In an era where multilingual content must navigate complex regulatory frameworks and reach local audiences on time with accuracy, enterprises face a growing tension: How to scale localisation without sacrificing speed, accuracy or compliance. Leading organisations use structured content as a catalyst to simplify localisation, accelerate global publishing and ensure brand trust across markets and jurisdictions.

From complexity to clarity: How structured content transforms localisation at scale.

Often, localisation is treated as an afterthought. But in global markets, it must be fast, accurate and scalable — without incurring heavy costs. Structured content is the key to transform localisation from a fragmented workflow into a strategic, repeatable business advantage. Across every regulated industry, global expansion now demands more than translation. Brands must deliver accurate, compliant and culturally resonant content — every time, in every language. This also introduces risk. In fields like medical devices, financial services and manufacturing, even minor miscommunications can carry significant legal, financial and brand consequences.

Structured content as a localisation engine.

With structured, component-driven content, organisations can reduce redundancy, streamline translation and adapt quickly to changing markets. It allows teams to manage content once and distribute it many times without rework.

Simplifying localisation with Adobe Experience Manager Guides.

Fidelity Investments demonstrates how structured content addresses the demands of localisation and compliance at scale. "Structuring content brings things down into these bite-sized chunks and those bite-sized chunks can be reuse anywhere," said Mashell Cox, vice president of product management at Fidelity Investments.

She emphasised that this model not only supports efficiency but also meets strict regulatory expectations because it can 'Write Once, Read Many' (WORM). This immediately helps meet stringent requirements demanded by financial regulators.

With built-in support for translation workflows, Adobe Experience Manager Guides helps organisations co-ordinate global publishing and enables teams to gain a consistent approach across all languages without sacrificing agility.

Customer success in action: From rework to reuse.

In a recent discussion between three leaders in enterprise content strategy - Bernard Aschwanden, Adobe Experience Manager Guides technologist with CCMS Kickstart; Alexander Lum, director, global product documentation development at Ciena; and Marco Cacciacarro, manager of documentation systems and innovation at BlackBerry, the conversation focused on how structured content supports repeatable, efficient localisation in global organisations.

"The conversations I have with customers — whether they're moving from unstructured content or refining mature DITA practices — reveal a consistent truth: Structure doesn't just make content easier to manage, it makes localisation faster, more affordable and more reliable," said Aschwanden. "The more aligned the content is with clear structure, the easier it is to quote, translate and scale across languages without surprises."

Lum explained, "Combining single topics, Component Content Management System (CCMS) and Translation Management System (TMS) definitely cut localisation costs compared to previous unstructured content localisation workflows." He also described how Ciena introduced automation tied to their structured content, which increased the quality of executable procedures and reduced manual effort release over time.

Cacciacarro noted, "Structured content, specifically the DITA XML standard, has played an instrumental role in streamlining and maximising the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of our localisation processes."

Scaling localisation across the enterprise.

Organisations across industries are achieving measurable results by transforming their localisation processes with structured content and platforms.

• Ariel Corporation used structured content and Adobe Experience Manager Guides to streamline localisation, eliminating manual file transfers between systems. Ronald Egle, content systems administrator, Ariel Corporation, noted, "With the improved translation processes in place, we've reduced our linguist translation efforts by 31% and improved the quality of our machine translation by over 100%."

• Grundfos uses Adobe Experience Manager Sites to manage an immense global presence — over 55 million webpages across 65 global websites and over 30 languages. This approach ensures consistent brand messaging while allowing local teams to tailor content to regional requirements. Lisa Ingemann Simonsen, global web platforms senior manager at Grundfos, stated, "Scalability is critical for us. Experience Manager makes it possible for us to scale content creation and onboard our four divisions and local editing teams to keep up with expanding site content while maintaining branding control."

• Briggs & Stratton consolidated content creation and publishing processes using Experience Manager Sites and Experience Manager Guides, reducing the complexity of managing product information across their global footprint. This enabled faster regional website launches and ensured localised content reflected the latest product specifications and regulatory requirements — improving translation efficiency and consistency across markets. It also reduced translation costs by 25% by streamlining management time and eliminating redundant translations.

Lessons learnt and best practices.

Case studies from Ariel Corporation, Grundfos, Fidelity Investments, Briggs & Stratton and BlackBerry highlight practical best practices for enterprises looking to simplify localisation, ensure compliance and scale efficiently.

