Three dimensions: language, currency, region.
Language:
- Enable Translation Workbench for all target languages from day one.
- User Locale + Language settings on User record drive what each user sees.
- Translate: field labels, picklist values, validation messages, custom apps, custom labels (used by code/components).
- Knowledge articles support per-language translation workflow.
- Reports/dashboards: titles translatable; data not.
Currency:
- Decide single-currency vs multi-currency BEFORE go-live (irreversible).
- For multi-currency: Activate Multiple Currencies, set corporate currency, add active currencies.
- Use Advanced Currency Management (ACM) for accurate historical reporting (dated rates).
- Every currency field on every object carries CurrencyIsoCode. Plan integration impact.
Region:
- For single global org: use Public Group + Sharing Rules to limit cross-region visibility, regional Page Layouts for different fields.
- For multi-org strategy (separate EU, US, APAC orgs): federate via SSO, integrate via Mulesoft.
- Choose based on data residency requirements, regulatory needs, business autonomy.
Time zones:
- User TimeZone setting drives display.
- Build formula fields that convert to UTC for analysis.
- Business Hours per region for SLA / escalation.
Compliance:
- GDPR (EU), CCPA (California), LGPD (Brazil), other regional laws.
- Privacy Center, Data Classification metadata.
- Right-to-be-forgotten workflows.
Phased rollout:
- Pilot one country in one region.
- Expand to whole region.
- Roll out region by region.
- Each phase reveals localisation surprises.
Most underestimated cost: ongoing translation cadence. Every new field/picklist value needs translation. Build a release process that includes translation step.