SDL Blog

Just a few moments ago, our very own Chip Gettinger chatted with Amber Swope of DITA Strategies on one of our most successful DITA webinars ever - we had over 240 attendees. It seems the hunger for learning about DITA best practises and the future trends for strutured content will continue to grow through 2012. We certainly hope so.

If you missed it, don't fret - the recording will be available on our website as soon as possible. And here are some highlights of what our two 'gurus' discussed today, as well as some of the great questions asked.

• The Product Content Maturity Model and the DITA Maturity Model
  • You don't have to mature your DITA usage in any exact order. If you're particularly spry, you can take on more than one step at a time.
• Searching for content to reuse
  • Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should (such as reusing entire maps)
• Implementing a Component Content Management System
  • You can only reuse content that you can find. CCMS makes content easy to find.
• Intelligent sharing of content
  • Focus on content that is already designed for reuse, such as a glossary.
• Complex versioning
  • The classic use case for complex versioning is product name changes due to updated releases, re-branding, or concurrent releases
  • Keep referencing simple
  • Start small and build up over time
• Refining content models
  • Customize your authoring environment to show only supported elements by implementing DITA 1.2 constraints
  • Optimize for localization
  • Take a step back from the printed visual representation and think about what existing visual queues mean
• Provide authoring templates and automation
  • Provide boilerplate examples to get your writers started
  • Automate publishing!

With such a large group of attendees hungry to learn, there were a lot of questions for Chip and Amber. Here are some of the ones that we thought you might like to read. You can comment on this post if you want to ask any more and we'll answer them as soon as possible.

Q.) What is an example of a Component Content Management System?
A.) SDL Trisoft is an excellent example. With its unique baseline capability, support for conditions and variables, and integrations with popular desktop editors such as XMetal and FrameMaker 

Q.) Should authors recommend content for reuse?
A.) Yes, absolutely. One major benefit to deploying DITA within the organization is making writers more efficient, and by recommending reusable content they can participate in making their job easier. 

Q.) Is taxonomy a prerequisite for DITA?
A.) Actually, no. Metadata is important for reuse, and DITA 1.2 introduces a mechanism for capturing a taxonomy. However, taxonomy implementation typically doesn't materialize until the 3rd or 4th stage of DITA maturity.

Q.) What authoring tools are commonly used by SDL Trisoft customers?
A.) SDL Trisoft supports SDL Xopus, an exciting browser-based editor for any contributors (even the casual ones) within your organization. Additionally, SDL Trisoft integrates with JustSystems XMetal, PTC Arbortext, and Adobe FrameMaker.

Q.) How can we improve our review process, bringing in reviewers across the enterprise?

A.) This is a very pertinent question for 2012 and the future of structured content management. One that many organisations are asking themselves as they look to bring subject matter experts into the workflow but without putting a burden on the publishing process. One way to facilitate the review process is to reduce the complexity of authoring by allowing reviewers to access structured content for review without having to understand XML or the tools that are designed for XML. SDL Xopus is designed for such a scenario, as an online XML editor for non-technical authors and reviewers.

Q.) Where do we find the DITA 1.2 constraint mechanism?

A.) Look in the DITA 1.2 specification for the basics and search online for resources, such as tutorials on applying constraints.

We'll be updating this post as new questions come in. Thanks for attending!

Have you noticed that the way people work has changed over the past decade? As organizations adopt a more dynamic, real time nature of business, the way individuals and teams work together is changing as well. Of course, it’s the internet that has primarily driven this change - making collaboration, sharing and communication easier.

According to Gartner, “By 2015, 40 percent or more of enterprise work will be ‘non-routine,’ up from 25 percent in 2010. [People] will work with others with whom they have few links.  Teams will include people outside the control of the enterprise.”  To address this trend, teams need solutions that enable collaboration regardless of location.

Today, SDL is launching SDL Studio GroupShare - A collaboration solution for small to medium sized translation teams who have out-grown purely desktop solutions and are looking for a better way to centrally manage translation memories, terminology and translation projects.

