Internationalization
Standards such as W3C’s i18n provide a framework for internationalizing software. Application Service Providers (ASP) have recognized that presenting their websites in another language opens new markets, even in the same geographic region.
Online Asset Management Software (OAMS) has issues to consider other than changing the language in which it presents its information. OAMS needs localization: addresses may be vastly different in each country, accounting rules have different standards internationally, privacy rules may be different depending upon jurisdiction, and property management processes vary between regions of the same country. An asset management company may be responsible for properties in several countries and may need to present the same data in a variety of ways.
The architecture to handle internationalization of OAMS will be quite intricate. The OAMS should use a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to more easily integrate with other software, such as that for local accounting needs. In what format to store the transaction registry and its metadata is up for debate based upon security, size, and the frequency with which it is presented in differing accounting standards. Depending upon system size, Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) may manage the interaction between systems, in order to ease configurations. The language internationalization will be the easiest addition.
But I digress.