the next phase of expansion.