• Centralise global oversight with local flexibility.

  Grundfos uses Adobe Experience Manager Sites to manage 55 million webpages across 65 global websites in over 30 languages. Their governance model ensures brand and message consistency while empowering local markets to deliver region-specific content.

• Prioritise content reuse to reduce translation and production effort.

  Ariel Corporation achieved a 31% reduction in translation efforts by adopting structured content models and using Adobe Experience Manager to ensure reusable, componentised content is available to all global teams.

• Standardise content creation to accelerate regional launches.

  Briggs & Stratton streamlined content creation and publishing workflows, enabling faster launches of regional websites and ensuring localised content reflects up to date product specifications and compliance requirements.

• Build governance models that ensure regulatory confidence.

  Fidelity Investments emphasised the importance of cross-team collaboration, metadata-driven workflows and strict version control ensuring their financial services content meets demanding legal requirements like WORM, while maintaining agility in localisation.

• Leverage translation memory to reduce costs and improve quoting accuracy.

  BlackBerry uses DITA XML to bring consistency and accuracy to large volumes of content, strengthening translation memory and enabling the organisation to reduce costs and obtain accurate, reliable translation quotes.

• Establish comprehensive metadata management and tagging practices.

  All organisations emphasised the importance of robust metadata strategies to improve content discoverability, enable accurate localisation and ensure compliance across multiple regions and languages.

• Integrate translation workflows tightly into the content lifecycle.

  Using integrated translation management systems connected to Adobe Experience Manager, these organisations streamlined handoffs and accelerated time-to-market for localised content.

• Align content strategy with business objectives.

  Rather than focusing solely on operational efficiency, each organisation connected their structured content strategies to broader goals, including customer satisfaction, speed-to-market, brand trust and regulatory compliance in multilingual markets.

Strategic outcomes and enterprise impact.

The benefits of structured content and integrated localisation workflows are tangible and strategic.

• Significant reduction in translation and localisation costs.

  Ariel Corporation’s 31% reduction in translation efforts demonstrates how structured, reusable content minimises rework and accelerates global publishing.

• Faster delivery of localised content to global markets.

  Grundfos manages a vast content ecosystem across 65 global websites and over 30 languages, ensuring timely, accurate and regionally relevant content while cutting cycle times for local teams.

• Improved brand consistency and regulatory confidence.

  Structured content ensures that all localised materials are aligned with the latest validated source content, reducing compliance risk and supporting brand trust worldwide.

• Operational scalability to support future growth.

  With modular content models and automated localisation workflows, organisations like Ariel Corporation and Grundfos are better prepared to adapt quickly to new markets, products and regulatory changes without adding overhead.

From localisation to local to legal: All in one strategy.

Enterprises that succeed in global markets no longer see localisation as a downstream task. Structured content transforms localisation into an enterprise-wide strategy that balances global consistency with local agility — while meeting the most demanding legal and regulatory standards.

Structured content empowers teams to deliver faster, more accurate localisation, enables regional teams to tailor content to local markets and ensures every version meets compliance and audit requirements. It serves as the connective tissue connecting global, local and legal priorities, turning content into a trusted, strategic asset.

Now is the time for business leaders to evaluate where their content operations stand — and where structured content can take them next.

To learn how Adobe can help your organisation simplify localisation and strengthen compliance, visit the Adobe Experience Manager Guides overview page.

Saibal Bhattacharjee is the director of product marketing for the Digital Advertising, Learning and Publishing business unit at Adobe.

Saibal has been with Adobe for 15 years and is currently in charge of global GTM and business strategy for a diverse product portfolio in Adobe — ranging from market-leading cloud-native component content management system (Adobe Experience Manager Guides), advertising and subscription monetisation products for connected multiscreen TV platforms (Adobe Pass), to content authoring and publishing desktop applications (Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe RoboHelp).

With more than 21 years of experience in the technology sector, Saibal is a high-impact marketing, strategy and product executive with a passion for tackling the most complex challenges in enterprise software and turning solutions into scalable works of enterprise-grade art. He has successfully built, mentored and managed global GTM teams spanning India, US, UK, Germany and Japan for more than a decade. Saibal holds a B.E. degree from Jadavpur University, Kolkata and an M.B.A. degree from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.

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