Today, most companies planning the worldwide release of a product will likely debate the merits of whether or not to “simship” (i.e. releasing a product worldwide all at once rather than in their home market first with localized versions available later). While companies new to global markets may shy away from “simship,” more established worldwide companies have embraced the “simship” strategy for several significant reasons. First, localizing and releasing their product in all markets at once allows these companies to generate global revenues faster (rather than just in their home market). Second, delays can be costly. By making localization a tail-end process, companies are only deferring the work and, more important, missing the opportunity to trouble-shoot their product across all localized platforms before release. Third, new internationalization technologies are making the process more agile, allowing more frequent product releases worldwide.
In short, while a “simship” approach may mean more up-front costs and more time required before a product is released, emerging companies new to the global marketplace should give “simship” serious consideration. As more established worldwide companies will attest to, the benefits of the “simship” approach far outweigh the initial sacrifices.
For additional information on this topic, please also refer to Adam Asnes’ article: The Business Why and How of Simship
