An Open and Shut Case? Open XML and Document Format Choice
After more than two years of work by national standards bodies and Ecma International, the issue of standardising Open XML is moving into is final phase of consideration; the outcome could have far-reaching consequences on the document formats that we use.
The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Joint Technical Committee 1 (JTC 1) will be holding a Ballot Resolution Meeting (BRM) for Open XML in Geneva between 25 and 29 February. The BRM allows national standards bodies to consider the responses and potential changes based on the comments submitted during a fast track ballot on the issue on 2 September last year.
EMEA Press Centre spoke to Microsoft's director of standards and interoperability, Jason Matusow, to discover what is so important about document formats and how the ISO/IEC decision will affect everyone who uses a computer.
EMEA Press Centre: What is the background to the debate about document formats?
Jason Matusow: Document formats are a critical aspect to how computer systems connect people, data and diverse systems. Anyone using a computer, from someone at home to a government official in a large ministry, wants to be able to effectively exchange data. From our perspective, the customer owns the data, and technologies are created to enable the creation and use of that data.
A good example is government agencies. They want to deliver superior citizen services and e-government systems. This includes ensuring the effective use of document formats to create, modify and archive electronic documents to enable e-government services. Because governments and organisations use data and documents in different ways, most provide their citizens with as many choices as possible in how they access and use government services.
In the end, people are looking for interoperability — that is why increased openness in all document formats is important. Our customers have told us they want to maximise the choices they have in what software they use and what they can do with it. Document formats are one part of the larger context that enables interoperability.
EPC: Is this view shared by all participants in the software industry?
Matusow: Everyone agrees that interoperability is important, but there are differences about how to achieve it. Microsoft believes that interoperability is delivered by building it into products, by working with other participants in the industry, by providing access for others to our intellectual property, and through the important work of standards. This holistic approach delivers interoperability by design.
Some of our competitors have stated that they believe interoperability is only achieved through standards and that once a standard is set, governments should seek to place mandates on the procurement of that standard. We disagree with both of these points.
We think it is best to optimise our software for interoperability that best serves our customers, provides the widest possible range of solutions, and offers the best value for money once the software is implemented.
EPC: What is Open XML?
Matusow: Open XML was developed as a document format international open standard through the collaborative efforts of leading companies and organisations — including Apple, Barclays Capital, BP, The British Library, Essilor, Intel, Microsoft, NextPage, Novell, Statoil, Toshiba, and the US Library of Congress — at Ecma (the international industry association dedicated to the standardisation of information and communication systems).
The Open XML specification provides for the full functionality of the 2007 Office system, providing backwards compatibility with content and functionality in billions of existing documents (since the launch of Office 2003), enhancing interoperability and document preservation in the public and private sectors. The specification offers huge opportunities to software developers, allowing them to create a host of new innovations for customers. It is designed to accommodate multiple languages and cultures, and supports technologies that enable people with disabilities to use computing devices. In addition, Open XML allows data from other systems, healthcare and financial records, for example, to be easily incorporated into documents created using Open XML and to be updated in real time.
Open XML is enjoying broad industry adoption throughout the marketplace. The quality of the specification and the value of the technologies can be seen in the rapid growth of independent implementations on Windows, Linux, IBM z/OS, Palm OS, and on the Apple iPhone. This means that customers have increased choice of solutions. In addition, Open XML fits into the broader landscape of document formats being used by productivity applications. The growing number of companies building Open XML applications indicates the specification is entirely manageable and widely supported.
EPC: Why is Microsoft bothering to pursue Open XML, rather than another standard, such as ODF?
Matusow: Our customers have told us their data needs can't be addressed by a one-format-fits-all approach. The Open Document Format (ODF) advocates this single standard concept; we believe, however, that the real value of Open XML for customers is in the applications they use to solve business problems. Document formats represent the features and capabilities of those applications. Microsoft started working on XML-based file formats in the late 1990s. While Open XML and ODF are both based upon XML, the formats are very different in how they are engineered. Microsoft believes very strongly in the power of translation between formats to enable interoperability and has been working diligently to enable interoperability between Open XML and ODF.
It is also worth noting that IBM — one of ODF's staunchest supporters — is already shipping at least four products that support Open XML (Lotus Quickr, WebSphere Portal, DB2 Content Manager v8.4, and DB2 9 pureXML). This is presumably because their customers have indicated that they want it and supports the concept of multiple file formats.
EPC: How serious is Microsoft about promoting choice with Open XML?
Matusow: In December 2006, Ecma International approved Office Open XML as an Ecma standard. Microsoft initially developed Office Open XML, but these file formats no longer belong to Microsoft or any other individual company, and their future evolution rests in the hands of Ecma. The formats have also been widely implemented across multiple platforms, including by Microsoft competitors.
Following Ecma approval, governments and other customers requested that Open XML also be submitted to the International Standards Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) for further approval, and this has been done; the process is awaiting final resolution in the coming months.
Microsoft has made irrevocable, royalty-free patent commitments to all implementers of Open XML, which both Ecma and ISO/IEC have declared satisfactory. Indeed, these exceed the Ecma and ISO/IEC minimum licensing requirements. Accordingly, there are no IPR concerns associated with Open XML. Any entity can freely implement Open XML and develop innovative, interoperable products that use the platform. For example, Novell, Corel, Apple, Microsoft Sun, and others have already adopted or announced adoption of Open XML in their products on a variety of platforms. The open source translator that Microsoft funded (http://sourceforge.net/projects/odf-converter) is available to anyone at no cost; it enables interoperability between the Open XML and ODF formats for word processing, spreadsheet and presentation documents.
In addition, Microsoft has voted in favour of ODF during its standardisation process based on our belief in promoting choice for our customers. Today, customers can choose between Open XML, ODF, PDF, UOF, and the myriad of older binary formats that are still in use.
EPC: So what stage has Open XML reached in the ISO/IEC process?
Matusow: On 2 September last year the ISO/IEC held a fast track ballot of 87 countries on the adoption of Open XML as an international standard. Sixty-nine countries gave a qualified vote (ie, voting yes or no) and 51 of these voted yes (74 per cent), with 18 countries voting no (26 per cent); an additional 18 countries abstained. Despite the overwhelming yes vote, a supermajority was required for adoption. The process entered a mandatory ballot resolution phase.
Since then Ecma has been working to support the ISO/IEC Project Editor to review and respond to each of the National Body comments, culminating in an ongoing full report of proposed dispositions released on 14 January this year. National Body members now have the opportunity to continue their review of these dispositions and to engage in further dialogue with Ecma to resolve their outstanding concerns. Between 25 and 29 February, a formal congregation of National Standards Body delegations from round the world will take place in Geneva to further discuss outstanding technical concerns with the specification, before the process closes in March.
In essence, we do not live in a world of "either/or", but rather in a world of "AND". Governments and customers want and deserve choices to serve their different needs, whether that is Open XML, ODF or other formats.
