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| Office Open XML Formats : An Idea Whose Time has Come |
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| March 17th, 2008. The Ground has been set. Battlelines drawn. The Open Document Format (ODF) proponents are opposing OOXML on the grounds that 'multiple standards' are not advisable. While Microsoft has been accused of influencing NGOs and Govt officials on their stand; its opponents havent really been lagging in this respect. Which way will the die be cast ? Which way should the die be cast? |
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| Microsoft Senior Vice President Chris Capossela has just released a public statement, relative to the Open XML standards process. In this message, Capossela offers perspective on the rationale behind standardization for Open XML, the benefits afforded to the broader industry that is actively implementing the current Ecma specification, and Microsoft’s commitment to support the enhancements made to the current ISO specification under review. |
| There are now just two weeks remaining before the final collective decision from ISO/IEC’s 87 participating National Body members regarding the DIS 29500 ballot (Office Open XML file formats). Midnight CET (Geneva) on March 29, 2008 is the official deadline for National Body members to communicate (in writing) any changes to their formal position. |
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| Microsoft relinquished the formal ownership of the formats, in Nov 15th, 2005, to Ecma International. The Co-sponsors have been Apple, Barclays Capital, BP, British Library, Essilor, Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, NextPage Inc., Statoil ASA, Toshiba. |
The timeline for the ISO/IEC JTC1 DIS29500 Fast Track process this year has been as follows:
o Begin Fast Track ballot for Ecma 376: Office Open XML/DIS29500 - January 5, 2007
o End of 30-day review period to determine “perceived contradictions” - February 5, 2007
o Ecma feedback on comments & perceived contradictions - February 28, 2007
o JTC 1 Five-month DIS letter ballot (formal technical review of the specification) – March 2, 2007 - September 2, 2007
o Conclusion of Phase 2 of fast-track process – September 2, 2007
o 87 countries participate
o 74 percent of participating countries vote yes, but Open XML falls short on two supermajority requirements
o National bodies provide 3,522 individual comments on how to improve the specification
o September 2, 2007 – January 14, 2008 – Ecma reviews and responds to comments from National Bodies
o Ballot Resolution Meeting (BRM) – February 25-29, 2008 in Geneva, Switzerland
o Final decision – 30 days following the BRM - midnight CET (Geneva time zone) on Saturday, March 29, 2008. |
| More at ISO. |
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| This standards process is both highly nuanced and political ! While Microsoft has been accused of influencing NGOs and Govt officials on their stand; readers may also want to check up this letter from Ashish Gautam, Open Standards Specialist - India, IBM India sent on March 15, 2007 to govt officials and others, which states: |
| “Please start influencing our national body - BIS, the press, STQC and state IT bodies. Also start asking BIS and MCIT to post all the documentation on their website and make it available to the public…This way you can point people to the documentation and they can become familiar with all of the information as we commence the balloting process…” |
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| A lot of communities are already supporting OpenXML. Moreover, the community contribution to ISO ratification process has made the standard better with more than 98.4% comments addressed as covered ! |
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| And, underlining the relevance of Open XML formats to India, in application development, leading Indian IT solution providers are increasingly using Open XML as a preferred technology standard. One of the most compelling reasons for customers to migrate to Open XML formats is the openness of Office XML formats - the ability to integrate with custom schemas and be seamlessly interoperable. The other reason that rank high for choosing Open XML are its secure nature that makes it so easy for personally identifiable information and business sensitive information, such as user names, comments and file paths, to be easily identified and removed. The final benefit of all these is that the solutions built on open XML help customers save time and cost. |
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| The Govt now needs to take a stand ! And act in the best interest on the end-user ! It should encourage multiple platforms and multiple standards so that benefits of innovation, may ultimately accrue to the end customer. |
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These Links May Interest You:
OpenXML : Microsoft gets it right this time ! Will India too ?
Windows Vista : Looking Back, Looking Forward ! |
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