Microsoft Loses ISO Vote on Open XML

[Sunite]

Microsoft Loses ISO Vote on Open XML
By Mark Long
September 4, 2007 10:57AM

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Although Microsoft has lost the latest round in the battle of document format standards, with Open XML not getting enough votes to be put on fast-track status for standardization, the software giant plans to implement the changes indicated by ISO members voting "no" and push for standardization at the next ISO vote in early 2008.

Related Topics
   Microsoft
   Open XML
   ISO
   Standards
   Open Source
   OpenDocument

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   Microsoft Relevant Products/Services's Open XML file format fell one vote shy of gaining the International Standards Organization's fast-track approval as a new global standard for documents. The five-month ballot process ended on Sunday.

The software giant offered an upbeat take on the defeat. "We are extremely delighted to see that 51 ISO Relevant Products/Services members, representing 74 percent of the qualified votes, have already voiced their support for ISO ratification of Open XML," said Tom Robertson, Microsoft's general manager for interoperability and standards.

However, ISO rules stipulate that at least two-thirds of the votes cast by participating national bodies must be "positive" and no more than 25 percent of the total number of votes cast by national bodies can be "negative."

"Neither of these criteria were achieved, with 53 percent of votes cast" by participating national bodies "being positive and 26 percent of national votes cast being negative," the ISO said.

Boost for OpenDocument?

OpenOffice.org -- which played an instrumental role in the development of the OpenDocument Format (ODF) approved by ISO in May of 2006 -- said it is delighted with the decision.

"I think I speak for the community when I say I am pleased to see that the publicly noticed irregularities in the voting process for OXML didn't result in approval by ISO," said Sun Microsystems Community Manager Louis Suarez-Potts.

Suarez-Potts also said he thinks ISO's rejection of Microsoft's proposal will accelerate the acceptance of the ODF standard by governments, enterprises, and users the world over.

"It is the only standard that can be used by anyone, without the need for software from a specific vendor, and many applications already implement it," Suarez-Potts said. "Already 100 million have downloaded it in 100 languages and for every operating system, with Windows being our most popular," he added.

Open XML Changes, New Vote

Although Microsoft has lost the latest round, "the game isn't over 'til it's over," as baseball legend Yogi Berra once quipped.

Robertson claims that many who voted against Open XML during the latest ISO balloting have indicated they will support ratification once their comments are resolved in the next "ballot resolution" phase of the ISO process, which is expected to take place in early 2008.

"Technical experts around the world have provided invaluable feedback and technical recommendations for evolving the format," Robertson said. "The high quality of the OXML format will be improved as a result of this process, and we believe that the ISO national bodies will be pleased with the results."

Immunizing the Voting Process

Prior to the vote deadline, Microsoft was accused of trying to stuff the ballot box by encouraging nations unfamiliar with the standards approval process to join the fray. The software giant also appears to have pressured some of its vendors to join their respective national bodies at the last minute to vote in Open XML's favor.

"ISO and its members were clearly the target of a global effort to influence the result of this vote," said Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin. "Hopefully, the very public excesses of the last few months have attracted enough sunshine that the months ahead will be more consistent with a good faith process."

The questionable activities highlight the areas where some alterations are needed to immunize the process from vendor influence, Suarez-Potts said. "But this is the nature of any such system," he noted. "The fact remains that the technology, on its merits, was voted down by the participant national bodies."