14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has debuted an initiative designed to involve YOU in the international certification of the Open XML standard. That's right, none other than you. "You" in the sense of the Times Magazine 2006 person of the year. Yes, that was a poor joke, but Microsoft is not joking in the least. The Redmond Company is placing interoperability on the same level as security and reliability.
"To aid interoperability, XML-based file formats can unlock data in documents and help integrate front- and back-office processes. Recognizing these benefits, Microsoft has implemented XML-based formats in successive releases of Office," Microsoft revealed. Besides, the Redmond Company needs to catch up with ODT, because in the end, standardization is not about proprietary formats vs. international standards but between Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.
Steve Clayton, Microsoft CTO, managed to give a few reasons why you should jump on the Open XML wagon. The last one brought a smile in the corner of my mouth, it reads: "We think people want choice. Seriously." Microsoft is synonymous with a lot of things, but "choice" is not exactly one of them, as far as choosing between Microsoft or third-party products goes. The fact that the Redmond Company wants users to have a choice between ODF and its own Open XML, as international standards, is a different thing altogether, and more sincere.
Clayton revealed that Microsoft decided to open its proprietary Office file formats as a result of customer input. Open XML integrated in Office 2007 is a direct result of user feedback. Open XML was certified as an open standard in December 2006 and then ECMA further submitted the format for ISO ratification.
"The ISO process involves a 1 month period for national bodies to review followed by a 5 month technical review process and when ODF (an alternative doc format) was under consideration, Microsoft made no effort to slow down the process - why should we? In the meantime, during the one-month period for consideration of Open XML in ISO, IBM led a global campaign urging national bodies to demand that Open XML was not even considered. They ignored the fact that the vast majority of ISO members chose not to submit comments. Nice eh?" Clayton added pointing to this website for making Ecma Open XML an ISO international standard.