Introduction to Globalization

Globalization as used in NetSuite is a combination of internationalization, localization and translatability. Internationalization stands for designing, developing or modifying a feature or an object in such a way so that it can be localized without need for any further changes.

If we use a construction analogy, internationalization is the core of a building, the steel beams and concrete blocks, translation is the walls, floors and ceilings and localization concerns the finishing touches, the windows and doors.

Localization concerns changes that have to be performed on a translated text so that it feels natural to a customer using NetSuite in their native language. For example, some countries use periods and some use commas to separate decimal numbers. In some countries, texts are read from left to right, while in others, the direction is inverted. Localization focuses on these issues.

Translatability is a property of an object that specifies that the object can be translated. Before an object, field or a record can be translated, it has to be translatable.

Translation stands for conveying the meaning of the source text into another language in such a manner so that no part of the information contained in the source text is lost. Translation does not have to have the same length, same sentence structure or number of words, but it has to convey the meaning of the source text.

The following features are available for you to globalize NetSuite:

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