In both technology and business, cloud is a hot topic.  At SDL, things are no different and we are expanding cloud offerings to support a more dynamic, versatile translation environment.

As part of the release of SDL Trados Studio 2011 SP1, translators can now take advantage of SDL BeGlobal – the industry’s first cloud platform for trusted, automated translation – with a free SDL BeGlobal Community account.

We are very excited here at SDL, as we look back over the last 20 years and celebrate the success of SDL. It really has been a great success story that started with a couple of people in a living room here in Maidenhead, UK and has now grown to over 2400 employees in 60 offices across 35 countries! You can visit our history page on the website for more information on the growth of SDL. 

We had a look at some interesting statistics from 1992 and we will show you more of those throughout the year. One that I found interesting was that AT&T released a video phone in 1992 for $1,499! And you look at the world today – over 5 billion smartphones are used globally!

One of the technical aspects of .NET which can impact localization is the concept of signed assemblies. In this blog I will share with you what signing of assemblies is about and how to deal with them in the context of software localization.

After being passed over for consideration as late as 2009, South Africa has taken its place within the BRIC (now BRICS) group. While this is all fine and well, there are two questions for many people outside of South Africa:

1) Why consider South Africa as one of the leaders among developing economies?

2) Why should any of this matter to the point that I read this blog?

Let’s start with the first one, because it should help answer the second one. On the surface, that question is very difficult to answer. Let’s look at a few facts:

First, Africa is home to a billion people – over 15% reside in Nigeria (more than Russia, and 3x that of South Africa). Nigeria is experiencing massive internal growth and international exposure due to its oil deposits. Additionally, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC), which is the company Nigeria runs all state oil work through has put in an extensive governmental protection package that requires 70% of all jobs in the oil business be locally-sourced. This localization model ensures that a solid, sustainable infrastructure for Nigeria (and its people) will be in place for the future.

Second, Mexico (who along with Brazil, India, China and South Africa makes up the G8’s Outreach Five) has an equal global footing to South Africa. Plus, Mexico has significantly stronger ties to the United States – a country that is a major trade partner with all of the original BRIC nations.

Finally, no other country in Africa has a reputation more tied to the colonial past of the entire continent than South Africa. While public perception changes much slower than reality, South Africa is still viewed by many on the continent with a negative eye. By asking them into the BRIC, they would become the de facto voice of the continent.

However, when you dig below the surface, the reasoning for this decision is quite clear, lucid and significant to the way global companies can move their product into international markets, especially organizations based in the United States. Here’s why:

First of all, South Africa’s GDP is the largest on the entire continent. Despite the fact that Nigeria has triple the population, South Africa still maintains a GDP that is almost double that of Nigeria ($422 billion US versus $247 billion US)[1]. This is a significant fact, not at all lost on the BRIC countries. Additionally, Nigeria’s presence on the global petroleum stage would put it in potential conflict with Russia, whose main export is also petroleum. Part of what makes BRIC work as an entity is the fact that none of them share the same skill set, main export, etc. This creates an environment of cooperation.

Second, Mexico’s ties to the United States actually hurt them in this decision. While Mexico has a GDP that is triple that of South Africa’s[2], its main reserve currency is the USD. The four main reserve currencies in the world are the US dollar, British sterling, Japanese yen and the Euro. However, the latter three are usually held only for the purposes of covering any potential loss on the USD. The four countries decided in Yekaterinburg, in 2009, to institutionalize BRIC through regular summits, ministerial meetings and contacts between central banks. Their primary aim is to remove the US dollar as the world’s main reserve currency following the global financial crisis and recession originating in the US. South Africa’s Rand (ZAR) is one of the most “floated” currencies in the global marketplace.[3] Thus, the ZAR provides the BRICS with a proven, alternative currency that could be used as a reserve currency in lieu of the US dollar, or their own national currencies.

Finally, while South Africa may be still restoring its surface image, it does have something that no other country can claim – access to the continent of Africa. South Africa is the largest investor in other African countries. South African companies have operations in over half of the other countries in Africa[4]. Engaging South Africa gives the BRIC countries access to an additional 1 billion people. There is no other country that can provide that type of access with such immediacy.

