Data is assuming greater importance with every passing day. And governments are putting greater restrictions on sharing data across borders. As per information provided by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, greater regulatory restrictions have been imposed in the context of moving data to other territories. More about data localization is in the paragraphs that follow.
Localization goes global across borders
As part of the corollary development, governments usually push companies to host their data at home to ensure that data is protected, data privacy, protection of the local industrial sector, and national security.
Before delving deeper into the subject, let us find out a few basic aspects related to the same under the following sub-heads-
1. What is data localization?
Data localization is when you keep the data that you generate in a specific region within the same territory. For instance, if data is developed in the United States and stored or hosted in the United States itself, instead of transferring it to any other country.
2. Data localization policy
The recent developments related to the data privacy laws include regulations in many nations across the world that put pressure on companies worldwide so that these companies adhere to the data security norms and regulations and client handling.
As more and more regional economies strive to put in place the nuances of data localization policies, two identifiable paths have been recognized adopted by countries worldwide. The first one is the one that China adopts, and this inhibits the flow of data outside the country by the Chinese government, and organizations are forced to operate as per laws and policies.
The second practice is the one adopted by many countries, including a few parts of Europe and the United States. They allow the free flow of data across borders.
3. Principles of globalization
There are five principal forms in which the growth of the cross border activities related to the economy takes place, namely,
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- Foreign direct investment
- International trade
- Migration or movement of labor
- Diffusion of technology (Stiglitz, 2003)
- Capital market flows
4. Global localization examples
Global localization, also known as glocalization is a term applied to a service or product developed for distribution globally. The same is designed so that it can be accommodated in the local market as well for use by consumers. Some of the examples of global localization include the following-
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- McDonald’s
- Google Pixel
- MTV
- Coca Cola
- Whirlpool
The main benefits of glocalization (globalization and localization) include the opportunity to venture out in the foreign markets, improvement in sales, global brand awareness and recognition, better communication with clients. It also generates employment.
