The localisation of software and web content for disparate users is essential for firms wishing to compete in the global IT market. Given the limited size of the Australasian market, and dominant vendors in many of the most important sectors, the issue is one of great moment for the future of software development in the region. While localisation of a small-scale application for a second environment may appear straightforward, ad hoc approaches are less successful as size and the number of target locales increase, and more complex applications may bring the costs of re-engineering into sharp relief. Moreover, even the obvious step of isolating localisable elements from the core application structure is of limited benefit if the management of translated strings is neglected. In short, successful localisation to multiple environments is characterised by a structured and integrated approach to software internationalisation, and the academic computer science community has a key role to play in ensuring progress in this area:

• By researching the core issues and integrating internationalisation processes within mainstream software engineering practices;
• By developing, in collaboration with industry, appropriate tools to assist the professional developer in identifying and managing localisable content;
• By fostering the application of new methods in Natural Language Processing to support localisation, and integrating these technologies with professional tool sets;
• By fostering an awareness of the issues and the available solutions among the small and medium enterprises which dominate our development industry, and by educating internationalisation-aware software professionals.