Globalization dimensions in Guidewire applications

Guidewire applications overcome the shortcomings of the traditional model by providing three dimensions for operating in a global environment. These three dimensions are independent:

Language

Writing system and words to use for text in the user interface, as well as for linguistic searching and sorting behavior.

Regional formats

Formatting of dates, times, numbers, and monetary amounts that users enter and retrieve. Regional formats specify the visual layout of data that has no inherent association with specific countries, but for which formats vary by regional convention.

National formats

Formatting of addresses and phone numbers. National formats specify the visual layout of data for which the country or region is inherent, and the format remains the same regardless of local convention.

Currency formats

Currency is independent of language, locale, and national formats. A specific currency is a property of a specific PolicyCenter transaction. The values set for locale and regional formats determine how to format the currency amount. However, visual formatting has no impact on the actual currency used in the transaction.

For example, a speaker of Canadian French can be operating in an en-CA locale looking to insure property in Florida in USD rather Canadian dollars.

In Guidewire applications, you can select the language to see in PolicyCenter independently of the regional formats in which you enter and retrieve dates, times, numbers, and monetary amounts.

However, phone numbers and addresses in PolicyCenter use national (country) formatting, set through application configuration. For example, if you enter the Japan country code +81 in a phone field, PolicyCenter displays the phone number by using Japanese formatting. If you enter France for the country in an address field, PolicyCenter shows address fields specific for France, including a CEDEX field.