Analyst group Gartner seems to only have bad news for Microsoft. After announcing that Windows Vista could be delayed again and that switching to the new OS is not financially justified for enterprises, Gartner has new forecasts, this time concerning the XML format.

The Gartner analysts were quoted by ZDNet.co.uk as saying that "ISO's approval of OpenDocument will thwart Microsoft's chances of getting its XML document format certified by the standards group."

In November, Microsoft announced its intention to submit its new Office Open XML file format to the European standards organization, ECMA International.

The Office Open XML file formats will be included in the Office 2007 suite and they will theoretically be available to other developers who wish to implement Office Open XML in their own applications and services.

Microsoft recently adhered to the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS), that decided if ODF was ready to move forward in the ISO and there were some rumors that this decision targeted the sabotaging of the ratification process.

Gartner advised vendors to "seek opportunities to leverage ODF", but warned that the migration will imply a considerable financial effort.

"The migration will not be inexpensive, and will involve compatibility issues when exchanging documents with Microsoft Office users," the Gartner report, cited by ZDNet.co.uk, read.