So, why does it matter that South Africa was chosen? Well, from a global business perspective, companies based in the US have a new point of entry to Africa, but also to the other BRICS countries.

As an example for medical device and pharmaceutical companies, the regulatory and competitive environments of Brazil (MERCOSUR), China and India create a significant amount of front-end entry costs, and typically deliver lower than expected ROI. By moving into South Africa, where regulatory environments are more favorable, companies have an established beach head. The explicit partnership between these nations can generate favorable gains for US-based products.

Additionally, for retail goods, engaging with South Africa provides a stepping point for product demand in all of these countries. Acceptance of your product, or service, in South Africa now sends a more significant signal to 4 countries that make up 18% of the GDP and 41% of the world population.[5]

So, while adding an “S” to BRIC may not make the average person put down the spoonful of cornflakes in the morning, this is a significant turn of events for the global economy and powerbases. We would be remiss not to take notice and cast our eye on the actions that come out of Sanya City, PRC (home of the 2011 BRICS conference).

Wir freuen uns, dass die Klingelnberg AG mit dem renommierten tekom Dokupreis 2011 während der tekom Jahrestagung ausgezeichnet wurde. Einen wichtigen Beitrag hierzu leisteten die SDL-Lösungen.

Pascal Kesselmark, Leiter der Technischen Dokumentation bei Klingelnberg: „Wir freuen uns sehr über diese Auszeichnung, da wir kontinuierlich an der Optimierung der Technischen Dokumentation arbeiten. Um dies zu erreichen, müssen wir nicht nur die richtigen Softwarelösungen und unser fachliches Know How einsetzen, sondern auch die Prozesse stetig optimieren. Die SDL-Lösungen unterstützen uns hierbei enorm, denn wir können damit die inhaltliche Qualität automatisiert sicherstellen. Was nützen klar definierte Schreibregeln, wenn man diese nicht einhält oder wieso akzeptiert man höhere Übersetzungskosten, weil gleiche Inhalte mehrmals in ähnlicher Form geschrieben werden? Und genau hier liegt die Stärke von SDL: Man kann sehr einfach Prüfregeln auf Wort- und Satzebene erstellen und so, ohne Mehrkosten, die Überprüfung der Inhalte seinen Qualitätsbedürfnissen anpassen. Bereits übersetzte Texte können wiederverwendet werden, so dass die Übersetzungskosten reduziert und eine sprachliche Durchgängigkeit in unterschiedlichen Dokumenten gewährleistet wird. Durch die Autorenunterstützung von SDL kann ich als Verantwortlicher für die Technische Dokumentation sicher sein, dass die Dokumente auch strukturell und formal in Ordnung sind und mich auf das Wesentliche konzentrieren – nämlich die Inhalte!“

I was really happy that Jack Molisani decided to host Lavacon this year in my adopted backyard, Austin TX. LavaCon, for those that don’t know, is a conference dedicated to digital content and this years theme was Developing Content for a Global Audience which is a perfect theme for the time we are in.

In the globalised world in which we operate, where what happens in Greece affects citizens here in the UK and a tsunami in Japan impacts sales in the US, exports are seen as a way of aiding recovery. An article in the news today highlights the discussion.

Companies need to be able to take products globally and do so from a multi-channel perspective in this day and age. It is no longer the case that we can think in our own islands or countries. As economies at home falter, economies elsewhere in the globe are growing and capturing those markets is key to success as a business. SDL helps companies with their sales and marketing in global markets - helping them set up multilingual, brand consistent websites that are also prepared for mobile and that speak to local markets, ensuring operational efficicencies for creating user and technical support information and overall helping companies engage with their global customers. You can find out by listening to some of our customers say it themselves - HP, Informatica and LG to name a few.

By Patrick Hartnett, Developer

SDLXLIFF Compare is a compact and fast tool used for comparing SDL XLIFF files and display the comparison results in an XML/HTML report. The comparison report is formatted in a way that simplifies the understanding of what changes were made from one version of the file to the other, whether it is textual content or segment status modifications.