Thoughts and considerations for expanding internationally: culture, localization, culture and business models.

1. CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
MARKETING & STRATEGY FOR
INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
Gerardo A. Dada, Head of Global Product Marketing
@gerardodada
American Marketing Association - San Antonio
SEPTEMBER 22nd, 2012
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada

2. AGENDA CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
 Rackspace and the Cloud
 Our International Journey
 Why Expand Internationally
 Where to Start
 Business Models
 Localization
 Top Mistakes to Avoid
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 2

3. RACKSPACE® HOSTING CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
4,500+ WE SERVE OVER $1
RACKERS 60% OF
THE BILLION $$$$
FORTUNE® 100 Annualized Revenue
190,000+
CUSTOMERS
84,000+ SERVERS
22,085+ VM
≅70 PB STORED
GLOBAL
FOOTPRINT
120+ COUNTRIES
8 WORLDWIDE
DATA CENTERS
PORTFOLIO OF A LEADER
HOSTED SOLUTIONS Gartner Magic Quadrant
Dedicated - Cloud - Hybrid
for Managed Hosting
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada

4. WHAT IS THE CLOUD? CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
• Utility - Pay only for what you use
• Instant on
• Shared – investment is distributed
• Transparent
• No Upfront Investment - OpEx vs CapEx
Bottom Line: The cloud provides business agility and allows
you to focus on your business
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 4

5. RACKSPACE’S GLOBAL JOURNEY CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
GLOBAL
FOOTPRINT
120+ COUNTRIES
8 WORLDWIDE
DATA CENTERS
2 SUPPORT
CENTERS
The Rackspace strategy does not change
We aim to be the service leader in every market we serve
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 5

6. WHY EXPAND INTERNATIONALLY CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
• Have you exhausted the local market?
• Good Reasons: growth, opportunity
• Are you committed?
– Management Buy-in
– Investment and resources
– Patience
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 6

7. WHERE TO START? CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
• Market Planning and Opportunity Analysis
• Market Sizing - Addressable Opportunity
• Legal Framework
– Taxes, Customs and regulations - NOM, ISO, UL , PII
• Demographics and business environment
– Business may be centralized in one of a few cities
– Propensity to buy in retail: touch & feel the products
– Practicality of Ecommerce: credit card adoption, shipping
efficiency and trust
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada
7

8. BUSINESS MODELS CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
• Centralized versus localized model
– Think globally but act locally
– “Glocalization”: finding the balance between the two
• Selling internationally from one location
• Indirect models
– Distributor, agent, reseller, etc.
• The core business strategy may not change (i.e RAX)
• Global web presence – How to do it right
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 8

9. RACKSPACE.COM/ES CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 9

10. LOCAL HOSTING IS BETTER CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
(IS IT?)
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 10

11. LOCALIZATION CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
• More than translation
• Religion
• Language is different – UK vs US English
• Understanding history
• Culture impact on logos and colors
Examples: Orkut in Brasil and Baidu in China
TIP: balance local and corporate resources
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 11

12. NISSAN IN LATIN AMERICA CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
Nissan missed the fact that ‘moco’ means booger in Spanish…
12
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada

13. NIKE IN THE ARAB WORLD CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
Nike learned the hard way the fire design on their sneakers
looks very similar to the Arabic word for Allah
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 13

14. CULTURE CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
• History and attitudes between cultures
– Good and bad (Malinchismo)
• The importance of titles and hierarchy
– Business cards in Japan
– Judging by looks and formality
• Importance of relationships and trust
– In many countries business in done in person
– Use of Alcohol and importance of social events
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 14

15. CULTURE CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 15

16. COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
#1 – Insufficient commitment from
management
#2 – No business or market plan &
priorities
#3 – Underestimating emotions and
relationships
#4 – Not understanding culture
#5 – Going after too many
opportunities at once
#6 – Expecting quick results
@rackspace / @SanAntonioAMA / @gerardodada 16

17. CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY MATERIAL
THANK YOU
Gerardo A. Dada
@gerardodada
www.TheAdaptiveMarketer.com
RACKSPACE® HOSTING | WWW.RACKSPACE.COM