Microsoft OOXML standards setback only temporary

Stan Beer
Wednesday, 05 September 2007 04:26

Opinion and Analysis

Those in the open source/open documents community now jumping with joy at the failure of Microsoft yesterday to win approval for Open OfficeXML from the International Standards Organization as a global standard should probably take a breather and reflect upon the fact that Microsoft is almost over the line already. In fact, come February next year, OOXML will almost certainly join ODF as an ISO standard.

The fact of the matter is that Microsoft, with 53% of the votes, came remarkably close for its first attempt. Now that the company with pockets deeper than the Grand Canyon knows which ISO members it needs to work on, it's only a matter of time before OOXML is accepted.

There are a couple of issues at stake here. One is obviously that OOXML has been created by an organization with a proprietary agenda with huge lobbying power due to its financial resources. The other is whether OOXML fulfills purpose of open documents - to ensure that documents created today can be accessed at some time in the distant future, regardless of the software being used.

Unfortunately, there is very little anyone can do to address the first issue. Microsoft already has most of the most powerful governments in the world in its pocket. As was demonstrated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts reversal on OOXML, opposing Microsoft only goes as far as the tenure of the current CIO - and that tenure can be expected to be cut short. Most governments can be bought in some way, and Microsoft is an expert buyer.

In a sense, the other issue is probably the more important of the two. If we accept the ratification of OOXML as an ISO standard as inevitable, then the ISO must ensure that OOXML is truly open. In other words, Microsoft must turn it loose.

The last thing the world needs is a "standard" that at some stage in the future ensures that documents can only be accessed by Microsoft software. If the ISO cannot ensure this then the organization should be disbanded.